Getting into a private school - what you need to know about bursaries and scholarships

Private education can be daunting, not least because there are few "rules", and it can sometimes seem as if you're entering a world where everyone seems to know the answers except you. This is especially true if you are looking into private education for your child, but weren't privately educated yourself.

Today's post is not intended to be a discussion of the merits or indeed morals about private education. Instead, it's intended to help those who are thinking of going private, but are worried about that perennial problem: money.

Not all private schools are brilliant or will suit your child. As with state schools, you should visit as many as you can and ask as many questions as you feel you need to. But if you fall in love with a particular school, you may find that it's another issue that comes to mind. Can you afford it?

Private education doesn't come cheap. The best private schools, with their fantastic facilities, excellent teaching and excellent extra-curricular activities can cost £25,000 a year or more (at the top end if you're thinking of boarding). But most private schools, keen to adhere to recent government demands about their charitable status, and how they need to help the wider community, offer an array of bursaries and scholarships. This is what you need to know.....

Firstly, scholarships and bursaries are not the same thing. Most schools keep scholarships for the "best", those who come top in their academic exams or display a particular talent. They are not usually means tested. Bursaries, on the other hand, tend to be means-assessed on a financial basis, and are becoming increasingly common. In fact, some schools are phasing out their scholarships in favour of more bursaries (and so demonstrating how they are broadening access). However, your child will still have to show academic prowess to get a bursary. It's not a backdoor route into the school.

Start by looking online. The Independent Schools Council has a a very good "Parents zone" which offers a wide range of information. It also offers a free information and advice service, called ISCias, which can be contacted on 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657) or at information@isc.co.uk. More than one in three pupils at ISC schools receives assistance with fee costs, and four out of five of these awards come directly from the school itself. Most ISC schools offer bursaries, scholarships or both, and pupils can be awarded a scholarship covering part of the fees, and still apply for a bursary to cover more.

Other useful websites to look at include the Girls Schools Association and also the ISBA (the Independent School Bursars Organisation). You should also look up the website of any schools you are thinking of applying to, and not be scared of ringing for more information.

When it comes to applying for a bursary, be prepared for close scrutiny. This is not something for those who are shy or sensitive about revealing their wealth. In the past, the assisted places scheme was based purely on income, but schools now run their bursary systems in an entirely different way. Each case is usually looked at on an individual basis.

Schools may take into account:
Income
Pensions
Tax and national insurance paid out
Any rent or mortgage that is paid
The value of your property
Other assets and liabilities

Everything will be calculated to see if you qualify for help. It might be that, although your income is low, you have a property with no mortgage. That means your bursary application may get turned down - the school could feel that you should take out a mortgage and pay the fees instead.

Applications will also be checked each year - so if you or your partner have a child on a bursary and then get a much higher paying job, the school may cut its grant.

"It's always worth ringing up and talking about it," says Caroline Gainey, the fees accountant at Cheltenham Ladies College, which has 50 of its 870 girls on bursaries. "We're so limited with the bursary funds we have, we always want to make the right decisions, and there are no set criteria. But we're always there to talk about it. What you have to do is ask."

Bursaries can cover anything from 10 to 100 percent of the school fees. This is important to remember, as, although a 50 percent bursary may sound like a great thing, it means that you still have to stump up your own 50 percent - out of taxed income.

Many schools offer bursaries based on a particular talent. Cheltenham Ladies College, for example, offer awards based on art, music and sport (from Year 9), as well as academic ability. However, standards are high. On music, for example, the school tends to advise that the child should be up to Grade 5 standard on one instrument (with the caveat that if she shows "great promise" this might be enough). 

As well as specific school bursaries and scholarships, there is another way to get help. The Educational Trusts Forum offers information about the very wide variety of organisations which provide grants for a whole variety of reasons. It also offers an advice line each morning (05601 503 524).

The grants are really wide-ranging, including those from the Girls' Day School Trust (which mentions on its website that awards are usually for those whose family income is less than £16,500 pa), those based on geographical location, for children whose parents have worked in the textile industry and for the children "of Scottish Servicemen and Women and the children of poor Scots residing in London".

There are also awards for military personnel (HM forces bursaries), clergy, siblings of pupils already in the school, and teachers’ family bursaries (for children of those teaching in the school itself).

Good luck!

Read more from the Times - how a public school bursary can change your child - and from Body and Soul, It's a good school, but is it right for your child?

And read School Gate on:

Choosing to go private

How to know if your private school risk closing...

What to say in an interview for a private school

Are school fees the best contraceptive?

The real cost of the rise in private school fees

Applying for primary school - what you need to know

How to get your child into the secondary school of your choice

Comments

[Poppy's mum]

Very interesting, but quite depressing too.

It confirms that my children will never get the chance to go to a private school.

