St Margaret's Bushey

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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earlyriser
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:43 am

St Margaret's Bushey

Post by earlyriser »

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help me with opinions on St Margaret's in Bushey.

My daughter is currently Year 4 and I'm starting to think about what to do in Year 7.

I've heard very differing accounts of the school from "lovely and nurturing" to "lots of bullying" and then "not very academic" to "will push the brighter kids".

I was hoping for some insight from people who are past or present parents, or people who have discounted it for whatever reason.

I'm not keen on the hot house environments of Habs & N London and feel that my daughter will benefit from the smaller, more nurturing environment of somewhere like St Margarets.

Also, does anybody know what the ability levels needed to qualify for music/academic scholarships. And does anybody have a bursary?

Thanks
Middlesexmum
Posts: 1008
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:54 am

Re: St Margaret's Bushey

Post by Middlesexmum »

I don't know much about St Margaret's although we did look at it and discounted it, it was TOO small and I was concerned at the academic levels.

Have you looked at St Helens? It has the advantage of still being an academic school without such intense pressure of Habs, NLCS etc.
earlyriser
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:43 am

Re: St Margaret's Bushey

Post by earlyriser »

I have thought about St Helen's and have heard nothing but good things about it. My issue is it's a little too far away and a bit pricey for me. I know St Margaret's falls in around the same price but I'm hoping (against all odds probably) that we might qualify for a bursary and/or I can push my daughter's music to just sneak in at the scholarship level. The scholarships at St Helen's are sadly out of reach!
Kingfisher
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:08 pm

Re: St Margaret's Bushey

Post by Kingfisher »

The fees are almost the same. I would imagine that the bursary levels are the same. You might need to find that out first. If yr DD gets in to St Margaret's but is not awarded a bursary, she will be very disappointed if she cannot go.
earlyriser
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:43 am

Re: St Margaret's Bushey

Post by earlyriser »

Unfortunately the bursary levels aren't the same. St Helen's has a cap on income whereas St Margaret's tell me that the bursaries are awarded after looking at affordability. It's still something of a long shot but you never know.

DD is already at a small independent school and knows that she might have to stay there (and that one is significantly cheaper so I can afford to keep her there) which she is fine with so hopefully she won't be too disappointed if the whole thing comes to nothing.
Kingfisher
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:08 pm

Re: St Margaret's Bushey

Post by Kingfisher »

My point was that in reality there won't be much difference in terms of bursary ceiling, despite what the school actually tells you. St Margaret's is smaller than St Helen's and probably has less money in the pot for bursaries. At least with an income cap, you know where you stand. Yes, they will look at affordability, but that will apply for every other family who applies for a bursary as well. It will depend how well your DC performs and the income of the other families applying for bursaries. In effect, I should expect fewer bursaries and a lower ceiling with a smaller school.
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