Bursaries

A bursary is financial support provided to eligible students to help reduce the cost of attending Sixth Form. There are three types of bursaries available to Sixth Form students at Poole High School.

General Bursary

There is a general bursary available of £1,200, which is awarded to young people who are in care or care leavers, claiming income support, or are disabled who receive the Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance 

Discretionary Bursary

These are payments made by Poole High School. The school also has the right to provide lump sums or smaller weekly payments. In order to be fair in the allocation of these funds, the following criteria will be used for identifying who is eligible:

• Students who are eligible for (targeted) free school meals
• Students who are within the Discretionary Bursary Fund criteria.

Criteria

The Discretionary Bursary is available to students whose total household income is equal to or less than £25,521 to support their learning whilst attending Poole High Sixth Form.  This bursary is intended to support transport, books, equipment and educational trips.  Where possible, payment of these would be managed internally (e.g. direct payment for the equipment), but where this is not possible, termly payments will be made to the receiving student via their bank account. 

A student who is successful in their application will, so long as they comply with the terms of the bursary, such as attendance and behaviour expectations, receive this for the academic year. 

Year 13 students who received a bursary in Year 12 will need to reapply at the start of their second year. Applications must be completed by the first week of term by contacting the Head of Sixth Form.

All Year 12 applications for the Discretionary Bursaries must be received by the end of September.  This is because we allocate the fund based on the number of applications we receive.  If your application is late, there is a risk that funds will not be available to support you.

We do hold back a limited fund for Specific Bursary applications during the academic year.  If you did not receive a full bursary or didn’t apply at the start of the year and something arises that you need support with (for example, a Trip or a textbook), a Specific Bursary application can be made at any time, although payment is not guaranteed.  A specific bursary application should be requested from the Sixth Form office.

Specific Bursary

This fund provides financial support at a specific time for a student during their course of study. This may include a change in circumstances that creates an immediate need for financial support. This is provided as a one-off payment. 

Applicants need to complete a ‘Specific Bursary Support Fund’ form. Applications are then considered by a panel comprised of the Headteacher, the School Resources Manager and the Director of Sixth Form. 

Application Information

Applications for the General Bursary and the Discretionary Bursary must be made by the last day of September.

Applications should be made by contacting the Head of Sixth Form.