[Whimsey]

It's completely ridiculous that private education has to cost so much. Yes, there are some parents who want all the 'fancy stuff' - the fab facilities and the vast playing fields and all the lates hi tech equipment in the labs etc etc.
And for them, that's what they're paying for.

But there's a whole section of society who simply want to take their children OUT of state education because for them it has failed their childrern. They are not opting IN to private education - they are opting OUT of state education, in despair and distrust.

For them, all they want is a 'basic school' which provides decent facilities (no graffiti or unpainted walls etc), access to enough space to provide physicial exercise, whether that is owned by the school or using public facilities, good teachers who are not dispirited and broken by decades of survival-tactics in state schools, and, of course, enough teachers to ensure the teacher-child ratio is sufficient for the children (survey after survey shows that low class size is always regarded as a key advantage of private education cf state).

And, most of all, they want a regime which can deselect children as to their behaviour. Whether the school is academically selective or not is not the prime issue - the prime issue is you want your children to go to a school where they will be expected to pay attention in lessons, and disruptive behaviour is not tolerated, nor is rudeness, bullying, swearing, fighting, etc etc etc. Children who are badly behaved are expelled, end of story. They EARN their place in the school.

And that sort of school does NOT need all the fancy trimmings that the traditional private schools seem obliged to offer to parents.

Why these 'basic' private schools do not exist is a mystery to me. I had heard the Chris Woodhead was involved in one 'low-cost' private edcuation company, but if so, it's pretty low profile!

[Whimsey]

Of course, what we really need in the UK is not free state schooling, but education 'vouchers' - I believe the per capita for each pupil at a state school is something like £6,000 (varies with age). If parents had an annual voucher to that amount to use as they wanted, where they wanted, private education would be a lot more affordable. And state schools would finally have to do something about the quality of education and social environment they offer in order to attract that spend.

But, as usual, they will continue to be hamstrung by a governemtn that refuses them to expel, swiftly and cheaply, for bad pupil behaviour.

[j]

"Why these 'basic' private schools do not exist is a mystery to me. I had heard the Chris Woodhead was involved in one 'low-cost' private edcuation company, but if so, it's pretty low profile!"

But they do, Whimsey. My son attends exactly such a school.

low cost, ex grammar, classes of 30, traditional curriculum, top of all the league tables.

[Rachel's mum]

My children both went to a state school up to age 16 and both did extremely well in GCSE'S. The older one wanted to study six A Levels and the only school that could offer him all these subjects was a private school. He gained the maximum academic scholarship to go but was only able to attend with the help of the Ogden trust. I feel he would have done just as well at the state school although the number of subjects he could study was limited to four. My daughter is now studying her A Levels at the state school and is happy that the school was able to offer her the subjects she wanted. At the school she is also able to continue to play her favorite sport, do an enrichment activity and charity work. At the private school my son was able to study all the subjects he wanted although the extra curricular activities changed every term and his favorite sport of football was unavailable. So you need to look at everything that the school offers. You might be surpised at what some of the state schools are now able to offer. It really depends on your child's abilities and interests and as everyone knows every child is unique.

[Whimsey]

J, that's great - then my only comment is 'more more!'

[Arthur T]

The idea of the private school is to allow parents to give their kids the best chance at life. Unfortunatly state schools have so many complete idiots who don't want to be there and destroy education for the rest.

I am in a position to make a fair comment here but kids at a private school, sit down, listen and learn and have respect for their teachers and peers. In state schools I have seen teacher spent an entire period just trying to get them to sit down!

Modern day society is to blame - all schools could be good if only parents would take the time to try and teach their children some manners and how to be civil.

[Bluecat]

J - I would love to know where this school is and if it's part of some sort of consortium ie is there one near me?!!?

[Joanna]

Whimsey is absolutely right - lots of parents are not opting IN to private, but are opting OUT of state education, us included. Our primary school is very white middle class and in an affluent area, and frankly the more I see the more disappointed I become. Eight year olds use the f word in the playground and the headteacher cannot be bothered to even acknowledge my letter of complaint, my 8 year old's teacher cannot spell, the school do not put on a Christmas nativity for fear of offending people, my year 6 child is not academically stretched as he has already reached the required standard, etc etc. Our local comprehensive has an outstanding ofsted report however, it has over 1700 pupils (at the open day the deputy head insisted to me he gets to know EACH AND EVERY ONE of them!!), no playing fields as they've all been built on, some of the school girls coming out at 2pm are appallingly turned out (school finishes early as due to the no. of pupils and fact that there is nowhere to go they only get 15 mins for lunch). This is the one of the better schools. No doubt plenty of pupils sail through the state system and do well, but it is a lottery. We will be stretching ourselves to the limit in sending our 2 sons private when they are 11. What are we hoping to achieve? The best they can do academically, to be articulate and well spoken (no dropped 'h's' etc), to have self esteem and confidence (just as important as exam results), to have standards - in their choice of friends and their leisure activities, to spend the next 7 years in nice surroundings and a sensible environment which puts common sense before being politically correct. Show me a state school that can offer this.

