Information about boarding school fees and the financial assistance available
When choosing a UK boarding school for your child, you will need to
take into account the fees a school charges. The cost of a UK boarding education may initially appear high, but when you take into account the quality of the teaching, the small classes, the high level of care and supervision, the good accommodation and food, the excellent academic and sports facilities, and the numerous extracurricular activities, it represents a very cost-effective package.
School fees
Fees vary widely from school to school. The 2016 Independent Schools Council (ISC) Annual Census revealed that the average boarding fees per term for pupils at ISC-member senior boarding schools was £10,217, with day fees at £6,104. ISC-member prep boarding school fees are a little less, at an average of £7,572 per term for boarders and £4,590 per term for day pupils. The average boarding fee across the prep, senior and sixth-form age groups at ISC-member schools was £10,317.
Fees are payable in advance and overseas account holders may be required to give a substantial deposit, generally one term’s fees. Fees are charged per term – invoices are sent out before the beginning of term, and the fees should be paid in full by the first day of term. Many schools offer a variety of payment methods, ranging from lump-sum payments to monthly direct debit. All schools require at least one term’s notice of withdrawal of a child, otherwise another term’s fees may be payable.
Fees will usually include tuition and most recreational activities, accommodation and food. Fees may also include basic laundry and textbooks, but uniforms will not usually be included. ‘Extras’ will be put on the bill for the next term, so be sure to find out what these may be before you incur additional expenses. Likely extras could be private music lessons, horse riding, dry cleaning and outings, such as theatre trips. Average annual fee increases have been in the region of 5–6% in recent years, but from 2015 to 2016 the rise was 3.5%, which is the lowest annual fee rise since 1994. This demonstrates the commitment of ISC schools to keep fee rises as low as possible in recognition of the challenging economic climate faced by parents.
Financial assistance
The 2016 ISC Census revealed that 30.9% of pupils in ISC schools (167,798 pupils in total) received some sort of assistance with fees and that four out of five of those received assistance direct from the school. There are various trusts that may help with fees, but under stringent conditions and usually only in special circumstances.
|
|
|
Scholarships
Many senior schools and a few preparatory schools offer scholarships to attract bright or talented pupils. They are usually awarded, after a competitive examination and interview, for academic, musical or artistic merit, and normally take no account of financial need. Academic scholarships are the most common, followed by scholarships for music, art, design and technology, and sport.
Gifted children from outside the UK are invited to compete in open scholarship examinations. The schools hold these exams in the September to December and January to April terms of the year before admission. The exam papers can be sent to British Council offices around the world, so that children in other countries are able to sit the examinations locally.
Scholarships will usually be awarded at ages 11, 13 and 16, with pupils already at the school having the opportunity to sit for awards at 13 and 16. Scholarships at the age of 16 for candidates already at the school are frequently awarded on the basis of GCSE results, with awards for new students being made as a result of an interview and report from the previous school, usually with the requirement to achieve certain grades at GCSE. Competition is very strong, but, as long as the pupil makes satisfactory progress, a scholarship is normally held for the duration of their time at the school. Scholarships may cover up to 50% of the fees, although increasingly the level of scholarships is being reduced in favour of means-tested bursarial support and a maximum of 20% is more common.
Bursaries
Many schools also have bursaries, which are grants from the school to help you pay the fees. These are usually awarded after a ‘means test’ of family income and are not dependent on examination performance, although some account will be taken of academic ability. Bursaries may be awarded in addition to a scholarship where financial need is demonstrated and the child would otherwise be unable to enter the school.
To obtain a bursary, parents will usually be asked by the school’s bursar to fill in an application form, giving details of their financial circumstances, supported by documentary evidence, including capital assets. The application will be considered by the school in accordance with its bursary policy. The award will often only remain in force until the pupil has sat the next relevant public examination; an award made before GCSE will not necessarily continue into A-level. Most schools will review bursaries annually to ensure that the justification for an award remains.
|
|
|
Boarding in Canada
“What people teach their young is often what they think is most important. And so what people teach their children … in school gives us a very good sense of what the values of society are. What is it that you would like your children to learn? What is it that you’d like the next generation to learn?”
—Margaret MacMillan
The oldest boarding school in Canada, King’s Collegiate School (now King’s-Edgehill School) was founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1788. It was given royal assent by King George III the following year, the first instance that honour was bestowed outside Britain. Beginning with just 12 boys in a private home near Windsor, Nova Scotia, the school quickly set an educational standard for the region and, later, the country. It continues to hold a place in the national consciousness today. Because of the age and importance of the buildings, King’s College is a National Historic Site, a designation it has held since 1923.
King’s was created at moment of heightened political anxiety in the wake of the American Revolution. While there were schools in New York and New England, there were none in the British colonies that remained after American independence. The initial goal of the school was to prevent young men from traveling abroad to receive an education, men that would be needed to stay to administer and defend the colonies. While the school remained small, its alumni took prominent roles in military, legal, religious, and political life (including two fathers of Confederation).
