We are proud to offer Help With Fees bursaries to children whose families cannot otherwise fund a place.
If your child would thrive in an academic environment, with access to an outstanding programme of Music, Drama, Sport and co-curricular activities, then we’d love to hear from you.
Our Bursaries are available only to families who cannot afford our fees, and are means-tested. This is different to scholarships which you can find more information on here.
Why should I apply for Help with Fees?
Fees assistance can make a lifelong difference to a child. Not only do these children contribute hugely to the community of our school, through their talents, curiosity, enthusiasm and ability to build relationships, but they themselves benefit from the St Peter's experience, for the rest of their lives.
Pupils benefit from teaching that is rated excellent, pastoral care that focuses on helping each child thrive, a better learning environment with exceptional facilities, a vast programme of after-school activities, help for the future through our Careers and Higher Education provision, and a community with shared values.
Bursary/ Help with Fees Applications
Please read through the information on this page to familiarise yourself with the Bursary/ Help with Fees application process. All enquiries and applications are handled in confidence. Your details will only be known by the very small team that processes and assesses your application.
Eligibility
The following questions are typically considered by the Head Master, Director of Finance and Governors when deciding on whether to offer Help with Fees:
Does your family have the ability to improve its financial position?
For example, if there are two partners, we would expect both to be working in paid employment unless one is prevented from doing so through illness, or because one partner needs to care for very young children or for other dependants.
Could you use funds that you already have?
If you have significant savings, assets or investments, or have a lot of equity in your house, we would expect you to use this before we could give help with fees.
Do you have other sources of household income?
All income streams are taken into account in the bursary evaluation.
Are you paying fees to other independent schools?
If you are paying fees to other independent schools we are unlikely to offer you fee assistance unless in exceptional circumstances.
Which year groups are eligible for fee assistance?
We only offer Help with Fees for pupils entering Year 7 and above who are applying for day places.
Unfortunately we do not offer Help with Fees for Boarding places.
How will a bursary application be affected by the value of your property?
You are unlikely to qualify for a bursary if:
- You own more than one property
- You own a house which is valued well above the market average, whether or not it has a mortgage
You can check the average house price for your area on Zoopla and other similar websites
Have you recently started your own business?
If one or both parents/ guardians own their own business, the investment they are making into their business will be taken into account. For example, if a parent is investing a large amount of cash in to their business this may make them ineligible for fee assistance.
Is your salary above the national average?
If one or both parents/ guardians currently earn salaries significantly above the national average, you are unlikely to qualify for a bursary.
You can check the national average salary in the UK on the Office for National Statistics.
For example, if there are two partners, we would expect both to be working in paid employment unless one is prevented from doing so through illness, or because one partner needs to care for very young children or for other dependants.
If you have significant savings, assets or investments, or have a lot of equity in your house, we would expect you to use this before we could give help with fees.
All income streams are taken into account in the bursary evaluation.
If you are paying fees to other independent schools we are unlikely to offer you fee assistance unless in exceptional circumstances.
We only offer Help with Fees for pupils entering Year 7 and above who are applying for day places.
Unfortunately we do not offer Help with Fees for Boarding places.
You are unlikely to qualify for a bursary if:
- You own more than one property
- You own a house which is valued well above the market average, whether or not it has a mortgage
You can check the average house price for your area on Zoopla and other similar websites
If one or both parents/ guardians own their own business, the investment they are making into their business will be taken into account. For example, if a parent is investing a large amount of cash in to their business this may make them ineligible for fee assistance.
If one or both parents/ guardians currently earn salaries significantly above the national average, you are unlikely to qualify for a bursary.
You can check the national average salary in the UK on the Office for National Statistics.
The Process
Step 1 - Research
Take a look through our eligibility information above to help you determine if you might qualify for a bursary. If you are still unsure, please feel free to contact us.
Step 2 - Visit Us
We invite you to visit us informally through our Open Events so that you can meet teachers and pupils, as well as see our facilities and campus. If you are unable to attend one of our upcoming Open Events you can fill in the form to visit at another time.
Please arrange to visit us a few months before applying. Please note that we cannot consider a bursary application if you have not visited us prior to applying.
Step 3 - Contact Us
After you have visited the school, please get in touch with us as soon as possible as every year we receive more applications than we are able to fulfil. Contact us by email
Step 4 - Apply
Fill in our Application Form and click the option on the form to indicate that you are applying for a bursary/ Help with Fees. Our team will then email you the information you need to submit your Bursary application. We will check your application and ask you for any further details or supporting evidence that we need.
It is important that we receive both forms before the deadlines. If you are applying for a Sixth Form bursary you should apply by 31 October. If you are applying for a bursary in Year 7 to Year 10 you should apply by 1 December.
Step 5 - Assessment
We will invite your child to sit our entrance exam at the school. The same entrance exam is taken by all pupils applying to St Peter's, regardless of whether they are applying for Help With Fees. No additional study or preparation should be needed. Exams take place in November for Sixth Form, January for Year 7 to Year 10, for a start date of the following September.
Take a look through our eligibility information above to help you determine if you might qualify for a bursary. If you are still unsure, please feel free to contact us.
We invite you to visit us informally through our Open Events so that you can meet teachers and pupils, as well as see our facilities and campus. If you are unable to attend one of our upcoming Open Events you can fill in the form to visit at another time.
Please arrange to visit us a few months before applying. Please note that we cannot consider a bursary application if you have not visited us prior to applying.
