Free (Fully Funded) Day Places, Scholarship premium and Bursaries information from Rydal Penrhos School.
This is an award which must be applied for.
At Rydal Penrhos, each academic year two Year 7 and two Year 12 FREE (Fully Funded) Day Places are awarded based on academic ability and financial eligibility.
Occasionally Fully Funded Day Places are available in other years, please ask if you wish for more information.
The Year 7 places are awarded based on school reports, a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) and an interview with a senior staff member.
The Year 12/Sixth Form places are awarded based on achieved or predicted GCSE grades, a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT), school reports and an interview with a senior staff member.
These are means-tested awards, intended as an “opportunity” for an academically able child or young person residing in North Wales who is currently being educated within the state school system.
The scheme is transparent and is based on financial criteria.
Eligible candidates are part of a financial assessment which only considers families in which family income is less than £35,000 per annum and there are no other significant assets which could be monetised.
An external assessor carries out a thorough assessment, including publicly available data that is not part of the submission and carries out a home visit (in line with social distancing guidelines) to establish the family’s suitability for the award.
Once a candidate is awarded a FREE Day Place, they will have it until they leave at the end of Sixth Form assuming they continue to be an exemplary member of the Rydal Penrhos community and are not subject to a meaningful change in circumstances.
These are awards which do NOT need to be applied for.
At Rydal Penrhos school each academic year we also offer a scholarship premium to children with “exceptional talent.”
An academic scholarship premium may be awarded to children on entry to any year from Year 7 upwards following “entrance exams” (CAT tests) and an interview with a senior staff member. For Year 12 projected or actual GCSE results are also considered and an interview with a senior staff member.
These scholarship premiums are open to pupils already within the school and those joining the school and are based on clear testing/results and interviews. There is no limit to the number of these awards.
These awards are NOT means tested and the reward is the title of scholar and a scholarship premium of £500 each year for the pupil from the school to further their academic studies through the purchase of books etc. A mentor will be attached to the pupil for this purpose and would meet half termly to discuss progress in that area and help the money be spent wisely and appropriately.
Art, Drama, Sport and Music may also be awarded to pupils with “exceptional talent” at any point during their school years (7-13). They do not require an application.
These awards are NOT means tested and the reward is the title of scholar and a scholarship premium of £500 each year for the pupil from the school to further their talent through the purchase of art materials, golf clubs etc.
A mentor will be attached to the pupil for this purpose and would meet half termly to discuss progress in that area and help the money be spent wisely and appropriately.
These may be applied for on receipt of a scholarship.
If a pupil is awarded a scholarship for any discipline, they are then eligible to apply for a bursary (which is fees assistance) if they fit certain financial criteria.
Eligible candidates are part of a financial assessment which only considers families where their combined income is less than £60,000 per annum and they have no other significant assets which could be monetised.
When a family first applies an external assessor will do a thorough “full” check, scrutinising everything, including lifestyle and publicly available data that is not part of their submission and do a home visit (in line with social distancing guidelines) to establish the family's suitability for the award.
Following this initial “full” check each year a brief financial assessment will take place using the household income figures from PAYE P60, tax return etc. And then every four years the “full” assessment by the external assessor is repeated.
If once all checks are completed a family is eligible for a bursary, they will be awarded on a sliding scale. This starts with an 100% reduction on fees for an income of less than *£35,000 per household and then for every *£2,500 increase in income there will be a 10% reduction in fees assistance until *£60, 000 which is the cut off point for any bursary awards. (*made up of income, lifestyle choices and assets)
Updated on 6 May 2021 by D. McCluskey in consultation with J. Waszek