Scholarships for students to attend private secondary schools

14 January 2011

Applications have opened for the 2012 round of the Ministry of Education’s Aspire Scholarship, with at least 50 year 9 Aspire Scholarships available for 2012.

The Aspire Scholarship is for students from low income families who would like to attend a New Zealand private secondary school. The scholarship contributes up to $15,000 a year for private secondary school tuition fees and up to $1,500 a year for course related costs, while the student is at that school.

The scholarship does not cover boarding fees and cannot be used at state or state-integrated schools.

Students are eligible for an Aspire Scholarship if:

  • they will be in year 9 in 2012
  • their primary caregiver(s)’ joint annual gross income of is $56,000 or less (not including Working For Families tax credits income)
  • the joint net worth of their primary caregiver(s) is $200,000 or less (not including household items)
  • they, or their primary caregiver(s), are not beneficiaries of any trusts (exceptions will be considered on a case by case basis)
  • they are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand.

Applications must be received at the Ministry of Education National Office in Wellington by 5pm on 9 May 2011 All eligible applications will go in a ballot and the available scholarships will be drawn at random.

For an application pack:

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