School Bursaries & Scholarships
As of 2010/11, a total of 164,105 pupils at ISC schools (33.2%) receive help with their fees. The majority of these pupils – 138,975 - receive scholarships or bursaries from their school. The value of this help totals more than £660 million per year. More than 80% of total fee assistance comes directly from the schools themselves: ISC schools provided more than £550 million of assistance with fees in the academic year 2010/11. Schools gave approximately twice as much assistance in the form of bursaries as they did in scholarships. Over £260 million of assistance was in the form of means-tested bursaries.
Contributions to fees ranked by total value of assistance:
| Source |
Number of
pupils |
Average help received
by a pupil (per term) |
% of pupils
receiving help |
Total value of
fee assistance
(annual) |
The School: Means Testing
|
39,308 |
£2,207 |
7.76 |
£260,297,584 |
The School: Reduction of fees – Excellence or Performance
|
46,580 |
£1,014 |
9.20 |
£141,640,061 |
The School: Reduction of fees – Eligibility**
|
62,737 |
£796 |
12.39 |
£149,891,184 |
Early Years Funding
|
24,516 |
£617 |
4.84 |
£45,376,565 |
Government Music and Dance Scheme
|
1,114 |
£7,268 |
0.22 |
£24,288,859 |
Local Education Authorities*
|
1,617 |
£4,774 |
0.33 |
£23,158,829 |
| All other sources |
3,346 |
£1,822 |
0.66 |
£18,289,110 |
Total*
|
164,105 |
£1,347 |
33.22 |
£662,942,192 |
* Excludes data for schools in the Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
** Includes HM Forces discounts, staff discounts, sibling discounts and clergy discounts
The increasing number of children receiving help with fees from schools is a trend that began in the recession of the early 1990s as more families needed bursaries to enable pupils at crucial examination stages to remain at the school. It has been boosted in recent years as schools have provided more financial help to compensate for the loss of Government Assisted Places