Independent schools and bursaries/scholarships

[mad?]

Reasons I think why people apply when they can't afford the fees:
(1) They think bursary awards are more widely available than is the case
(2) They think bursaries are more generous than they are in reality
(3) They think 100% scholarships still exist
(4) They think their son/daughter is cleverer than they really are ( guilty!)
Mike

You are right. There is a parallel with grammars here in point 4. Many of us enter our DC for a grammar even though we are not sure they will get in. When making that decision a number of factors come in to play, not least how likely we think DC are to qualify (rightly or not) and what the alternatives are (average comp or total disaster). I suspect the higher the stakes in terms of alternatives the more likely one is to take the risk, both with grammar entrance and with bursary or scholarship qualification.

[hermanmunster]

Out of taxed income that is a fairly sizeable amount for just one child.

Just been fiddling around with http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/lifestyle.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

looking at someone bringing home 4k a month - annual salary 71k before tax etc. allowing for 4530 fees per term or 1125 per month over the whole year means that they would have to have a monthly income of 5125 - or 94k ... big increase.... doesn't allow for a second child

[Waiting_For_Godot]

They wouldn't need a monthly increase if they are not spending £4k per month. £4k per month is a huge amount of money.

[Reading Mum]

£4k per term so £1100 per month

[pheasantchick]

I don't know anything about bursaries/ scholarships ( what's the difference?) but even a 50% reduction would still mean you old have to find £2000 per term (assuming approx £4000 termly fees) which is still a lot of money, and don't fees go up as you go further up the school? Plus there's all the extras (travel to school, lunches, trips , clubs etc) which Moonlight mentioned.

[Looking for help]

£4k per term so £1100 per month

That is a lot of extra money though - and I don't know what kind of holidays families are going that can cut back so they can afford these fees.

£4K per month = £71K pa - not a huge amount if you are bringing up a family - and let's not forget some families with earnings of this will still be getting child benefit, so one assumes thay must be struggling on this income.

And as PC/moonlight have mentioned - all the extras - it's a huge commitment for 7 years of 1 child's life - never mind if you have 2 or 3 children - even taking into account the paltry reduction in fees for subsequent children.

Mind you this isn't meant to be a debate on the pros and cons of private schools, more about what is the mindset of someone knowingly putting their child forward for independent schools with the certain knowledge that without significant help they couldn't possibly afford it.

[Camphillian]

We're lucky in B'ham that the two leading indies have very generous bursary provision and are very open about the levels at which it applies (so the only uncertainty is whether your child will be clever enough to qualify - but that's fairly impossible to predict). Other schools in the area are less helpful and will return the response you'd get from most schools anywhere else: apply and hope for the best, with no information about how many bursaries they award, or what income levels they judge assistance necessary.

Mike

Some parents in Birmingham appear to think you can just send your child to one of the indie schools (KE ones) without having to give a thought to paying for it, and for some of them the KE grammar schools (which we are very lucky to have) are now just not good enough any more. For those who have a completely unrealistic idea about their child's ability it breeds a lot of resentment when they don't get offered the massive bursary they think they are entitled to. Unfortunately they have often built up their child's expectations as well, which is even worse and very sad to see.

[hermanmunster]

am a very "Old Ed" who went to KEHS when nearly all the pupils were having there fees paid, on a non means tested basis, by the various LEAs etc etc -those who weren't paid for (staffordshire being one LEA who didn't pay) were able to get generous support from the governors ... one friend's mum paid £5 per term. At the time I suspect the governors' money went much further. Upshot is that there is probably still an impression that KES/KEHS will always be able to fund a child who passes the exam....

[Tulip89]

I think all the parents hope for the best for their children. As for our case, the reason is we don’t have any grammar school around here, and the local secondary is not good.

By the end of year 5, quite a few of DS1’s classmates have already moved to a better school catchment area. And some children tried the local indie, included DS1. I had hoped he can get a scholarship and plus some bursary, as I was told some children got it in the past. So after a long process with all the application, exam and interview, the result finally arrived, he got a scholarship but only 10%, no bursary. DS1 was so delighted , that mean he must have got in the top 5 in these 3 hundred children who sat the exam. But I actually was quite disappointed , as 10% is really nothing. And later I was told the fund for the bursary is so small this year, only 2 or 3 children would have got it.

Of course, sacrifices have to be made, for us is not holiday , the big one would be the house. As we live in a small house, I had planned to move to a slightly big house, now that would be impossible. And we have to cut other things as well.

To be honest, I don’t really know if this is worth it. All I know is secondary school is such an important stage, I do hope DS have the best chance that we can provide. And I know there are only a couple of DS1’s classmates can afford the fee easily, the rest are like us.

If only we have a grammar school here.

[mad?]

If only we have a grammar school here.

+1