We welcome bursary applications from anyone who is a permanent resident of the North East who may fit the criteria set out on this page.

Carers, lead educators, social workers or any other individual interested in applying for a young person is encouraged to contact us directly and we can discuss the next steps.

Once you have read through all the information in this document and you feel you would like to apply for a bursary, please click here to start your journey with us.  You can do this at any time, but it must be no later than the deadlines specified above.

Please tick the box indicating you are applying to be considered for a bursary. Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications for a bursary after these deadlines. 

Your registration will be acknowledged, and you will be sent an online bursary financial assessment form via Bursary+. You must complete this before the date given on the form.  If you do not fill in the initial bursary financial assessment form, your child will no longer be considered for a bursary, and it will be assumed you are applying for a fee-paying place.  Please note that once a child enters the school on a fee-paying place, under no circumstances can they transfer to a bursary place, so it is important to get this stage right.

We offer bursaries for new students at our main points of entry; Year 3 (age 7+), Year 5 (age 9+), Year 7 (11+) and at Sixth Form (16+).  There is typically one bursary place at Y3, one at Y5, ten at Y7 and six at Y12, though this does vary year to year. 

There are some specialist Sixth Form Reece Engineering Bursaries, for students who are specifically interested in careers in engineering.  More information about this opportunity (which has an additional academic criteria) can be found here. 

RGS only offers only means-tested bursaries, which means successful students must meet both our academic criteria and financial assessment.  Other schools may offer academic-only scholarships, RGS does not. 

All young people are exceptional, but what we are specifically looking for are bright children who have good academic skill and potential.  Our bursary students thrive here because we know how to stretch and challenge gifted children.  Many of our successful bursary applicants have been high flyers in their feeder schools, and/or have special interests or talents.  Our academic assessment process is designed to identify the students who will make the most of all the many opportunities at RGS. 

In return, we will offer successful applicants the opportunity to benefit from specialist teachers, outstanding facilities, a raft of exciting co-curricular activities, and a warm nurturing environment.

After registering your child will be invited to participate in an assessment; the process is bespoke to each of the different entry points and is the same for fee-paying and bursary applicants.  More detail on the academic assessments are available here:

Junior School 

Senior School 

Sixth Form 

We discourage any families from putting too much emphasis on these assessments; they are there to assess whether RGS is the right place for your child to thrive.  In our experience this fit cannot be forced, and we discourage any special tutoring. 

After the assessments, a shortlist of bursary applicants will be contacted by our Head of Bursary Support who will want to meet you as parent(s), guardian(s) or carer(s) and your child, if possible in your home.  The role of the Head of Bursary Support is to get to know you and consider how the school can help and support potential bursary holders and their families to make the most of the opportunities offered by the RGS.   

RGS bursaries are strictly means tested and awarded on a sliding scale.  Depending on your family’s circumstances, you may be eligible to receive from 5% up to 100% of the fees.  The fees/bursaries include our co-curricular clubs and any essential school trips which relate to the curriculum.   

Most of the bursary places we offer are to families eligible for 100% of the fees, in line with our preference to target our finite Bursary Campaign funds to the brightest students for whom we can make the most transformational difference.   

In the financial assessment we take into account your household income (including benefits), assets, the number of children in the household, parental responsibility arrangements and your family’s outgoings.  Therefore, it is not possible to publish a precise scale but the following gives a very broad indication of support available: 

Gross household income (before tax)	Possible support from the Bursary Campaign	Contribution from parents / carers
£46,800 or less than	100%	0%
£56,075 or less than	65%	35%
£66,675 or less than	25%	75%
£71,975 or less than	5%	95%

 

We recognise that judgements about the sacrifices that a family should make to pay school fees will be personal. However, we will take into account a number of factors in determining the level of financial support we can offer, for example:

- Current earnings;

- The ability to improve the financial position or earning power of the family. For example, where there are two parents, both would be expected to work unless one is prevented from doing so through incapacity, the need to care for dependents (including pre-school children), or the requirements of their partner’s work;

- Opportunities to release any capital. Significant capital savings and investments would be expected to be used for the payment of school fees, as would surplus equity values in properties;

- In cases of separation, the contribution made by each adult with parental responsibility for the child;

- Contribution by others to household costs, for example by extended family members, any adults unrelated to the child or by outside sources;

- Payment of fees to other schools or organisations; or

- Lifestyle of the family.

In order to ensure that we are adhering to the principle of supporting families who are doing everything they can to contribute to school fees, the School considers that the following would not be consistent with the receipt of a bursary.

- Significant savings and/or investments;

- Another child at an independent school (including RGS, Newcastle) on a full fee place;

- Second property or land holdings;

- Frequent and/or expensive holidays; or

- Expensive or luxury vehicles.

We recognise that families in receipt of a bursary place may find it difficult to meet some of the wider costs and we hope that financial circumstances would not be a barrier to an eligible student applying. As such, some families receiving 100% bursaries may also be eligible for a uniform and sports kit grant, school lunches are also included for all students who receive a bursary (regardless of the percentage of support from the Bursary Campaign).

