Scholarships and bursaries

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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moved
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Scholarships and bursaries

Post by moved »

We need a scholarship/bursary for our daughter for part payment of fees. I do not want her to be the only "poor girl". Our son will go to Tonbridge with a scholarship, but 40% of children there receive them.

I would like to know of a girls' public school that offers many of its girls financial help.

She is an academically able child, who is good at drama and sport.
We are an ordinary middle class family and I would not want her to feel out of place.
hermanmunster
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Post by hermanmunster »

many bursaries still require the parents to pay quite a bit (more I think than most people could comfortably manage on a particular salary)-
there are few 100% remissions around.

Have you got any options in the State Grammar system where you live?
moved
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Post by moved »

We do have state grammar options, she is sitting for Chelmsford County High. I was just hoping to be able to provide the same for her that we are providing for our son.
hermanmunster
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Post by hermanmunster »

difficult one that! personally I think you may be doing her more of a favour using a GS rather than independent. But that is just my opinion (!) having tried out both sectors.

As for finding a school - girls schools are historically less well endowed and hence tend to less able to give out scholarships / bursaries, reckon you just have to ask some VERY pointed questions of the bursars at the schools you like. Other option might be to go through the ISI reports (think that is what they are called..) often in the description of the school there is a statement as to how many of the pupils have assistance with their fees, may give some indication of how generous they are.

http://www.isi.net/
Snowdrops
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Post by Snowdrops »

Just out of interest, one of the schools I'm considering, if GS application is unsuccessful, has on roll 560 pupils in senior school. Of those, these are the following statistics with regards to bursaries etc:

Quote:

Twenty-four boarders receive the Forces Boarding allowance. In the Senior School, 82 pupils receive some kind of fee assistance from school. All possible entrants applying at Year 7 take the school’s own entrance papers in January. This consists of English comprehension and essay; mathematics; and non-verbal reasoning. Offers are made based upon the standardised marks, informed by individual interviews. As a guide, the expectation is that pupils entering at 11+ will become capable of obtaining five A* - to C grades at GCSE. The school makes use of the Middle Years Information System (MidYIS), Year Eleven Information System (YELLIS), Advanced Level Information System (ALIS), and Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT) to establish the ability and potential of pupils and to assess their subsequent progress.

End quote

I think that's pretty good (from my very limited knowledge!) - how does it pan out in comparison to other schools, anyone know?
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T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Virtually all schools are dropping academic scholarships in place of up to 100% means tested bursaries, and since the charitable foundations pressure it is more likely that people will get more generous means tested bursaries. I assume if your child is going to board at Tonbridge then you'd be happy for your other child to board? With that in mind maybe you could consider Wycombe Abbey, Benenden or Oundle. A less selective school may be more keen to have a very bright girl so schools such as Stowe, Wellington and Uppingham have large endowments. Other schools such as Framlingham, Felsted and Chigwell are worth looking into as well.
KenR
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Post by KenR »

Tipsy

That certainly is not the case for the Birmingham KE Independent Schools. (KES and KEHS)

The the new generous means tested Assisted Place 'Bursary' scheme is dependent on performance in the exam as there are so many applicants.

They ae also still retaining a few non means tested Academic Scholarships
moved
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Post by moved »

I would like her in an academic, but broad environment. Thanks for your suggestions, we've looked at quite a few, but I feel slightly at a loss with my sea of brochures. It was easy with our son, the headteacher suggested Tonbridge to us as he was so bright. The old head has now left and as my daughter is the only one who is considering public school I may as well be in a state school.

Felsted is not too far from us and she could come home at weekends
Framlingham is pretty, she ran there recently in the East Anglian competition. Could also come home at weekends.

She, now, wants to go to Chelmsford County High for Girls as none of her friends are going away.

We have the grammar option, my son is currently in KEGS, Chelmsford for two years, he will stay if that is what he prefers at the end of year 8.
KES Parent

Post by KES Parent »

Moving, is your daughter in an independent school at the moment? If so, I wouldn't have thought the public schools would be terribly keen on giving you a lot of funding towards boarding unless there is a particular boarding need, as they are anxious to divert their funds towards cases they can parade before the Charity Commissioners. Children from independent prep schools might not be the most useful for that purpose. Also, this is a few years ago so might not be the case nowadays, but I tried to get my daughter into Roedean on an assisted place as I wasn't working and our income was therefore very low at the time (about £27K before tax) and the school said that the assisted place would only cover tuition fees and we would have to pay the boarding component as well as our contribution towards the tuition fees. Sorry not to be more encouraging, and of course the schools you are referring to might take a different view, but I think you would have to ask some very specific questions of the schools to be sure you weren't making any decisions you might regret.
solimum
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Post by solimum »

As a guide, the expectation is that pupils entering at 11+ will become capable of obtaining five A* - to C grades at GCSE. The school makes use of the Middle Years Information System (MidYIS), Year Eleven Information System (YELLIS), Advanced Level Information System (ALIS), and Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT) to establish the ability and potential of pupils and to assess their subsequent progress.
Actually this could describe my daughter's comprehensive school which hovers around the 90%+ for those getting the obligatory 5 A*-C grades and also uses several of the monitoring tests mentioned - good, but not perhaps exceptional enough to be worth an extra thousands of pounds a year....
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