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Bursaries

Shrewsbury School crest

An outstanding education has the power to transform lives and open doors. At Shrewsbury School our goal is to increase access to pupils regardless of their circumstance.

We firmly believe that Shrewsbury School should be accessible to all talented pupils, irrespective of parental income, and any prospective pupil is eligible to apply. 

Each year Shrewsbury awards scholarships and bursaries to help fund the fees of talented pupils who will benefit from the educational opportunities offered by the School.  The provision of education is the primary charitable object of the School and our grant-making policy aims to improve access to the School for those who would not otherwise be able to enjoy a Shrewsbury education.

The School's policy is to make awards on the basis of the applicant's educational ability and his or her family's ability to pay, subject to the particular conditions imposed by the original donor, where the award is taken from restricted funds.

During 2020-21 the School awarded scholarships worth £3.9m of which £2.7m were means tested. The total remission figure was 14.5% of gross fee income.

Bursary Support

Bursary support is available either for new applicants to the School, or for existing pupils whose circumstances have changed.  This is subject to rigorous testing of financial need and limited by the overall bursaries budget.

Individual awards will be dependent on the level of financial need identified. Where the demand exceeds the number of bursaries available, bursary funds will be directed to those pupils who are identified as having potential to benefit most from the opportunities Shrewsbury has to offer, and will be able to contribute to the life of the School with reference to performance in the Entrance Assessments.

Grant-making process

Parents should contact the Director of Admissions to any potential bursary requirement during the admissions process. Parents can then request the relevant forms from either the Director of Admissions or the Bursar.

The Bursar will review applications to assess the level of financial need.  This will usually involve a telephone conversation or meeting to clarify any ambiguities on the form.

Where financial need is established, applications will be discussed at a termly Bursaries Committee meeting and grants will be made based on the potential of pupils and the available bursaries budget.  The Headmaster chairs this committee.

Parents will be notified of the results of their bursary application; whether successful or unsuccessful.

To enable the School to stick to its cost plans, bursary applications should be made well in advance of the start of the academic year.  The School budget is fixed during the preceding Summer Term.

Bursaries will not be applied retrospectively, and only in exceptional circumstances during the academic year.

Principles applied to means-testing

The ultimate obligation to finance school fees lies with the parents of pupils.  Financial support in the form of a means-tested bursary will only be considered after all other avenues for financing school fees have been exhausted.

All applicants must supply a completed Confidential Statement of Financial Circumstances (a standard form produced by the Independent Schools' Bursars Association).  No means-tested application will proceed until this form has been completed.

Factors taken into consideration when assessing a family's financial situation include:

  • Opportunities to release capital either through increased mortgages or sale of investments.
  • The ability to improve the earning power of the family.  Both partners would be expected to be earning where possible.
  • Commitments to the education of other siblings will be taken into account, but where a family has children at other fee-paying schools, Shrewsbury expects parents to have made bursary applications to the other schools as well.
  • The School would anticipate that applicants have asked their extended family for support before requesting a means tested grant.
  • The financial circumstances of both natural parents will need to be reviewed.  In the case of re-marriage the application should include the step parent's financial information.  The obligation of the step parent to his or her natural children will be taken into account.
  • Where families are based locally, we would expect parents to consider the option of day houses where boarding is beyond their means. 

As financial circumstances can change during a five-year period, all awards are subject to annual review.  If there is no material change, awards offered will remain at the same level throughout a pupil's time at the School.

Scholarships

The School offers a range of scholarships for pupils of outstanding academic, musical, sporting, artistic or all-round potential.  These are awarded on the basis of examination and assessment.  Awards cover both third form and sixth form entrants. Click here for more detail. 

The fee remission associated with scholarships is not means-dependent, but recipients will be asked to consider giving up the financial aspect of the award where it is not required.

In cases of financial hardship, the remission associated with scholarships can be augmented. However this element of the award would be subject to means-testing.

Conditions of awards

Bursary and Scholarship awards are conditional upon the recipient playing a full and active part in the life of the School.

Funding of Bursaries and Scholarships

Scholarships and Bursaries are funded from charitable donations, commercial activities, modest income from the School's endowed funds, and from School fee income. In addition to the non-fee sources of funding, the School believes that 5% of gross fee income is an appropriate amount to spend on bursaries and scholarships.

Each year the School sets a budget for bursaries and scholarships, based on anticipated sources of funding. Only in exceptional circumstances will the School exceed this limit.