Good schools cost a lot of money to run and can never be cheap. But it is not true to say that independent education is the preserve of the wealthy. Many parents with average incomes make sacrifices to afford such an education for their children. With expert financial advice, moreover, much can be done to ease the burden. Many schools offer scholarships to particularly able children, irrespective of parents' income. Means-tested bursaries are also offered, depending on the parents' ability to pay. These are given to children of all abilities. Some may end up with a scholarship and a bursary. Don Hutton, director of the Independent Schools Information Service (ISIS) for the North of England said: "Increasingly, parents who were educated in the state system want something different for their children and are surprised to find it can be more affordable than they first believed. Indeed, a third of pupils in the independent sector receive help with their fees, and the proportion is rising. 40% of independent sector parents are first-time buyers. "New research from the Independent Schools Council shows that a third (32.61%) of parents at independent schools in the North of England are on average or below average incomes. 16.59% are on average incomes and another 16.02% are on below average incomes. "That is a tribute to the excellence that parents from across Northern society perceive to be on offer in the independent sector. "The variety within the independent sector is astonishing: girls' schools, boys' schools, co-educational, boarding, day, denominational, non-denominational, the list goes on. Fees range widely too." Those who don't manage to achieve a scholarship or don't qualify for a bursary, should get advice from a financial adviser as there are a number of ways of making provision for school fees. There are traditional routes, such as making investments and regular savings, and more innovative strategies, such as using the business, or reducing the grandparents' inheritance tax bill.
The ISC Educational Grants Advisory Service which refers genuinely deserving cases to charitable trusts is operated by the Joint Educational Trust. Tel: (020) 762 64583 between 9am and 11am on weekdays. Information on other charitable trusts that cover specific help for dance, music and sports students can be supplied by ISIS North, tel: (01677) 450139.
 Case Study If your child has a strong track record of good results, a scholarship is one way of making independent education more affordable. The process typically consists of entrance exams including maths, English and verbal reasoning plus an interview. Benjamin Hindson, 15, from Seaton Delaval and 17-year-old Jennifer Laws from Tynemouth, both gained scholarships to The King's School in Tynemouth, North Tyneside. Benjamin, who will take 10 GCSEs next year, joined from Wellfield Middle School in Whitley Bay when he was 13. He said: "I settled in really quickly and didn't have any trouble fitting in. I soon made lots of new friends." Although his results were good across the board, Benjamin is particularly strong in languages. Since joining the school two years ago, he has been in three plays, gained a place on the rugby under-15s A team and had a trip to Normandy in France. He said: "When my parents had seen the school, they knew they wanted me to come here, no matter what." His mother is a lab technician at Benfield School and his father is managing director of a fastenings company. Benjamin hopes to study law at Oxford or Cambridge. Jennifer Laws joined in year seven at the age of 11 from The Priory, a state primary school in Tynemouth. Her mother is a supply teacher and her father a sales director. She said: "Although my brother started at a private school when he was four, I was more confident so my parents thought I didn't need to start so early." "The interview for the scholarship was more like an informal chat so it wasn't too bad, and I had to bring in some work I was proud of." Jennifer found the school quite different but threw herself into lots of activities, such as playing hockey for the first time. She has also performed in several plays and musicals and is a member of the choir, wind band and a clarinet quintet. Now, after achieving four As at AS level, she is taking A-levels in English literature, maths and history. "I'd love to be a barrister," she said. | 
Northumberland
