What Is a Bursary? How Private School Bursaries and Scholarships Work

A bursary is a grant from an independent school that lets a pupil take up a place the family could not otherwise afford, and it is means-tested: the school assesses the family's income and assets. It differs from a scholarship, which rewards a child's academic or other ability and is not usually means-tested, though a school can award both to the same pupil. For a family in England with a child in Year 4, 5 or 6 considering an independent school place, understanding this distinction shapes which forms to complete, when to register, and what financial evidence a school's bursary office will expect alongside the entrance assessment.

Every school that offers bursaries publishes its own income guidance, application process and deadlines, so the practical task is identifying which schools' published criteria fit the family's circumstances and registering early enough to meet each one's separate bursary deadline, which typically falls before the entrance exam itself.

How does a bursary differ from a scholarship?

Christ's Hospital draws the distinction plainly: bursaries are given based on need, whereas scholarships reward high achievement in, for example, academic work, music, sport, art or drama. A bursary applicant is assessed on the family's financial circumstances, while a scholarship is judged on the child's demonstrated ability, and the two processes run separately even when a family applies for both at the same school.

Where a school makes both awards to the same pupil, the two do not always add together. At Christ's Hospital, a scholarship awarded alongside a bursary tends to be honorary, recognising the achievement without adding a further financial award on top. Westminster School absorbs the monetary value of a Music or King's Scholarship within the pupil's bursary, so a music award, worth 10% of the day fee, sits inside a means-tested bursary that can already reach the full day fee, not added to it. St Paul's School publishes its scholarship awards as fixed annual sums, separate from its means-tested bursaries, while Dulwich College allows a scholarship in addition to a bursary, with the two together capped at 100% of tuition fees.

Who qualifies for a bursary?

Qualification turns on household income and, at most schools, on savings and other assets, and each school sets its own thresholds; no shared national scale applies. The table below sets out the specific figures each school currently publishes. In broad terms, an upper income ceiling marks the point above which a bursary becomes unlikely, while a lower income band can qualify a family for a much larger award, in some cases close to the full fee.

St Paul's School and St Paul's Girls' School both publish a gross household income threshold and weigh capital, such as savings, alongside income, and St Paul's School also applies a net assets ceiling and an allowance for each dependent child in the family. Dulwich College's guide criteria cover combined gross income, savings, owning no more than one residential property, and living within about 50 minutes' travel of the school. Latymer Upper School publishes separate indicators for a full bursary and a partial one, and Manchester Grammar School sets an income level above which no assistance is given and a lower level below which fees are remitted in full, reviewing family income annually. King's College School Wimbledon does not link its awards to a published income scale, and Eton College publishes no income figure at all, though both still assess each family's means individually.

How much can a bursary cover, and how many pupils receive one?

A bursary can cover anywhere from a small proportion of the fee to the whole of it, depending on the school and the family's assessed means. St Paul's School makes awards from 2% to 100% of tuition fees, St Paul's Girls' School from 5% of the fee upwards, Latymer Upper School from 25% to 100%, and Eton College from 5% to 100%. Dulwich College and King's College School Wimbledon can each award up to 100% of fees, and Westminster School's means-tested bursaries can reach 100% of day fees for day pupils; boarding bursaries at Westminster are awarded only alongside a King's Scholarship, and parents must live inside the M25.

Across schools belonging to the Independent Schools Council, 36,676 pupils hold a means-tested bursary, 7.0% of the total pupil population, and fee assistance of any kind, bursaries and scholarships combined, reaches 34.9% of pupils. Just over half of bursary recipients, 50.9%, have more than half their fees remitted, including 19.2% who pay nothing at all, and 7,042 pupils attend an ISC school entirely free of charge because of a means-tested bursary. At Christ's Hospital, means-tested bursaries go to 650 of the school's 900 pupils.

How do you apply for a bursary?

Applying starts alongside registration for the entrance assessment, and the school's financial assessment follows once the family has said it will apply.

