Means-Tested Bursaries for Form 1 Entrants to Dollar in 2010-2011

Please note that bursaries for academic session 2010/2011 have now been awarded. Details of the Bursary Scheme and application process for session 2011/2012 will be posted shortly, but any enquiries meantime may be directed to the Bursar’s Office:

 

T: 01259 740515; E: Bursar@dollaracademy.org.uk

 

Boarding Bursaries

 

In the case of boarding pupils, bursary provision may be possible for Form I; the bursary will attach to the boarding fee rather than to the tuition element.  It is unlikely that the award will be for more than 50% of the boarding fee, but each case will be individually assessed.  These bursaries may be offered to new and existing pupils on the basis of financial need.  Applications should be made in writing to the Rector in the first instance, who will then, if appropriate, ask that the forms be processed by the Bursar’s Office.  

 

Other Sources of Bursary Assistance

 

There are a number of educational and charitable trusts which provide assistance with tuition fees. In the majority of cases these are to assist children who are already attending a school which charges fees and as a result of a change in financial circumstances may be unable to remain there. Furthermore such trusts tend to be reluctant to commit funds for more than one or two years and therefore will be unlikely to consider pupils in Junior School or at the lower end of the Senior School. Nevertheless the Academy encourages parents to apply for support where it is felt a good case can be made for assistance. Most trusts will contact the Academy to seek information regarding the pupil’s conduct and general performance. Further information on how to pursue such assistance may be obtained from:

 

The Bursar
The Governors of Dollar Academy Trust
23 West Burnside
Dollar 
FK14 7DX
telephone        01259 740515
e-mail              bursar@dollaracademy.org.uk

 

Scottish Council of Independent Schools
21 Melville Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7PE
telephone         0131 220 2106
e-mail              information@scis.org.uk
website            www.scis.org.uk

 

The Joint Educational Trust
6 Lovat Lane
London
EC3R 8DT
telephone        020 7283 3445
e-mail              admin@jetcharity.org
website            www.jetcharity.org

 

Other Awards

 

Dollar Academy, in similar style to many other schools, has a number of prizes and awards which have been made available through the generosity of former pupils, parents, governors, rectors and members of staff.  In general, the sums of money attached to these prizes and awards, which are listed on the website after Prizegiving, are not particularly substantial, but of considerable sentimental value.  There are, however, some awards which are more substantial, and reflect the wishes of benefactors.  There are for instance awards made which involve the reduction of £500 per annum from school fees for those members of Form V in Dollar Academy who enter Form VI with five A band 1 passes at Higher; this award has been in force for many years, and is designed to encourage strenuous academic endeavour amongst the top academic pupils in the Academy.  There are two major travel awards which are designed to encourage humanitarian ventures, and awards for literary study in areas far away from the Academy.  In these cases, the financial circumstances of the applicants are taken into consideration by the awarding committee at the time of decision.  The travel scholarships are openly advertised throughout the school community, and are available to pupils about to leave in the former instance, and about to enter Form VI in the latter.

 

The generosity of former pupils in relation to the prize fund endowment is now being channelled more directly towards The 1802 Foundation, in order to encourage even wider applications to the Academy. 

The Cameron Travel Scholarship Trust

 

The Chairman of Governors, Mr John Cameron and his wife Margaret have set up a trust of over £1 million which aims to support pupils from Dollar Academy as well as agricultural students who wish to widen their experience by travelling abroad to learn and explore. Further details are available from the Dollar Academy website.

The Harry Bell Scholarship

 

Only one scholarship is offered in Dollar Academy, and this has a particularly significant historic connection.  The founder of the school had links with the West Indies, and it is through the generosity of the family of a former Rector (from 1936 to 1960), Mr Harry Bell, whose son lives in Barbados, that these links are maintained.  During the past decade, means-tested awards have been made to scholars from Barbados, who have the opportunity to spend a year in the Academy prior to university entry.  There is a selection process which takes place in Barbados, and the Harry Bell scholars are provided with full board and tuition as a result of what is viewed as a most prestigious scholarship both in Barbados and here in Scotland.  It is particularly fitting that this award is the only official scholarship provided in Dollar Academy – and we have been particularly impressed by the level of commitment and attainment shown by the holders of this scholarship, who are now graduating from their selected universities. 

Charities Committee

 

As will be widely known, Dollar Academy has a long-established reputation as a school which raises significant sums for charitable purposes, locally, nationally and internationally.  In 2007 alone, as a result of a Sponsored Cross Country Competition and a Sponsored Walk, almost £70,000 was raised for causes as diverse as Rachel House (CHAS), Sightsavers International (Pakistan), Nutrir, Depression Alliance, The Beatson, and various organisations supporting stroke victims.  In recent years, funds have been raised for educational purposes, and Dollar Academy fund-raising has led directly to the building of two schools – in Balakot (Pakistan) after the earthquake and in Sri Lanka, after the Tsunami disaster. Plans are currently in place for the funding of another school in Malawi. A number of young Former Pupils have gone to offer personal support either on a long or short-term basis to schools and hospitals in challenging environments overseas.

Conclusion

As will be noted from the above, the Governors of Dollar Academy are keen to widen participation and access to Dollar Academy in order to encourage as many young people as possible to be part of the excellent educational environment available here.  The work being undertaken by The 1802 Foundation has provided a springboard for future action and it is our hope that, at some point during the next twenty years, all applications to Dollar Academy can be on a “needs blind basis”.  Were that to come about, the aims of the founder would be fulfilled, despite the challenging financial voyage the Academy has undertaken during the past two hundred years. 

November 2009