What academic level is needed to be awarded a scholarship?

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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Ed's mum
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Location: Warwickshire.

Post by Ed's mum »

The sort of bursaries that I am familiar with are only offered to scholars. So you have to satisfy the school academically first. The other type of bursary offered at Rugby is for a short period only; if something unexpected happens that means the fees cannot be paid.
Flamenco

Post by Flamenco »

Just to reassure you LLL, I share the same opinion as you as do most of the top public schools, I think. But like I said, the recent Charities Act have forced their hands considerably and funds previously allocated for scholarships are now directed towards bursaries instead.

Not too long ago, the King’s Scholarship at Eton for example, was worth half the fee. Winners of the KS automatically had their fees halved irrespective of their father owning 10 banks across the world or their father cleaning public toilets or even unemployed in which case the entire fee would be waived and the boy suitably attired and equipped and in some cases even given pocket money so that he would feel no different from the boy whose father owns 10 banks.

Eh . . . just a feeling, I hasten to add . . . :lol:

Then the fee value of new KS’s was suddenly reduced overnight to 25%. Of course, those in financial needs were still able to enjoy up to full fee reduction. And just a mere few years later, even this was further reduced to the present level of 10% automatic reduction. The whole idea here was to redirect funds towards busaries for both present and new boys.

The same can be said of Eton’s Junior Scholarship which in today’s money was worth a quarter million pounds. The JS was designed in the early 1970’s specifically for the ordinary state schoolboy. The scholarship enabled a boy to leave state school at the age of 10 to attend a prep school for 3 years in order to bring him “up to speedâ€
ealingmum
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Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:27 pm

Post by ealingmum »

Loupylou - you really are talking ribbish. To say the needs of a bright child from a wealthy family are equivalent to the needs of a similarly bright child from a poor family is nonsense Besides scholarships are still awarded even if they don't come with lots of cash. It is right, and nothing to do with the Charity Commission,that independent schools want the brightest children irrespective of family wealth.

My problem with bursaries is that they typically don't go to children from poor, working class families but rather to families who often have themselves been privately educated but who are currently down on their luck.

My sense is that you are really worries that averagely intelligent posh kidsmight, heaven forbid, have to compete with intelligent children from homes where entitlement culture that you seem to exhibit is absent.
beebee
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:10 pm

opinions

Post by beebee »

I find it offensive that you says LLL's opinions are rubbish - you can disagree with her (which I don't), but she has as much right to her opinion as you do to yours!

May be the 'poor' don't apply as primary schools don't publicise the availability of these scholarships/bursaries.
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »


it is as if a certain group in society have only got where they are because they are lucky.
As that old chestnut goes, funny the harder I work the luckier I seem to get.

Mr yoyo and I are (I suppose) solidly middle class now. Both grammar school educated graduates with children who attended grammar school.

Go back 2 generations on his side and one on mine and it is a very different story. Similarity is parents who wanted the best for us
Sally-Anne
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Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Dear Ealing Mum
ealingmum wrote:Loupylou - you really are talking ribbish.
Please do not use inflammatory statements such as this. You are welcome to put a reasoned argument as to why you do not agree with views of another member, but to declare their views "rubbish" can only incite a flame war.

Sally-Anne
Moderator
ealingmum
Posts: 156
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:27 pm

Post by ealingmum »

Moderator- to equate the needs of a child from what LLL described as a 'wealthy' with the same from a child from. 'poor'family is surely not sensible. To further claim that independent schools are engage in, that disparaging term, 'social enginerring', is equally unfair - in my reasonaed opinion. The shift in favour of needs blind admissions returns these schools closer ro their charitable origins and opens up access to quality teaching to boys and girls who would not otherwise have it. If that means some people from wealthy backgrounds lose out so be it - of course they won't lose out as they will buy their place. How the privileged squeal when what they see as their entitlement opened up to newcomers.
beebee
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:10 pm

Slippery Road

Post by beebee »

So rather than rewarding excellence (I thought scholarships were for the top students) everything goes to the lowest common denominator - wasn't that the thinking behind comprehensives.
Loopyloulou
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Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:20 pm

Post by Loopyloulou »

deleted
Last edited by Loopyloulou on Tue Aug 09, 2011 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Loopy
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

The charitable status of Eton and other schools was to provide an education for 70 poor boys - no more, no less. The boys that paid basically paid the net cost of an education and board for themselves, not a premium to pay fo the poor scholars as the endowment covers this. As it is schools like Eton now educate more than 70 poor boys but the government wants fee-payers to pay more to increase the bursaries. I know some anti-wealthy people think that if you can find £30k then you can find another £10k but the reality is not always the case! :roll: And as for needs-blind admissions a good number of schools try to operate this system but these schools do not make profits so there is a finite sum of money! So Ealingmum if you want the schools to go back to their charitable status then you will find that a smaller number of poor children would be receiving an independent education.

EDIT: Also the education of poor boys have been greatly enhanced by having a large number of fee payers at the school. Over the centuries any profits were diverted back into the school to increase tha facilities and improve the academic curriculum. If schools like Eton had not accepted fee-payers - something you would like Ealingmum - then the poor scholars today would still be educated in one school room as they were in the 1500's. Not completely black and white then - is it?
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