LIKE most ordinary families, Albie Lyon’s parents hadn’t even considered private school, assuming it was out of their reach.
But we reveal how the 14-year-old from Leigh on Sea, Essex, was offered a free place at Radley College, worth £60,000 a year – and how private education isn’t just for the privileged few with thousands paying no fees at all.
Parents Casey and Michelle managed to get Albie a free place at private school[/caption]
Casey and Michelle Lyons, both 45, had never entertained the idea of their youngest son, Albie, going to boarding school.
The £60,000 fees for top-flight Radley College in Oxfordshire were far out of reach for Casey, a car sales manager, and Michelle, who works in accounts.
They would have practically swallowed the family’s yearly income once their mortgage, living costs and supporting two other children were factored in.
Michelle says: “It was never on our radar. We wouldn’t have been able to contemplate it.”
The boarding school costs fee-paying families £20,112 a term – totalling nearly £25,000 a year more than the average annual salary, which is around £35,000.
But, Radley, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, doesn’t only offer places to rich kids.
It tries to attract ‘talented and ambitious’ state school students from families who would not normally consider boarding school through its Keys Awards.
Around 150 of its 770 pupils get help with fees, for those who excel in the classroom, on the sports field or in music or drama.
Of those, 39 come from a state school and have a Keys Award, with most paying little or no fees.
The school also funds extras like uniform and school trips.
Radley is not alone.
Almost 200,000 pupils at independent schools – just over a third – get help with their fees, worth more than £1.5 billion, up 11 per cent compared with 2024, according to the Independent Schools Council, which represents more than 1,400 schools.
Three-quarters of that help comes from the schools themselves, through bursaries and scholarships, with the rest from the Government or local authorities.
The support means that children whose families struggle with day-to-day costs can learn alongside those who’ve never had to worry about money.
At world-famous Eton College, which has fees of nearly £65,000 a year, where Princes William and Harry went, 265 boys received fee reductions in 2022/23 with 105 paying no fees at all.
Radley College, where Albie, is about to start his second year, counts former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss and late actor Peter Cook among its one-time pupils, as well as current England rugby player Will Stuart.
But the Lyons family – including older boys Harry, 19, and Brody, 17 – had never heard of it and had no idea that it could be a possibility for their youngest son.
They were introduced by premiership rugby club Gloucester, who spotted Albie excelling at his local club in Essex in October 2023.
The family was told that Radley would be a good place to nurture that talent.
But the idea of Albie leaving his local state secondary for boarding school was a shock.
Michelle says: “When it first became a possibility, I said ‘Absolutely not. He’s not going.’
“We are a very close family and, as our youngest, he was my baby.”
“To start with, Albie didn’t want to go either.”
But after the family was invited to visit Radley, with its 800 acres of grounds, amazing sports facilities and stunning Victorian architecture, Albie changed his mind.
Casey says: “Everyone was so friendly and the facilities were great.
“We got in the car and Albie said that he wanted to go there.”
The family emailed the school, confirming they were keen but that it would only be possible if the place could be funded.
Michelle says: “Without the financial help, we wouldn’t be able to contemplate it at all.”
Over the next few months, they had to share their financial details, while Albie had three exams in maths, English and verbal reasoning, and an interview.
They were then offered a fully funded place, plus £500 to help with starting costs like school uniform.
While Radley cuts fees if your child is a budding sports star, music maestro or brainbox, other schools give bursaries to kids who are clever enough to make the grade, but where families would struggle to pay the bill.
Casey says: “You hear of people getting scholarships, but you don’t really know what that entails until you start looking into it in more detail.
“We would never have thought about it if Radley hadn’t been introduced to us.
“Albie was happy in his old school, doing well in his sports teams, and his two brothers had done well in their schools.
“But I’d urge anyone to look into it. If your child wants to, and you think there’s maybe an opportunity for them, then go and explore it.
“It doesn’t have to be a boarding school like Radley. You could look at a school close to you.”
Michelle has got over her early concerns.
She says: “Albie has had experiences he would never have even been able to think about before.
“He’s done drama, which he never would have tried at his old school, because it wasn’t seen as cool, and it made me so proud.
“The school embraces and celebrates everything.
“Considering it’s a completely different walk of life for us, and for Albie, everyone has made us feel so welcome and comfortable.
“We give back by supporting the school. We’re there at Albie’s matches and go along to a lot of other events.”
The family are open about the fact that Albie has a funded place.
Casey: “We’ve never hidden who we are and no one has ever treated us any differently.
“Of course, we worried at the start, but we were reassured that there were 147 other pupils on part or fully funded places.”
When his job changed, giving Casey a small pay rise, the family offered to contribute to the fees and now pay five per cent – around £3,000 a year.
He says: “As soon as we knew we had a bit more money coming in, we wanted to contribute what we could. That felt right.”
Michelle and Casey say that Albie has grown in confidence in the year he has been at the school.
She says: “We joke that he’s got a bit of a posh twang now, but we’re very proud that he’s making the most of this opportunity.”
‘I was anxious about moving schools – but it’s fun and I’ve made friends’
ALBIE admits that he wasn’t sure about moving schools at first, but now he loves it.
“We’re a close family and I didn’t know anyone else at boarding school.
“But when I went to Radley I was like ‘Wow’. It was incredible.”
He’s now completed a year at the school, which is two hours from home.
“I don’t come home every weekend, but the longest I’ve been away from home is two-and-a-half weeks.