As part of your bursary application we will ask you to complete an initial financial assessment form. It is essential that you provide us with the supporting documents requested on the form, as without them we may not be able to process your application.  We will ask you about a range of criteria in order to judge each application carefully and fairly:

Different sources of income for your whole household, including salaries and all benefits including Personal Independence Payments

·         Your family’s outgoings;

·         Your assets (i.e. if you own some of your home, any savings or shares);

·         Your liabilities (i.e. any mortgage and loans);

·         The value and council tax band of your home;

·        The size of your family;

·        School places of other children (either fee paying or in receipt of a bursary).

We do not assume that all family dynamics are the same and would encourage you to speak to our finance team if you have any queries about what information to include on the form. Generally, where two parents are separated but both maintain parental responsibility of their child, both sets of income will be taken into account.  

By mid-January you will receive an indication of what level of bursary support you may be eligible for, if any. This is not confirmation of an offer of a bursary place, but will be an indication of what financial support you could expect if your child is offered a place with us. 

Once the academic assessments are completed, the families of a smaller number of shortlisted bursary candidates will be invited to supply documentary evidence to support your initial financial information already provided.  Our finance team will then review the evidence and may need to speak with you for more information.  Once this full financial assessment is undertaken, we will then be able to advise what level of bursary your family is eligible for, if a child is offered a bursary place.

Please note that your child’s academic performance will have no impact on the amount of the bursary award.  All of the financial information that you provide will be handled in strict confidence, and in line with our Privacy Policy.
 

Once all the academic assessments, the full financial reviews and the home visits are completed, the bursary assessment team will meet internally to discuss the bursary applicants and make recommendations on who should be offered the bursary places.  Ultimately the final decision will be made by the Headmaster.  

As hard choices have to be made in allocating bursaries, the school will consider all the information gained about candidates during the selection process. Although their academic performance will be an important factor, other aspects will also be taken into account:  

• A love for learning – we are looking for students who will embrace the diverse, high paced and challenging way that we learn at the RGS, while being curious to embrace new opportunities. 
• An ambition to succeed– students who show a growth mindset and potential to innovate, stretch and challenge themselves and each other.  
• Belief in each other – we want students who are motivated to work hard whilst valuing their peers and embracing the power of collaboration. 
• Sense of belonging – we like our students to support their peers, school and broader community, and go on to make a positive difference in the world. 

 

We hope so. We intend that once the bursary has been offered, it will remain in force throughout the student’s time in the school subject to satisfactory attendance, a positive attitude to work and behaviour, and an annual review of the family’s financial circumstances.  

We do know that family circumstances change, so we review the bursary offer annually and require families to resubmit their financial information each year. Inevitably, this may mean that the level of bursary support may fluctuate, and families should take this into account when managing their finances.  We urge all families to let us know as soon as possible if there have been any significant changes to the household income or circumstances. Please note – a voluntary reduction in family income will not be matched by an increase in the level of assistance. For example, if parents give up, or move to part time employment by choice during their child’s time in school.  

Bursary students experience life at RGS in the way that any fee-paying child would and therefore access the exact same structure of academic and pastoral support.  Typically, the identity of bursary students is anonymous while they are in school, although some students do make their own decision to tell their peers about their bursary; the school would not openly share this information.  Very few staff at school know the identity of the bursary students.  This includes the Headmaster and senior colleagues, the finance team and your child’s Head of Year.  When they reach Sixth Form, it may be relevant for your child’s Form Supervisor and UCAS referee to know about the bursary, depending on the course or University your child is applying to. Additionally, throughout their time at RGS, our Head of Bursary Support is available, should any bursary family need extra guidance or support. 

Our Bursary Campaign is enthusiastically supported by many donors, who make it possible for us to offer bursary places.  We do send donors completely anonymised updates on individual bursary students and the collective cohort of bursary holders.  Bursary families often write an annual letter of thanks, which we can anonymise and share with our donors.  Once bursary holders leave school, they often talk openly about their bursary status, and share the story of their success.  This is both inspiring to current students (both fee-paying and bursary holders) and hugely motivating for our donors. 

Bursary places at the RGS are in high demand so, inevitably, the funding available to offer bursaries does exceed the number of eligible bursary candidates. This means that, even though applicants may satisfy the school’s academic requirements (i.e. pass the exam) and their family may qualify for financial assistance, they may still not be awarded a bursary, simply because there are not enough available.  

We appreciate that after the rigor of this process it will be disappointing to not be offered a bursary funded place for your child.  Any children who satisfy the school’s academic requirements but are not fortunate enough to be among the few selected for a bursary will not automatically offered a fee paying place. However, should your financial situation change, you can request for your child to be added to the waiting list as their academic assessment will be valid for two terms.   

We appreciate that there is a lot of information included on this webpage. Although we have tried to include all the relevant information, we do not assume that everything you would like to know can be answered here. We also recognise that all circumstances are different. If you are unsure about any part of the process please do not hesitate to contact us; we would be only too happy to help.