School information events for Royal Navy and Royal Marines families

Crown Charity Greenwich Hospital provides a number of bursaries each year for the children of Navy and Marines families to attend the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk. These bursaries can cover up to 95 per cent of the school fees for eligible children.

Applications for bursaries for children going into secondary education or sixth form next September are now open and the admissions team from the Royal Hospital School will be at information events in Portsmouth tomorrow and Wednesday.

Tomorrow: Drop-in information event at Royal Maritime Club Hotel, Queen Street, Portsmouth, from 4pm to 7pm.

Thursday: Drop-in information event for serving personnel at Royal Navy HQ, Whale Island, from 10am to 12.30pm.

The Royal Hospital School was originally founded in Greenwich in 1712 but has been located in 200 acres of Suffolk countryside near Ipswich since 1933. Thousands of services children from across the south have been educated there.

The school has a rich naval heritage that lives on in its daily life with regular parades in full naval uniform, a daily flag raising ceremony, a marching band and corps of drums, and naval commemorations.

To be eligible for one of the means-tested bursaries, a parent will have usually served for a minimum of three years and will be either serving today or have retired from the service. There are some exceptions for families with exceptional charitable need.

Royal Hospital School Head Master Simon Lockyer said: “We are extremely proud of our very rich maritime heritage and our close links with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

"With that association as our backdrop, we inspire our pupils to pursue their interests and make the most of their talents through learning and extra-curricular activities.

“We have been educating children from seafaring families for many years and are committed to continue providing these very generous bursaries so new generations can experience the exceptional education we are able to provide.”

For more details and to register an interest in attending one of the drop-in information events, visit www.royalhospitalschool.org/seafarersbursary

The events would also be useful for those serving personnel who are eligible for the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) which could be used to fund places at the Royal Hospital School.