After you have visited the school, please get in touch with us as soon as possible as every year we receive more applications than we are able to fulfil. Contact us by email
Fill in our Application Form and click the option on the form to indicate that you are applying for a bursary/ Help with Fees. Our team will then email you the information you need to submit your Bursary application. We will check your application and ask you for any further details or supporting evidence that we need.
It is important that we receive both forms before the deadlines. If you are applying for a Sixth Form bursary you should apply by 31 October. If you are applying for a bursary in Year 7 to Year 10 you should apply by 1 December.
We will invite your child to sit our entrance exam at the school. The same entrance exam is taken by all pupils applying to St Peter's, regardless of whether they are applying for Help With Fees. No additional study or preparation should be needed. Exams take place in November for Sixth Form, January for Year 7 to Year 10, for a start date of the following September.
How we make the decision
There are two separate decisions that the Head Master, Director of Finance and Governors need to make. Firstly, whether your child will be offered a place at the school and secondly, whether or not the school will offer help with fees, and the amount of financial support we can offer.
The Offer of a Place
We will consider the examination and interview performance of each applicant but we will always consider your child's potential. Reports from your child's current school as well as their performance in interview will give us an indication of this and will be considered alongside actual achievement. The pupil's entrance interview and previous school reports will assist in forming a view in this regard. Bursary funds are limited and, all things being equal, priority will be given to those likely to gain most from the educational provision at St Peter's.
Each pupil to whom support is offered must, in the opinion of the Head Master, be likely to make sound academic progress at our school and have the potential to develop the quality of their work, and benefit from participation in the wider, co-curricular activities on offer at the school.
We will also look at what previous school reports say about your child's behaviour.
The Offer of Help with Fees
Each year we have a high number of applicants for our Help With Fees scheme and our bursary funds are finite, therefore regrettably we are unable to offer bursary support to every family that qualifies.
If we decide to make an offer of help with fees, the amount we offer depends on the extent of your family's financial need. It does not depend on, and is not affected by, your child's academic or other performance.
Once the offer has been accepted, we arrange a home visit. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about the award. You will also be able to ask any questions about the pastoral care for your child and how we will help them settle in to life at St Peter's.
We will consider the examination and interview performance of each applicant but we will always consider your child's potential. Reports from your child's current school as well as their performance in interview will give us an indication of this and will be considered alongside actual achievement. The pupil's entrance interview and previous school reports will assist in forming a view in this regard. Bursary funds are limited and, all things being equal, priority will be given to those likely to gain most from the educational provision at St Peter's.
Each pupil to whom support is offered must, in the opinion of the Head Master, be likely to make sound academic progress at our school and have the potential to develop the quality of their work, and benefit from participation in the wider, co-curricular activities on offer at the school.
We will also look at what previous school reports say about your child's behaviour.
Each year we have a high number of applicants for our Help With Fees scheme and our bursary funds are finite, therefore regrettably we are unable to offer bursary support to every family that qualifies.
If we decide to make an offer of help with fees, the amount we offer depends on the extent of your family's financial need. It does not depend on, and is not affected by, your child's academic or other performance.
Once the offer has been accepted, we arrange a home visit. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about the award. You will also be able to ask any questions about the pastoral care for your child and how we will help them settle in to life at St Peter's.
Further questions? See our FAQs below.
FAQs
Your eligibility will depend on your income, assets and necessary outgoings. We will try and build up a full, accurate and fair assessment of your particular family circumstances.
If you're not sure if you would qualify, please read through our eligibility FAQs.
If you still have questions, you can email us. We can't give a final decision without you completing the application and assessment process, but early advice can give you some indication of the level of assistance we may be able to offer.
Our fee awards are means-tested, as bursaries at St Peter's are designed to be life-changing.
We can cover between 50% and 100% of school fees, depending on your financial circumstances.
For those who need 100% support, we can also contribute towards the cost of uniform and some trips and activities.
Our assessment of how much help you need will take into consideration all your financial circumstances. As well as income and savings, we will also consider assets, including the family home, and your outgoings.
You should get in touch with us as early as possible, and certainly by no later than mid-October in the year before you would like your child to join us.
- September - October: Visit us, so that you can get to know us better and ask any questions you might have before you apply.
- 31 October: If you are applying for Sixth Form this is the deadline to send your application form and Help With Fees application form to us.
- November: Sixth Form entrance exams
- 1 December: If you are applying for a year group from Year 7 to Year 10 this is the deadline to send your application form and Help With Fees application form to us.
- January: Year 7 to Year 10 entrance exams
- February: We consider all applications for help with fees in the first half of February, and we will be in touch as soon as we reach a decision.
We are keen to offer Help With Fees to children who will:
- Bring their own talents, passions and personalities to our school
- Make the most of the opportunity that a St Peter’s education represents
- Contribute to the enjoyment and success of their fellow pupils through their willingness to get stuck into a wide range of activities
Our awards are prioritised for day pupils and for that reason a large number of our fee assistance awards are made to pupils in York and the surrounding areas.
You only need to reapply when your child is in Year 8 and Year 11. Every other year we will ask you to complete an annual declaration, confirming that your circumstances have not changed.
If your family's financial circumstances do change you must tell us as soon as possible. If your income or assets change significantly, we may need to adjust the level of fee assistance we offer.
What now?
If your child would benefit from and contribute to our school, and you feel that you fit the eligibility criteria, we would love to hear from you. Please follow the steps above to start the bursary process.
For more information on other factors and confidentiality, click here.
