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Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:58 pm
by omismum
Hi all,
I got a letter from leading private school in Reading that my DD is been offered 10% scholarship.
One of my friend says that, this is a catch... how they convince the parent by giving token amount.

My question is does that happen to every single applicant or they offer 10% to only bright girls?
Is my DD really got good score or its just to convince us?
I am really confused about this scenario . we come from state school and have very limited knowledge about independant schools and its system.

can anybody guide me in any direction
Thanks in advance.

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:07 pm
by hermanmunster
It is tricky with these scholarships - they are for relatively small percentage of the fees (50% would be a lot more attractive).

When looking at senior schools for DCs I was aware of schools giving lots of small scholarships for art / drama / all rounder - many parents turned them down to take up places at schools they preferred.
Upshot as far as the fees were concerned - the scholarships tended to bring the fee level down to that of other local schools ie the more scholarships available, the higher the fees in the first place.

I have also come across some schools offering tiny music scholarships that give little more than the Kudos and various obligations to play in orchestras etc.

re the offer you have - you need to look at all the options and if you like the school then go for it but don't feel you have to go just because of the 10% scholarship

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:07 pm
by rubidium
Would you send your child there regardless of scholarship offer?

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:22 pm
by Tinkers
Have sent you a pm

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:04 pm
by omismum
Rabidium..i think no.

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:07 pm
by omismum
Thankyou hemmuster and all its helping me to get a clear picture.

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:12 pm
by lefol
Hi Omnismum,

Well done to our dd for getting a scholarship. Schools tend to offer a small number of scholarships to kids who do well in the exam and interview . They are not offered to all children. If it is a school that you really want , 10% off the fees may make a small difference which you might appreciate given the cost of school fees these days . It will also help to boost your dd's confidence that she did well enough to have been offered a scholarship .

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:16 pm
by Reading Mum
Making an educated guess at the school, then no they do not offer to everyone a scholarship. It is purely on the exam score so your DD has done very well. They offer approx 10 out of a year group of around 100.
It is more a matter of kudos rather than finance - 10% is not enough to influence a buying decision.

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:20 pm
by moved
Some private schools offer the child £100 and the title of scholar. Many schools only offer scholarships on financial need.

Re: Valued openion from all parents of private school please

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:35 pm
by estelle
Many independent schools detail the number/amount of scholarships on their website-you may find this is the case for this school. I think it very unlikely that they would offer a scholarship to all. At my son's school the top scholarship is 50% of the fees. At my daughters school the top scholarship is only £1000. The kudos is the same but the financial difference is enormous!