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Ever since William Capon left a gift in his will to establish a grammar school for the 'poor scholars of Southampton', creating educational opportunities for young people in our city has been core to our ethos at KES.
Today, Southampton is a wonderful city, bustling with diversity, creativity and industry. However, our city does have pockets of significant deprivation where greater educational opportunities are much needed. In the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation, Southampton was ranked 55th most deprived out of 317 local authorities in the UK. Rates of young people in care are also above average, with 95 looked after children per 10,000 compared to 65 for England.
Whilst KES cannot solve these challenges singlehandedly, we want to play our part in supporting talented and motivated young people who wish to excel. We believe that education is always the starting point for greater opportunity. KES already provides several bursaries each year and has done for many years. However, for each of the past five years, we have had more bursary applicants finishing in the top 100 of our entrance exam than bursary places available.
This means extremely bright young people are missing out and we want to be able to offer more bursary places. Even in this challenging financial environment, the School will do everything we can to maintain our current funding towards bursaries, because we believe in them. However, increased philanthropy is the only way we will be able to create a brighter future for more young people in Southampton.
57 Bursary Award holders at KES (32 receive a full bursary)
£25,724 - the average household income of full 25/26 Bursary Award holders
94% of full Bursary Award holders live in Southampton postcodes (SO14-SO19)
Two groups are eligible to apply for a Bursary Award at KES:
1) Pupils with a lower household income
Applicants with a household income below £46,000 are eligible to receive a 100% bursary, and for families earning between £46,000 and £92,000, a sliding scale operates for partial bursaries.
We partner with Bursary Administration Limited to undertake financial assessments on families applying for a bursary. Each award is a significant investment in a young person, so through these checks, we ensure that school funds and donations are spent in the most impactful way possible.
Prospective bursary holders will then sit our entrance exam in January. We award bursaries to pupils scoring highly in the entrance exam, showing their potential to thrive in the learning environment here at KES.
2) Care-experienced pupils
We partner with the Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation to identify local children who have been in care, for whom the stability of a place at KES would be transformational. We currently offer one of our 100% Bursary Awards per year to a care experienced young person.
Our hope for our Bursary Award holders is that after leaving KES, they go into the world well equipped academically, socially, and developed in their character. We hope they are better set up to fulfil their ambitions and will also consider giving back in some way in the future.
We regularly ask our current and former Bursary Award holders about their experiences at KES and the difference a bursary has made to them. You can read some of their responses below.
Devini (KES 03-10)
“The bursary I received at KES gave me access to an education that encouraged global thinking and ambition. That mindset inspired me to pursue opportunities abroad, both in Europe and the US. I’m incredibly grateful for the support that helped launch a career beyond borders—and proud to see others being given the same chance.”
Dan (KES 15-22)
“KES taught me valuable skills and lessons - to be more self-confident, but also how to help others and put them before myself.”
Tim (KES 13-20)
“One of my favourite aspects of KES was that the teachers passed on a real love for each subject. They took care to make sure you understood the theory behind the subject, rather than just learning for exams. This helped me to develop a deep intellectual curiosity, which has stood me in good stead during my Aerospace Engineering degree and now PhD.”
Mike (KES 10-17)
“The excellent 1:1 support was a common theme throughout my time at the School, especially when it came to looking at what the next stage in my career was."
Devini (KES 03-10)
“The bursary I received at KES gave me access to an education that encouraged global thinking and ambition. That mindset inspired me to pursue opportunities abroad, both in Europe and the US. I’m incredibly grateful for the support that helped launch a career beyond borders—and proud to see others being given the same chance.”
Dan (KES 15-22)
“KES taught me valuable skills and lessons - to be more self-confident, but also how to help others and put them before myself.”
Tim (KES 13-20)
“One of my favourite aspects of KES was that the teachers passed on a real love for each subject. They took care to make sure you understood the theory behind the subject, rather than just learning for exams. This helped me to develop a deep intellectual curiosity, which has stood me in good stead during my Aerospace Engineering degree and now PhD.”
Mike (KES 10-17)
“The excellent 1:1 support was a common theme throughout my time at the School, especially when it came to looking at what the next stage in my career was."
