Bursary - Queen's College London, Francis Holland or CLSG

[hanaF]

Has anyone tried applying for a 11+ bursary? My friend's dd is bright enough but not super-selective type, and they wonder what the odds would be for gaining a fee-assisted place in one of the schools above for 2017 entry? They would really love dd to be in a central london school close to their business, but they are having some financially unstable time and rental issues atm, so they can't qualify for central london state schools on distance and can't afford private without a substantial bursary. It would be helpful to know what the application process feels like for a state-educated, non-tutored child. Many thanks!

[Daogroupie]

All the schools in the North London Consortium plus City and NLCS and St Albans are all keen to offer bursaries to students who would benefit from the education but whose parents do not have the means to pay.

I know of students who have received 100% bursaries for all of these schools plus Queenswood and Habs where they even pay for the coach and school trips.

They need to get cracking on this as the means testing is often done before the exams. DG

[enema]

Whilst bursaries are in high demand, this definitely shouldn't put your friend off. Schools tend to ask if you intend to apply for one at the application stage (around now) and will then follow up with a request for evidence of income, other related paperwork etc. It would be helpful to get paperwork generally in order ready for this stage. Some schools ask for it before the entrance exam, some after reviewing the exam performance. Check with the schools involved.

[fifilarue]

I don't know about the schools you've listed but I know of one where the Bursar will pay a home visit as part of the bursary application process. There are also lots of forms to fill in with financial declarations etc - each year.

[Daogroupie]

St Albans and Queenswood both include a home visit. DG

[hanaF]

Many thanks, I have asked my friend to contact the schools regarding the bursary and getting the bank statements etc. ready. We didn't know about the possible home visits, but it makes sense that they do it.

[Jeff Wen]

no, not all the private schools will do the home visit. Those doing home visit would charge you more for the application fee. The bursary from most of the private schools will have a family income thresold (normally around 70-80k), but the best private schools will have a much higher thresold. You need to ask for such information from each private school you want to apply for.

[hanaF]

The bursary from most of the private schools will have a family income thresold (normally around 70-80k)

That seems a rather generous threshold! My friend asked Queen's, apparently they have different levels of bursaries (25%, 50%, 75%) but not 100%, whereas CLSG provides up to 100%, depending on income. Considering the extortionate rent in London around popular state schools like St Marylebone or Grey Coat, we concluded that these independent schools are not that expensive even if they don't get the full bursary.

[Daogroupie]

It is not true that those who include a home visit for a bursary charge more for the application fee.

The application fee is the same for everyone and some schools refund the application fee to those who secure a place on a full bursary. DG