Finding a Scholarship to the School of Your Choice

Education is often at the top of a parents list from when their children are born right up to their late teen years, and most of the time it is the costs that are keeping mums and dads awake at night.

But it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Around one fifth of children are eligible for financial assistance to pay for school fees, many of which are awarded scholarships or bursaries. These scholarships, or 'exhibitions' as they are sometimes referred to as, are usually reserved for those children with exceptional talent - typically in music or a similar art form.

Grab-a-Grant

The majority of this type of funding is supplied to students attending secondary schools and even though there are a handful of scholarships available to primary school children, these are very rare.

The process of receiving a scholarship of bursary of this kind usually involves a competitive examination in the specific talent field, and the funding available does fluctuate in size rarely covering the schools fees.

Some schools in the UK have now also look at the parents means before awarding bursaries or scholarships to potential students. This is because the funding is only enough to cover around 50 per cent of the fees and the parents are eligible to contribute the outstanding amount.

If you don't want to place extra pressure on your child by making them sit an exam in order to qualify for a scholarship, you could apply for a bursary if your school offers one. These are sometimes awarded to children whose parents fall into a particular category, such as teachers or the armed forces.

Grant Eligibility Finder

Tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application.

Try our Grant Eligibility Finder free, here on this site →

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Government Help

The government has also stepped up to the challenge of giving children a better education, and is offering more financial to those from low and middle income families. The aim of this funding is to get more children to aim for university education. It is becoming increasingly necessary for children to gain a degree as it opens many doors to them as far as a career goes.

So, with this in mind, the government previously offered grants to eligible students, but maintenance grants were abolished for new students in England from 2016/17 and replaced with increased maintenance loans.

It is estimated that by gaining a degree most students will enter the working world almost £30,000 in debt, and for those from low-income families, this burden of debt can be tough. The government have realised, especially recently, that many youngsters are put off going on to study at university because of the financial worry and have introduced this grant system as a way of helping these people into higher education.

And they haven't stopped there. Since 1998, students have been able to take out loans for tuition fees, only having to start repaying once they have left and are earning over a certain amount.

The five-year repayment holiday that was announced for students starting in 2008/09 was never implemented. It was reduced to two years in 2009 and then scrapped entirely before coming into force.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Grant Eligibility Finder lets you tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application. Try it now →