Fee assistance

Continuing in the spirit of our founder, Heriot's offers various forms of assistance with the payment of school fees.

Financial support has various qualifying criteria, including a successful entrance assessment.

Foundation places

The Foundation at the heart of Heriot’s covers the full cost of fees for the children of widows and widowers. These means-tested awards are available to pupils joining the school from Primary 6 upwards. Existing Heriot’s pupils are also eligible to apply to the Foundation in the event of the death of a parent.

Foundation places are awarded at the discretion of the Governors. They will consider applications for children who have lived in the EH, KY or FK postcode areas for at least five years before applying. Alternatively, one parent must have had a significant and longstanding link with the city of Edinburgh.

Both the residential and financial criteria for a Foundation place must be met. We currently have 61 Foundationers at the school.

Applicants to the Foundation are not required to pay the £75 registration fee.

Heriot Bursaries

These means-tested bursaries are available for pupils joining us from Primary 6 onwards, whose household meets the financial criteria. Existing Heriot’s pupils are also eligible on the same basis. Funds may be available to support pupils in receipt of 100% bursaries with the extra costs associated with the school, for example uniform, travel, books etc.

Heriot Bursaries are awarded for a year at a time and are reviewed annually, with the amount awarded decided on a case-by-case basis. Families are welcome to reapply each year that they qualify for assistance. Awards are made at the discretion of the Principal and the Governors, and are subject to satisfactory pupil behaviour and continuing effort.

Financial criteria

To qualify for the above awards, total gross household income must not exceed the relevant limit set by the Governors.

For session 2023/24, the qualifying limits are:

Foundation applicants £45,000 per annum
Heriot Bursary applicants £58,000 per annum

These figures are adjusted to take account of other dependent children and any Heriot’s school fees already being paid. The value of capital assets is also considered.

How to apply

To apply for financial assistance, tick the relevant box on the Application for Admission form. We will send you the appropriate form to complete.

Before applying, please view our Admissions and Financial Assistance Privacy Notice.

Find out more

For all financial matters, please contact the Finance Office.

Emergency Support

Support may be available for parents and guardians of existing Heriot’s pupils who experience a significant change in financial circumstances.  Please contact the Bursar in the first instance on trust@george-heriots.com .