King’s set the tone for other boarding schools that would be created in the British Empire outside of the UK. They were established so that the children of British ex-patriots could receive an authentically British education, as well as to retain and augment the human resources required to maintain the colonies. Schools throughout the commonwealth were organized in the same manner as their British counterparts—there were houses and headmasters, forms and terms—and reflected the values of Victorian England. The educational environment was much as we might imagine: highbrow, strict, and reflective of all the class distinctions of the age. Leadership was an important topic, in part because it was of prime interest to many of the political leaders who sent their children to board. Further, the benefits were unequivocal—merely having gone to boarding school, regardless of any academic achievement there, was often considered a reasonable prerequisite to positions of leadership in business and political life.
|
|
|
Many of the best-known Canadian schools were founded in the late 19th century: Pickering College, 1842; Bishop Strachan School, 1867; Stanstead College, 1872; Ashbury College, 1891; St. Andrew's College, 1899. Life there, at least in the early days, was spartan and challenging in ways that no boarding school is today. At Upper Canada College, Frederick Hutt, a student in the 1830s, wrote to his brother, "I hope you will send plenty of nuts and cakes as I can hardly subsist on what we get."
Ted Rogers, founder of Rogers Communication, went to board when he was seven. Having had a nanny at home, he recalled that “I went from having somebody brushing my teeth for me to being caned if my teeth weren’t clean enough. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it was a bit of a shock.” He later described the school as his "a surrogate father" in the absence of his own father, who had passed away prior to his enrolment.
There was a strong association with the military, something that was still very prominent when Rogers arrived. The Cadet Corps of Upper Canada College was begun in 1869, and through its 127-year history it remained an integral part of school life. Students took part in regular drills and exercises, including those with active rounds. Boys were expected be prepared for deployment at any time, as occasionally they were. During the Fenian Raids of 1866 UCC students were mobilized to guard military buildings and the port in Toronto.
|
|
|
The cadet program was an expression of the spirit of volunteerism and the Victorian militia movement, and it maintained an ongoing association with the national military. Between 1875 and 1937 UCC produced six commanding officers of The Queen’s Own Rifles. During WWI, 1,089 volunteered for military service, and 176 gave their lives. In 1919, membership in the corps became compulsory for all students. None of this was unique to a particular to UCC school, with boarding schools and many public schools following suit. Many cadet corps remained active into the 1960s and 70s.
In time, however, the cadet programs began to feel less relevant, more relics of an earlier time. Which indeed they were, especially when real rifles were replaced with wooden ones, or when real training evolved into a kind of pantomime of military training, and when the relationship with the military became less explicit. At UCC the corps was formally retired in 1987, one of last of its kind in Canada. (Two schools, St. Andrews College and Bishop’s College School have active cadet corps, though for the most part the programs have evolved, becoming more akin to outdoor education programs than military training.)
Debate
I. Discussion points (Documentary “Inside Eton”):
1. Who was the founder of the college?
2. When and why was it founded?
3. What was the reason for gathering in May?
4. What is the House Master in charge of?
5. What does their uniform look like?
6. What are “the survivors” of the old regime?
7. What is the per cent of failure at the examinations?
8. What changes have occurred in Eton according to Dr. T.P. Connor?
9. What are the backgrounds of Eton boys?
10. What hasn’t changed in Eton since the Old Times?
11. What is the role of females in Eton?
12. What is the first thing that new boys have to master?
13. How many boys are there in Eton?
14. What is their daily routine?
15. Why do the masters feel danger of overprotecting boys?
16. What are the traditions of Eton which are still remained at this school?
17. What sports are traditional at school?
18. What event is celebrated in Eton on the 4th of June?
19. Why do the Eton boys visit hospitals and other social institutions?
20. What foreign languages are taught in Eton?
21. Are there any peculiarities in teaching mechanics in Eton?
22. What is “Eton’s eye” on nowadays?
23. What is said about the scholarship program at Eton?
24. What is so unusual about the tutorials in Eton?
25. Why is Eton still considered to be one of the most outstanding schools in Great Britain?
II. Discussion points (Documentary “Too poor for posh school?”):
1. What are the terms of the annual completion at Harrow school?
2. How much is the fee?
3. Who is the sponsor?
4. What are the stages of the competitions?
5. What is outstanding about the school?
6. Which school is its rival?
7. How many boys have been shortlisted and how many of the will get the scholarship?
8. Tell a few words about Krishan: his age, home, background, interests and achievements.
9. What tests has he have to go through?
10. Tell a few words about Numhan: his age, home, background, interests and achievements.
11. Tell a few words about Tumi: his age, home, background, interests and achievements.
12. What is remarkable about the way the candidates have been discussed?
13. What criterions are taken into account while choosing the best of the best?
14. What boys have been accepted?
Term Presentations
1. Boarding schools in Britain – history.
2. Boarding schools in Britain at present.
3. Boarding schools in Britain: the prospects of the future.
4. Boarding schools in Russia: does this form of education have the future?
Summary (class)
Write an essay (300-350 words) on the following:
1. Boarding schools in Britain: past, present and the future.
2. Boarding schools in Russia: past, present and the future.
Дата добавления: 2019-11-16; просмотров: 435; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!