Alleyn Court Preparatory School

The Trustees of Alleyn Court Preparatory School are committed to broadening access to the school by offering to eligible parents/guardians means-tested financial support with the payment of schools fees. Such support is known as a bursary and bursaries may be awarded in the form of a discount on tuition fees payable, depending on the financial, compassionate or other pertinent circumstances of applicants.

Bursary awards are subject to repeat testing of parental means each year and may be varied upwards or downwards, depending on parental circumstances. Awards are made on the basis of the confidential Alleyn Court Preparatory School scale of awards which sets out award levels in relation to a family's financial circumstances. This confidential scale of awards is reviewed and revised annually by the Bursar, and Bursary Administration Ltd, to reflect any changes in fee costs. Though awards are generally tied to this scale, they may be varied upwards or downwards depending on individual parents'/guardians' circumstances (e.g. their savings, investments and realisable assets as well as their income, the size of their family, any other persons dependent upon them and like factors), compassionate or other pertinent considerations.

Requests for financial support usually fall into two categories:
• New applicants to the school where a place has been offered but parents/guardians are unable to fund the tuition fees.
• Existing pupils where a change in parents'/guardians' circumstances has resulted in difficulty in meeting tuition fees and may result in the child being withdrawn part way through a stage of education.

The Application Process.
Bursaries may be made available to parents/guardians of children entering Reception Year and above, full-time, at Alleyn Court Preparatory School. They are awarded at the discretion of the Trustees and the Head and Bursar are responsible for the management and coordination of the process.
• Step one - parents/guardians seeking a bursary are required to complete an application form which seeks to establish the financial circumstances of the household. The form, which requests details of income and capital, may be requested from the Bursar and must be accompanied by full documentary evidence. The completed forms, together with the necessary documentary evidence, are to be submitted to the bursar no later than the 31st January in any year for bursaries to start the following September.
• Step two - All applications are then externally assessed by Bursary Administration Ltd in order to establish the likely level of support which will be required in order to allow the child to attend the school. This involves a representative from Bursary Administration Ltd visiting the parents'/guardians' home to ensure the information has been correctly interpreted and the basis of the financial assessment has been fair.
• Step three - A recommendation, in accordance with the Alleyn Court Preparatory School confidential scale of awards, is then issued to the school which is considered with the Head and a joint recommendation is then reached.
• Step four - the joint recommendation is presented to the Chairman & Finance Trustee for approval.
• Step five – By the end of April. The parents/guardians are advised whether their child is to be offered a bursary for the following Autumn term.

Annual Review

All bursary awards are subject to repeat testing of parental means and may be varied upwards or downwards depending on parental circumstances.  Current bursary holders will be issued with “Change of Circumstances Declaration Form” each January for return by the end of the month. For those previously in receipt of bursaries, the Head and Bursar, in making their joint recommendation to the Trustees, have the discretion to recommend to the Trustees the reduction or withdrawal of an award not only where a pupil's progress, attitude or behaviour has been unsatisfactory but also where the parents/guardians have failed to support the school, for example by the late payment of any contribution they are making to the fees. 

Confidentiality

The school respects the confidentiality of bursary awards made to families and recipients are expected to do likewise. The calculation matrix used, along with the processed and outcome data generated during the application process, remains confidential property of the school and will not be disclosed to the applicant or any party outside of the application process, at any time.

For more information please contact Mrs Cain by email;

registrar@alleyn-court.co.uk