“I was anxious about moving away, but I still have my friends at home and I still play rugby.
“There are obviously people who have come from families with a lot more money and, to start with, I was a bit worried about not fitting in.
“But I’ve made a bunch of friends, so it definitely doesn’t matter where you’ve come from. I’ve met people from different countries and from all over Britain.
“People are interested in my life and I’m interested in theirs.
“It’s been great doing sports that I never thought I’d do – like squash, rowing, hockey and cricket.”
He admits that it’s not all been plain sailing and he found going back to school after Christmas particularly hard.
“It can sometimes be hard not having my own space.
“I miss my parents, and the food they cook, and I like my bed at home!”
Albie’s mates from home are happy for him, and he sees them as much as he can.
“I’d definitely say that if you get a chance like this, take it, because it doesn’t only open opportunities for what you got the scholarship for, but also other things. It’s fun.”
How to find a private school place for free
The average cost of school fees is just over £14,000 per term for boarding and £6,000 for day school.
That excludes the VAT which Labour added to private school fees in January.
According to the Independent Schools Council’s 2025 census, nearly 30 per cent pupils get help with fees through bursaries and scholarships.
Means-tested bursaries – linked to a family’s income – help 37,000 pupils, while means-tested scholarships help nearly 2,200.
Both help families who would struggle to afford the fees at a private school.
Families have to share their financial details with the school, and the child has to show that they can fit in academically.
Grace Moody-Stuart from the Good Schools Guide, says: “Private school education is more expensive than it used to be and is increasingly unobtainable.
“Schools recognise that it’s not healthy for children to be brought up in a super-privileged bubble.
“They can struggle to find the right people for their bursaries, so if you have a child who you think would thrive in that kind of environment, go ahead and ask.”
Finding the right school is crucial.
“However wonderful the facilities are, you have to feel comfortable that your child will fit in,” says Grace.
“All schools have their own personalities, so looking around and getting that ‘feeling’ about whether it is the right or wrong school is vital. Unless you have a particular school in mind, start with those that are local to you.
“If they have a passion for something, like drama or sport, and the school is good for that, they will probably shine.”
If you want to find out about bursaries for your child, give yourself plenty of time. Start looking on a site like Good School’s Guide to get an idea of where your child could go.
Grace says: “For scholarships and bursaries awarded when the child is 11, start looking into it when the child is seven or eight.”
You must also meet the strict deadlines for applications and send supporting paperwork which may include bank statements and housing costs.
Another round of bursaries is often offered for sixth form. Some of the big boarding schools start from age 13.
What the top schools offer
If you like the idea of a private education, this is a taster of what some schools offer:
Eton College
Eton is one of the most famous private schools, with stunning architecture[/caption]
Families will need to stump up more than £21,000 per term to send their child to the same school as Princes William and Harry as well as a string of Prime Ministers.
But there’s help available – 265 boys paid reduced fees in 2022-23 and 105 of them paid no fees at all.
On average the bursaries were worth nearly 70% of fees, assessed case by case.
The Orwell Award is a sixth form programme that offers fully funded places to boys at a UK state school whose academic achievement may have been held back by personal circumstances.
For boys entering in year nine, age 13, parents start completing forms towards the end of year five.
Christ’s Hospital
Christ’s Hospital is known for it’s generous bursary scheme – here’s the help available[/caption]
Christ’s Hospital, independent school of the year in 2024, was founded by Edward VI to educate and care for poor and orphaned children.
It has the most generous bursary scheme of any UK school, dishing out the most help.
This academic year, of the West Sussex school’s 857 students, 665 received bursaries, with nearly 300 of them worth at least 90% of the fees.
Boarding fees are around £15,000 a term or up to £10,000 for day students.
Families need to apply to Christ’s Hospital by September 12 2025 for a means-tested bursary in September 2026, or by October 27 for sixth form.
Radley College
Located in the heart of Oxfordshire, this stunning school has beautiful grounds too[/caption]
The Oxfordshire boys’ boarding school has great facilities, strong results and a close community. But it costs £19,200 a term.
It tries to attract “talented and ambitious” state school students with The Radley College’s Keys Award.
Those who qualify pay no fees and the school funds extras like uniform and music lessons.
This year, Radley offered five Keys Awards at age 11 and five at 16.
It looks for “engaged and engaging, creative and resilient” students. Families apply by October of year six.
Currently, 128 boys get some kind of funding, with 25 at the school with fully-funded places.
Gordonstoun
Send your child to the same school as royalty – here’s how[/caption]
King Charles’ former school near Elgin, Scotland, helps just over a third of students with fees.
It costs £19,000 for boarders and £13,500 for day pupils.
Helping families in need was a principle of the school’s founder Kurt Hahn.
He said that no school “can build up a tradition of self-discipline and vigorous but joyous endeavour” unless at least 30% of children are from less privileged backgrounds.
Currently 34% get help with fees – around 175 pupils.
All bursaries are means tested, with some awards as high as 110% for families who also need help with travel and uniform costs.
Latymer Upper School
There’s lots of help on offer[/caption]
With 1,400 boys and girls aged 11 to 18, fees for those in the west London senior school are currently around £10,000 a term.
Counting actor Alan Rickman and model Lily Cole among former pupils, it offers one in four of its students – more than 300 of them – financial help.
Bursaries range from 25 to 100% of the academic fees and are considered case by case.
The school, founded in 1624 when lawyer Edward Latymer left money for the education of local “poore boyes”, is hot on “social inclusivity”.