Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

A guide to scholarships and bursaries

We all know that private education can be terrifyingly expensive. Yet for parents not possessed of a vast fortune, there are ways of affording it. Scholarships and bursaries are more common than you might think, and your child doesn’t necessarily have to be a genius to get one. Here, we list some of the best

The best of the best

Top boys’ boarding schools by A-level results Rank % A/B School Day fees Board fees No. pupils 1 99.4 St Paul’s School, London £17,928 £26,562 1,291 2 98 Westminster School £20,364 £29,406 747 3 96.2 Eton College – £29,862 1,314 4 96.2 Tonbridge School, Kent £22,335 £29,913 764 5 93.3 Harrow School – £29,670 810

William Hazlitt on fives

It may be said that there are things of more importance than striking a ball against a wall — there are things indeed which make more noise and do as little good, such as making war and peace, making speeches, and answering them, making verses, and blotting them; making money and throwing it away. It

Fab fives

It may not be widely played, but this is a great sport for everyone, says Freddy Gray   Fives is not a popular sport. In fact, if the internet is to be believed, no more than 4,000 people play it in Britain, with a scattering of die-hard enthusiasts abroad. But then very few people have ever

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Hard lessons

Claire Gasgoine asks Brewin Dolphin’s Simon Blowey how parents and grandparents can meet the frightening cost of education Education maketh man, according to the philosopher John Locke. But these days, education can also maketh the man’s parents very poor indeed. With large school fees increases and the removal of the cap on university tuition fees,

Set for life

You may leave school but it never leaves you, says J.R.H. McEwen – the character formed by a fine education is instantly recognisable  For several reasons unconnected with the merits or otherwise of the place itself, when I left school 27 years ago (crikey!), I was glad to leave and expected never to return. Unlike

An Old Shirburnian remembers

 I went to Sherborne in January 1954. The first view I had of my housemaster was at the TC ­inspection parade held on the first day of every term. TC stood for tinea cruris or ‘crotch-worm’, an ­infection which boys were thought to be prone to during the holidays. Col H.F.W. ‘Hughie’ Holmes moved down the line of boys,

Different class | 26 March 2011

 I’ve always found Britain’s education system ­bewildering. Our public schools are private; our church schools take the children of committed ­atheists; and ‘distance learning’ happens at home. My old school, Bradford Grammar School (BGS), is not a ‘grammar school’ in the way most ­people would imagine. It is a member of the Headmasters’ Conference and it charges fees. That a

The revision thing

 The first time I heard of a crammer school I assumed it was a 16th-century foundation by Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, where boys walked about the cloisters in long cloaks with copies of the Book of Common Prayer stuffed under their arms. I guess we didn’t take revision quite so seriously in

Professional jealousy

 Few words now carry such tiresome connotations as ‘Eton’. Although the Prime Minister and some of his closest colleagues are Etonians, the British press considers it a dreadful disadvantage to have been educated there, especially if one wants to go into politics. This prejudice has seldom been challenged since Iain Macleod’s ‘magic circle’ article appeared

Swards of honour

Our independent schools have a proud tradition of cricket — and cricket grounds.Former England batsman (and Old Tonbridgian) Ed Smith picks his favourites   The excellence of the cricket grounds of England’s independent schools is a double-edged privilege. On the one hand, they are some of the most beautiful grounds on which to play and watch

Open secrets

Any parent would want to see a school before sending their child there, says Hilaire Gomer – but not everyone makes the most of their visits  Prospective parents have to visit the schools to which they’re interested in sending their offspring. Now this is fine if it’s just one or two and they’re not too