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Our bursary programme supports several local, gifted children every year. We are passionate about providing free places and this reflects our ethos: we are an aspirational, supportive and inclusive school community, recognising individuals in terms of their ability, hard work and effort, as opposed to their social and economic background or family circumstances.
We currently have 49 pupils receiving financial support to attend KES, and through philanthropy, we hope to increase these numbers over the next few years. Each bursary represents an amazing opportunity to access a leading contemporary education, as well as the huge range of co-curricular opportunities on offer at KES. However, we recognise that providing places is just the beginning. Once a pupil joins us with a bursary, we support them pastorally, ensuring they have everything they need to flourish during their time with us. Our bursary pupils are doing amazing things in our school community, like Afjal, whose story you can read below.
Our hope is that these young people can then go forward into the world equipped to make a difference. King Edward’s is one of the country’s leading independent day schools with numerous successful and distinguished alumni, many of whom attribute their influences and accomplishments to their formative years at KES. By providing a bursary, you are shaping the leaders of the future and opening up opportunities that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
If you would like to discuss making a gift towards bursaries, please contact the Development Team via edwardians@kes.hants.sch.uk
My first exposure to KES was with the partnership programme that was running with my primary school. I came along with my class and took part in Science, Art and Philosophy sessions and my Head Teacher subsequently encouraged me to apply for a place.
The day I found out that I had passed the entrance exam and had been offered a full bursary place was a happy and emotional one for me and my family. We held a big party to celebrate and I was even prouder when I first started in Year 7 when the Head, Mr Thould, came up to me and told me, “Your paper is one of the best that I’ve read”.
7 years later, I am now in my final year of KES, studying 4 A Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Computing and Physics with a view to studying Maths and Philosophy at University. Beyond that, I am uncertain about the specific direction I want to take with my career. I am currently exploring more creative paths outside of pure STEM, an area that I really enjoyed lower down in the school, with hopes to incorporate these somehow into my career. I envisage myself somewhere in the likes of academia, AI, or entrepreneurship: all I can say is, watch this space!
Alongside working hard on my academics, I am heavily immersed in co-curriculars at KES, having attended somewhere in the region of 30 different clubs over my 7 years here. I found these to be a really valuable opportunity to delve into my interests outside of the curriculum, and to see practical applications of a lot of my classwork. Greenpower was a highlight for me, and we built and designed a kit car that we raced at Goodwood. I have also been an active member of Lunar Society, delivering several maths-themed lectures, and I have served as Head of Sustainability in my Upper Sixth year.
KES has been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today. Being surrounded by so many like-minded people within my peer group under the guidance and nurture of my teachers is, for me, my favourite part of KES and has provided me with the perfect forum to explore my passions and develop my intellectual curiosity. This spark is something that has somewhat contagiously caught on in my sisters and other family members too, with the effects of me going to a school like KES echoing well beyond my own individual growth.
I would encourage anyone thinking of applying for a bursary to attend KES to ‘Go for it’. Although it might all seem a little daunting, joining a brand new school, and leaving behind a lot of your friends, I’ve found that there have been so many benefits to coming here, some that I’m only realising now, and I can’t imagine myself anywhere else.
I am truly grateful to all those who have supported the King Edward VI Foundation, and I want you to know that your generosity has reached far beyond a simple scholarship. A KES Bursary truly transforms lives: it fuels success stories, cultivates a community where diverse perspectives converge, and empowers all individuals to thrive.
