The Senior School: Scholarships & Bursaries
The Royal High School offers two types of financial assistance to students of exceptional ability and promise: Scholarships and Bursaries.
SCHOLARSHIPS: ACADEMIC and SPECIALIST
Scholarships are made, irrespective of parents’ financial situation at the entry points of Year 7 (11+) and Year 9 (13+) and at entry/transfer into the Sixth Form. These are awarded for all-round academic excellence and for outstanding promise in a specialist area.
Academic Scholarships are usually worth up to 15% of a scholar’s day fees. Awards are granted solely on merit as the result of a competitive assessment process. Applicants who are likely to require a larger fee reduction should also apply for a means-tested bursary prior to the entrance examination. Applicants may apply for any combination of Academic, Art, Drama, Music and/or Sports Scholarships available to her year group.
Specialist Scholarships are usually worth up to 10% of day fees.
All awards are retained to the end of Sixth Form and are reviewed at regular intervals. Ongoing commitment to an individual’s area of specialism is a requirement of the continuation of a Specialist Scholarship. Scholarships can be withdrawn.Year 7 (11+) Scholarships:
Academic; Art; Drama; Music (including Choral); Sport (excluding dance)
Academic Scholarships are made to those who demonstrate exceptional intellectual potential in our Year 7 Entrance Assessments (English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning). Year 6 students from The Royal igh Junior School take the same papers as transfer assessments. Scholarships are open both to girls from The Royal High Junior School and to those applying from other schools. Specialist awards are made to internal and/or external candidates who demonstrate outstanding ability in art, music, drama and sport. Decisions are made on the basis of an audition/practical or on the presentation of a portfolio of work. This takes place during the week commencing 9th January 2012.
Assessments are taken and awards made in January of the year of entry.
The deadline for 11+ Specialist Scholarship applications is Friday 25th November 2011.
Year 9 (13+) Scholarships:
Academic; Music (including Choral); Sport (excluding dance)
Academic Scholarships are made to those who demonstrate exceptional intellectual potential in our Year 9/13+ Entrance Papers (English, Mathematics, Science & a language – French, Spanish, German or Latin). Candidates will be invited for a further assessment day of observed lessons.
Music and Sports Awards will be made on the basis of an audition/practical and are available to new entrants to the school at Year 9/13+ only. The Assessment Day for Academic, Music and Sport Scholarships takes place on Friday 3rd February 2012; scholarships will be offered by the end of the Spring Term.
Guidelines for Specialist Scholarship Applications:
Art:
An award for art is unlikely to be made unless the applicant can provide evidence of sustained, independent and varied work of an exceptional standard. Candidates may be expected to discuss their work with members of the Art Department.
Drama:
Scholarships will be made to applicants who can demonstrate both outstanding potential and commitment. It is likely that they will be members of theatre groups outside school, and/or that they will have taken Speech and Drama lessons and LAMDA or Guildhall examinations. Sixth Form scholarship holders will be expected to take a leadership role within the department.
Music:
Scholarships are awarded at Year 7 to applicants with at least Grade 3 with merit or distinction for main instrument/voice. Year 9 applicants are expected to have achieved Grade 5 for their main instrument/voice and have a proven track record as a member of musical ensembles at school. We would normally expect recipients of this award to take Music at GCSE level. Sixth Form Scholarships will be awarded to applicants with at least Grade 7 with merit or distinction for main instrument/voice. (It is unlikely that an Award will be made to an applicant with only one instrument to offer.) They will be expected to take a leadership role in our ensembles. All Music Scholars will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to extra-curricular music making at The Royal High School.
All scholarship applicants will be asked to perform a piece on each instrument/voice. Aural tests and sight reading will also be included.
Sport:
At 11+, applicants will demonstrate outstanding promise in a chosen sport or sports and will already be attending and competing at club-level. Applicants will be asked to participate within a practical session (a PE lesson or lunchtime club session) and may be asked to participate in fitness testing. Applicants are expected to play an active and supportive role towards school sports teams and in representing the school. At 13+, applicants will demonstrate exceptional potential in one or more sports. Selected candidates are likely to be at county or regional level in their sport, regular club players/athletes and excellent role models. For Sixth Form applicants, exceptional performance in one or more sports will be at senior club level or higher and applicants will be expected to continue their commitment to representing the school in major competitions in addition to supporting the PE department through running a club for younger students. Applicants for sports scholarships at all years should be positive role models, participating in Physical Education with passion and pride whilst acting as an ambassador for the PE department.
NB: The school’s internal athlete support mentoring system is available for all scholarship candidates, to support their development and potential in their sport(s).
BURSARIES
Means-tested awards (up to 100% of fees) are given at Year 7, Year 9 and for entry into the Sixth Form to students who demonstrate outstanding all-round academic ability. In order for their daughters to qualify for a financial award, parents must also complete an assessment of income and assets in order to establish their financial need. Forms are available from The Royal High School, and the assessment is undertaken by
the Finance Department at the GDST's Head Office in London. Bursaries are reviewed annually.
The deadlines for receiving applications for bursaries to GDST London are:
Year 7 - 25th November 2011; Year 12 - 24th October 2011; Year 9 - 16th January 2012
For further details please contact The Registrar, Lynda Bevan, at The Royal High School, Tel 01225 313877, Fax 01225 465446, E-Mail: l.bevan@bat.gdst.net
HM Forces Discount
We are delighted to give daughters of Service families a 10% discount off the full boarding fees as practical demonstration of the school's historical links with the Army. If a student holds a bursary or a scholarship whose value is les than 10% of the boarding fees, it will be made up to 10%. If it exceeds 10% of the boarding fees, no discount will be allowed.
Transfer from GDST Schools
For girls already within other Trust schools, priority over external applicants will be given, subject to satisfactory recommendation from the Head of the transferring school, and if deemed necessary, the achievement of a satisfactory standard in an entrance assessment or examination. For those for whom a boarding need arises, and who would like to transfer their daughter to The Royal High School, special terms are available including a uniform allowance, and the transfer of any award or bursary. Please ask the Registrar for further information.
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