Bursaries

Each year, we offer a number of means-tested bursaries to new Year 7, Year 9 and Lower Sixth candidates as a reflection of our commitment to widen access to children of local families who could not otherwise afford the fees for a John Lyon education. This corresponds to the original intention of John Lyon, who, when he founded Harrow School in 1572, stated that he wished to provide an education for children in the parish.

Please note that in order to apply for a bursary, you will need to have completed a full 11+ or 13+ registration form via our website before applying for the bursary.

The Bursary Application is now closed.

Timeline of your Bursary Application

  • Friday 1st September 2023 – Bursary form opens on website. Once you have completed and submitted the online form, you will receive an email with a link to access the bursary application portal. (Please see email advice below to help with making sure you do receive the email).
  • Tuesday 31st October – Closing date for all bursary applications.
  • Wednesday 1st November – If your bursary application is incomplete, it will be rejected at this stage. You will be notified by email and given the option to a go ahead with a full-fee application for your child or withdraw from the process.
  • Friday 3rd to Wednesday 8th November – Our Finance department will notify you by email if your bursary application does not meet our criteria. If this is the case for you, the option to either go ahead with a full-fee application for your child or withdraw from the process will be given to you. If you don’t hear from us, this means you meet our Bursary criteria, however the award of a bursary will be based on the performance of your child on the entrance exam day.
  • Tuesday 14th November – Entrance examination date for all bursary candidates.
  • Friday 1st December to Monday 4th December – If your child has been shortlisted for a bursary based on their performance on the entrance exam day, our Finance department will request for you to upload your Bursary supporting documents. We will require copies of the following documentation:
    • Payslips for the last three months (September, October and November 2023)
    • Bank statements
    • Mortgage/Rent statements
    • Benefits statements
    • Credit/debit card statements
    • Utility bills
    • Company accounts (if you own your own business)
  • Monday 4th to Friday 15th December 2023 – Once you have uploaded your documents, Bursary Administration Ltd (BAL) will contact you to arrange an online appointment to discuss your bursary application. If, once an appointment is made, you cancel or do not attend the online appointment your bursary application will be cancelled, unless prior notice is given to BAL and a new appointment is made.
  • Monday 8th to Friday 12th January 2024 – If you meet all the bursary criteria, an appointment will be made for the Director of Finance and a member of the Admissions team to visit potential bursary candidates and their parents at their home.
  • Friday 9th February 2024 – Offer letters are emailed and will include information if a bursary award is also being offered.
  • Thursday 22nd February 2024 – Final date for acceptance of all 13+ offers.
  • Tuesday 5th March 2024 – Final date for acceptance of all 11+ offers.

Tips to make sure you receive all relevant information once you apply for a bursary

We strongly advise the following:

  • Please save [email protected] and [email protected]  to your contacts to ensure that emails are received and not deposited in junk or spam without you seeing them.
  • You do not use a work email address. The firewall generally prevents our email responses for account activation being permitted to enter your inbox. Please use a personal email address.
  • You may have difficulties using a Yahoo email address. Emails to this email provider from us often get blocked or end up in spam or junk folders.