means-tested scholarships/bursaries

KES Parent · Post by **KES Parent** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:33 pm

Thea wrote: I recently heard about someone who had inherited some money - they did not tell the school, but other parents heard about it, told the school, and the school used the 'full disclosure' clause not only to remove the bursary but also the child's place.

That's a very encouraging story - no doubt a drop in the ocean of all the fiddling that goes on all over the country, but nice to know that someone has got caught doing it.

Ellie · Post by **Ellie** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:07 pm

KES Parent wrote:
Thea wrote: I recently heard about someone who had inherited some money - they did not tell the school, but other parents heard about it, told the school, and the school used the 'full disclosure' clause not only to remove the bursary but also the child's place.

Sadly there is a small minority of parents who do not make full disclosure of their financial position and some families may not be aware that schools require full disclosure of household income/assets from both parents even in circumstances where they are separated.

chardom · Post by **chardom** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:32 pm

My son has recently been awarded a means tested bursary after we were invited to apply because of his performance in the scholarships exams and both my ex-husband and I had to fill in the form which was very detailed. In order to prevent any awkwardness, and to preserve our privacy, I filled in all my sections before he arrived and then covered them up with a strip of paper stuck on with bluetack. He then filled in his half while I helped DS with his homework, and then watched me while I turned over the forms, removed my strips of paper from underneath, then put the form in the envelope and sealed it. We then both walked to the post box at the end of the road and posted it together to ensure that neither one of us ripped open the envelope and looked at the others financial details

However strange this episode may have been for both of us we did it for our DS who is the most important part of this equation and will always be so.

zorro · Post by **zorro** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:06 am

Well done for being so dignified and ingenious !!!

Sassie'sDad · Post by **Sassie'sDad** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:02 pm

Ellie. I went one step further and photocopied the fact find, sending a copy to my former spouse and informing the school bursar we wished to fulfil our obligations to disclose on a separate basis. The bursar was perfectly willing to work with that and indeed the registry agreed to keep dd's mother 'in the picture'.

mumoffour · Post by **mumoffour** » Fri May 01, 2009 12:15 pm

Do you know if other school fees are taken into account for bursary purposes?

We are paying now in full for child no 1, child 2 would come from savings/remortgage. For children 3 and 4 we could not pay as things stand at the moment. I always assumed that private ed for 4 is beyond our means, but would schools be sympathetic? I don't think I would be if I was a school!!

Any idea? Thanks!

FirstTimeBuyer · Post by **FirstTimeBuyer** » Fri May 01, 2009 1:01 pm

mumoffour wrote:Do you know if other school fees are taken into account for bursary purposes?

We are paying now in full for child no 1, child 2 would come from savings/remortgage. For children 3 and 4 we could not pay as things stand at the moment. I always assumed that private ed for 4 is beyond our means, but would schools be sympathetic? I don't think I would be if I was a school!!

Any idea? Thanks!

I think you may be looking at it the wrong way. Rather than expect school number 3 and/or 4 to provide a bursary (unless it is the same school I cannot see them being very sympathetic either), perhaps it is a question of seeking some sort of fee reduction from each of the schools. If the burden is being shared, they may well be open to such a proposal.

Sassie'sDad · Post by **Sassie'sDad** » Fri May 01, 2009 1:49 pm

My impression is that certain schools, who have existing recipients of academic/means tested bursaries; because the know their recipients' family situation in fine detail, half expect subsequent siblings to be 'on the lookout' for a bursary. Where the holder is also a foundation scholar this seems particularly true.

The questions the school asks are:
Is this candidate so promising and academily able that we want him/her to come to us?

If there is no further reduction in fees payable, will this candidates parent/guardian be able to pay the fees and charges?

Lastly the institution works on a term by term, academic year basis. All awards are performance based and means tested. If these conditions are not met then finance is not automatic, it will probably be withdrawn!

If in doubt, have a go. Above all ask the Bursary, be honest and don't expect promises! Hope this helps.

honscupboard · Post by **honscupboard** » Fri May 01, 2009 3:55 pm

Have not got there yet but friends tell me it's worth a go ....
The mother of one child was told she should get a job before even thinking of asking for financial help....
Another couple got a huge scholaship for their son because all the other children's education was taken into account, but the school used private detectives to ensure their declaration was not falsified. The school's excuse for this was the scholarship was worth over Â£18000 a year......
One child was denied an academic scholarship so the mother sent in the SATS results and was awarded the scholarship!
So I guess it is not an easy road but could be worth your while

Post by **hermanmunster** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:38 pm

honscupboard wrote:Have not got there yet but friends tell me it's worth a go ....
The mother of one child was told she should get a job before even thinking of asking for financial help....
Another couple got a huge scholaship for their son because all the other children's education was taken into account, but the school used private detectives to ensure their declaration was not falsified. The school's excuse for this was the scholarship was worth over Â£18000 a year......
One child was denied an academic scholarship so the mother sent in the SATS results and was awarded the scholarship!
So I guess it is not an easy road but could be worth your while

intrigued about sending in the SATS results and getting the scholarship! - loads of kids who get into GS (and many who don't) have the maximum of three fives, and indeed have very high scores to go with them. I would have thought that the school would put more store by their own exam than the SATs.
Like the thought of someone being told to get a job first .... can see it from both sides but immediate reaction was "fair enough - you have to try and maximize the amouont you can pay towards the fees before expecting help with the rest"