Bursary deadlines usually sit at or before the school's general registration deadline, and often before the entrance exam itself. King's College School Wimbledon fixes its bursary deadline ahead of the date the child sits the entrance exam, Latymer Upper School sets the same deadline for the bursary application as for registration, Dulwich College sends its bursary form out in early November for return by the end of that month, and St Paul's Girls' School asks for the completed form in early January for Year 7 entry.

• Register for the entrance assessment and flag the bursary application at the same time.
• Complete the school's financial assessment form with documentary evidence such as tax returns or company accounts; King's College School Wimbledon asks self-employed applicants for their latest accounts or tax return, and Eton College requires full documentary evidence of borrowings, income and expenditure.
• The assessment is often carried out by an independent administrator, not the school: Dulwich College and Latymer Upper School use an external assessment company, and King's College School Wimbledon and Eton College both use Bursary Administration Ltd.
• The process often includes a visit, whether at home, virtually or by telephone: King's College School Wimbledon will usually ask to visit the family at home, St Paul's Girls' School may send the Bursar and a senior member of staff, Westminster School's visit may be physical or virtual, and Eton College uses a home or telephone visit.
• If successful, the bursary is confirmed alongside the offer of a place.
• The award is reviewed every year, not fixed for the child's whole time at the school: St Paul's Girls' School asks for a new financial form annually, Dulwich College reviews awards in the summer term, Eton College reviews each spring, and Westminster School, King's College School Wimbledon and Christ's Hospital all carry out an annual review.

Does the entrance exam decide the bursary award?

A bursary is assessed separately from the entrance exam, once a child has already met the school's normal academic standard for entry. St Paul's School conducts its bursary assessment independently of the academic selection process, but only after an applicant has met the academic entrance criteria, and Latymer Upper School likewise requires bursary applicants to meet the same academic requirements as any other candidate before the financial application is considered.

King's College School Wimbledon offers places on academic merit alone, so a bursary application has no bearing on whether a place is offered in the first place. At St Paul's Girls' School, the visit that forms part of the financial assessment plays no part in the selection decision. Westminster School completes the second stage of its bursary assessment once a candidate's ISEB results are known, and continuing to hold the bursary in later years depends on satisfactory academic performance.

What does VAT on school fees mean for a bursary?

VAT applies to the whole fee a school charges for a child's education, covering both the part a family pays itself and any part met by a bursary. Education and boarding services provided by a private school are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%, and HMRC guidance confirms that a school must account for VAT on the total fee charged for a place, even where that fee is met partly by the parent and partly by a bursary.

Where a bursary is the school reducing what it charges from its own funds, HMRC treats that payment as outside the scope of VAT. The Department for Education has said it does not expect the change to have a significant effect on bursaries across the sector in general, though the effect on any one family depends on that school's own fee and bursary structure.

Why do independent schools offer bursaries?

Most independent schools are registered charities, and a charity must operate for the public benefit. The Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit states that the level of provision trustees make for the poor must be more than minimal or token.

The Upper Tribunal has set out factors relevant to deciding whether a fee-charging charitable school makes appropriate provision for the poor to benefit, and means-tested bursaries are one of the ways a school can make that provision.

What should a family do next?

The practical next step is registering the child for the school's entrance assessment while indicating an intention to apply for a bursary, since most bursary deadlines fall at or before the general registration deadline. Alongside that, a family should start gathering documentary evidence of income and assets, such as tax returns or business accounts, since several schools ask for this before they process a bursary application.

Because a bursary depends on meeting the same academic entrance standard as any other candidate, preparing the child for the entrance assessment itself matters as much as the financial paperwork; contacting the school's bursar or admissions office directly is also worthwhile, since each school sets its own criteria, deadlines and assessment process, and only that office can confirm what a particular family's circumstances are likely to mean in practice.

Related guides

• Scholarship exam preparation: a complete guide
• Independent school fees compared
• Boarding schools in the UK
• Best private schools in the UK and London by A level results
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• ISEB Common Pre-Test guide

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