Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I had always assumed that if you were presented then some or all of your fees would be paid for by the person presenting you. I am still not exactly sure why someone who is presented should be guaranteed a place over others if this is not the case? I am glad that I am not the only one who appears to have been mistaken over the role of a donation governor though!

I am afraid that Andrew is right. The Donation Governor (in my case, the corporate scheme to which Jo refers) puts the allotted amount of money in the pot, and then has the right to present a potential pupil, whose access to the school is made easier provided they meet the basic threshold standard.
Jo - don't despair. Your contributions have helped two girls enter and then leave the school with honours (last year, as Band Captain) - both were daughters of Hertford Old Girls. You have also helped two other girls who are in the school at the moment and a fifth who decided that CH was not for her, at Christmas in her second year (we have never got to the bottom of that one....). As the now designated Governor for the sixth presentee (the money for it now being in the pot) I am searching for a suitable candidate, who I will support to the very best of my ability. But I am afraid that this will not extend to plugging any gap relating to the fees charged of the family, once the Foundation has underaken the means testing, as on the CH weblink I posted yesterday.

I am still not exactly sure why someone who is presented should be guaranteed a place over others if this is not the case?

My understanding is that the presented child has gone through some 'extra' selection for suitability for CH, usually through meeting and being interviewed by prospective governors. If the governor decides the child would benefit from CH education then they can 'present' the child to the school. If the school reaches the academic threshold and passes the residential then they are in.

I think, although I might be wrong, that donation governors make donations directly to the school, not to the family of the presented child. The family are assessed in exactly the same way as everyone else.

You are right, Liz. The Donation Governor is not required to contribute to the fees levied of the successful applicant's family, after the means testing exercise.

My youngest was a BSB presentee. I remember a representative of the BSB coming to the house to interview not just her but, I felt, the family, to decide our suitability. That was 30 years ago - we hastily slapped a coat of emulsion over the front room wallpaper; it is still there, although we have recently covered parts of it with another coat of emulsion. Time the front room was properly decorated methinks!! Said presentee is now approaching her 40th birthday. (For any newies who are not familiar with the lingo, BSB stands for Benevolent Society of Blues!)

Kerren wrote

So, sorry, a Donation Governor does not contribute to the fees levied for their presentee's place.

I believe some do? A friend of mine has told me that half of her assessed fee was paid by the presenting governor for both her children throughout their years at CH, and I'm fairly sure that this is also the case for pupils presented through the Wests Gifts scheme.

Kerren also wrote:

I think there is a calculator on the CH main website which would enable you to do a rough calculation of the fees you might be asked to pay.

Alas, no longer! The calculator has been replaced by a much less helpful bursaries table - useful only as an indicator of what you might be asked to pay in the unlikely event that your own finances happen to correspond to those in one of the examples given!

Yes, the bursaries table is a crude guide but interested parties would need to discuss their situation in detail with the school before deciding whether or not to put a child through?

Yes, the bursaries table is a crude guide but interested parties would need to discuss their situation in detail with the school before deciding whether or not to put a child through?

Unfortunately, for interested parties like Vonny who simply want some indication of whether it might be viable in their own circumstances to send a child to CH, this 'crude guide' is all that is currently available.

The school website states that 'Estimates of your bursary offer are given at the same time as your child is offered a place at the School so that you know before signing a contract with us what you are likely to have to pay (subject to a final update before joining the School to take into account of your most recent financial circumstances).' So potential parents have to go a long way down the line of committing themselves to CH (including paying a non-returnable deposit!) before they are offered any chance to discuss their situation in detail with the school.

And I have to say that in my experience, very little opportunity for 'discussion' of these matters is involved at any stage!!

Don't be put off, Vonny. If you want to take this further, PM me and I will see what I can do to help.

My son is starting in September this year but was not awarded his presentation until AFTER the January assessments which rather puzzled me. Maybe the governor's first choice didn't make the grade I suppose.

Quite likely.....

So he didn't get an easier ride by being presented because he got his place first. If it is an easier ride that is. Not really sure how it works despite long explanations previously.

Ask the Governor in question?

I suspect it might be down to individual governors. Some might want to offer more individual support in whatever way they like to the family they have 'chosen'.

Perhaps, Lippizaner, as you say your governor's first choice didn't make the grade but they wanted to present someone this year and so picked someone else rather than have to wait until the next intake.

I understood it was a way of giving something back to the governors who generously give to the school. They get the presentee's school report and presumably feel a sense of pride as well as a closer link to the school.