[Kay]

Both my children go private. The greatest benefit I believe is the discipline and the small class sizes so to allow the child to have more one on one time.

If I had a choice of good state schools nearby then I would have considered but unfortunately there was no option. By this I mean, I will not allow my children to attend a school where the majority of children to not speak English as a first language. So why should by children miss out.

If you can afford it, I would say that it's the best thing you can do for your child.

[Cerise]

Is it me or is Joanna a horrendous snob???
My God. No dropped h's. Is that what you think matter in life?!

[Anne]

I think Joanna is being fair. Never mind about the dropped h, and 'tt' etc.

My local primary school is in a poor/deprived/severely disadvantaged/heard to reach (chose which one, the local children's services use all of them indiscriminately) predominantly "white" area in which I currently live.

Similar problems: use of all sorts of swear words. Staff cannot be bothered to acknowledge any letters because they are forever dealing with “more pressing issues” such as child protection cases, police and social services than to have the time of day to address my so-called (and I quote) "benign concerns". The school does not put on a Christmas nativity for fear of offending people, but to be fair, they do not put on any plays at all because it involves too much effort. Yes, I do know this for sure - I was on the PTA committee. I suggested a school photo, school plays, fetes to raise funds, suggestions to the LA for improvement (all of which fell onto deaf ears) etc but was accused of living in cloud cuckoo land. "Just what school do you think this is? (whole sentence sic - it doesn't make sense does it?). (name of private) school?"

All the hard work I did in terms of fundraising, was always met by the rest of the PTA with a "why do you even bother? It's a lost cause."

Many of the teachers and children cannot spell nor articulate properly (not that I'm claiming to be perfect myself, but then again, I'm not a "professional"), and have no self-respect for themselves nor for others. There is no motivation from anyone to do anything. No playing fields, no extra curriculum, everything operates to the lowest common denominator. Bullying is rife and so common place that parents eventually (even myself) gave up on reporting incidents because it only made matters worse.

My children have escaped this nightmare thanks to a kind and generous relative who is stumping up the private school fees. Without going into details, on picking up/collecting my daughter from this school, this relative was witness to an incident at the school which involved police, social services and the ambulance service. Enough said.

My neighbour said something very similar to "poppy's mum" and wishes that her children too, could go to the private school, but they know they are stuck. The only way out is to either move house into the catchment area of a "good" state school (which in itself is not easy to do) or go private (little hope there unfortunately).

It's not about snobbism. It is about child protection and protecting your child from harm and from witnessing bad influences. How anyone can claim that my local state primary school is best for my child (let alone for any child) beggars belief. I even challenged my local MPs to send their child(ren) to this local primary school. And guess what? They completely ignored my request. They did not even acknowledge it, which just about sums up the whole situation here. No one wants to face up to the reality that some primary schools are in dire straits, but no-one cares. Many pretend to care, and just like many who make comments on this website, procrastinate but in the final analysis, there is no action. Just like some of the comments here, parents who dare speak out and spell out the current crisis of state education in certain state primary schools, are browbeaten into silence, and so nothing is done to improve the situation.

[M]

Chris Woodhead is head of Cognita (although he has motor neurone disease now). I wouldn't say it is low cost though.

Private schools are probably better in lots of ways, but if your child has a "special need", they aren't exactly over accommodating. And the teachers don't get the extra training that the state schools get. My sons' school are a bit stuck in the 1950s, which is fine in some respects, but we do all have to function in today's world, not the past. And all political correctness means is that you aren't racist, sexist, ageist etc. What's wrong with that? Isn't that just about being kind to others and being more humane?

[Shan Morgain]

I agree that it's less a matter of opting INTo private eduxcation more about opting OUT of state education. As the Head of one of the UK "internet schools" I've noticed a burst of interest lately from families who were previously at an ordinary private school.

I think the tough economic situation is prompting parents to REALLY look for value for money. To these families we are apparently much cheaper but still provide the vital thing: a good education.
I wish we could help more families as we're just a small school. But if we expand it'll just be mass education again so we have to keep it small.

It all started because our own son needed a small learning community so we made him one (we're both teachers and online educators). He's now finished the school got his GCSEs and off to A Level college together with his classmates all over the country (and some outside the UK).

Meanwhile we're still looking after the other students. It's VERY hard work - the classes are very lively! and many need firm pushing to bring out the best especially if they come from state schools. But oh so worth it. Son now says his ambition is to "take over the family business after university."