Bursaries | Shrewsbury High School Shropshire GDST

Bursaries

Shrewsbury High School is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), the largest group of independent girls’ schools in the UK.

As a charity, the GDST aims to seek out the brightest, most deserving girls for bursaries and scholarships so that the largest possible number of talented girls can benefit from a GDST education. In particular, it aims as far possible to focus its support on girls for whom the chance of a GDST education would be a transformative, life-changing prospect.

The bursary scheme is managed and administered by the GDST, which is funded via charitable partnerships, donations and legacies from former pupils, their parents and other friends.

Bursaries and Scholarships are only available at our Senior School.

If your daughter would benefit from the educational experience which Shrewsbury High School is able to offer, but your family is not in a position to cover the full fees, you may be eligible for a GDST bursary or scholarship.

To read more about the GDST bursary scheme, please visit https://www.gdst.net/parents/bursaries

The key difference is that a bursary is means-tested and a scholarship isn’t. The GDST offers bursaries so that a GDST education is accessible to the best and the brightest girls, including those who are not in a position to pay full fees.

All bursaries are means-tested and their value is related to the income and financial resources of the pupil’s family. Bursaries can range from 30% up to a maximum of the full published fees.

We aim to assist as many families who qualify for bursaries as possible; however, given the demand, we are not usually able to offer support to all those who qualify. Please be aware that if you accept a full fee paying place you would not be eligible to apply for a bursary in subsequent years, unless there was a significant and unforeseen change to your financial circumstances from the time your daughter first joins the school.

Scholarships are awarded on merit, irrespective of financial means. Offers are made based upon performance in the entrance examinations or audition for Year 7; Year 9, or in the case of Sixth Form scholarships for outstanding ability demonstrated in individual subjects and disciplines. A Scholarship can be combined with a bursary where there is financial need.

Art, Music, Drama and Sport Scholarships are available for entry into Year 7, Year 9 and Sixth Form and information about these scholarships will be sent to interested applicants. Students who receive scholarships in these subjects are expected to make a full contribution to the busy life of the school and show a full commitment to this subject during their time at the school.

Scholarships and bursaries are available at Shrewsbury High on the following basis:

They are only awarded to girls aged 11 or over, entering Year 7 to help finance their secondary education. Most scholarships and bursaries are awarded during the year before entering Year 7, Year 9 (external candidates only) or on direct entry into the Sixth Form. Each school has a limited amount allocated to bursaries each year and so inevitably awards cannot be made to all those who qualify on academic grounds.

Bursaries are only normally made available to girls whose parents have been resident in the EU for the two years prior to a bursary application being made Post-entry bursaries can be awarded to girls whose families suffer unexpected financial difficulties, and are no longer able to pay the fees in full. These bursaries are designed to avoid a girl’s education being interrupted at a critical stage and, wherever possible, are awarded so that the pupil can complete that particular phase of study.

Scholarships and bursaries may be withdrawn at the discretion of the Head, in the event of unsatisfactory work or conduct. This action will only occur as the culmination of a process of communication and guidance between the school and home.