The Finance Office provides support to students, parents and staff. They process all payments and payment enquiries regarding:
- Trips
- Lunch money
- Event tickets
- Charities monies
- Donations
- 16-19 Bursary Fund
- Collection of all other monies
Payments to the School can only be accepted in the Finance Office, and not by any other members of staff.
The Finance Office is open to students at the following times:
- 8.20am - 8.35am
- Breaktimes
- Lunchtimes
Online Payments
As a parent/carer, you will have received a letter inviting you to use our online payment service. This allows you to make payments for your child’s trips, events and dinner money over the School’s secure internet website using debit or credit cards. Whilst the full amount of your payment is always credited to your child’s account, the School incurs a transaction charge calculated as a percentage of the value of each transaction. As this percentage charge is substantially lower on debit card transactions compared to credit card transactions, we would therefore encourage you, whenever possible, to use a debit card to make payments to reduce the School’s financial charges.
The School Finance Office staff will be adding the relevant trips to the website during the course of the year.
Caternet - The Cashless Catering System
No purchases from the Dining Hall may be made in cash. Each student is provided with a ‘swipe card’ which provides access to the door entry system, as well as acting as a debit card for making purchases in the Dining Hall.
It is the responsibility of each student, in conjunction with their parent / carer, to ensure that there are sufficient funds paid into their account before making purchases.
You can see what money has been spent by logging on to our online Caternet statements website at http://www.upay.co.uk/ - for instructions on how to register for this site, see here. Our affiliate ID is KINGSSCHOOL.
Free School Meals
The criteria for eligibility have changed - please see here for details. The Free School Meals application process is explained in, and can be accessed from, the links below:
Registration Information
Application Form (Cambridgeshire County Council website)
Donations
A number of parents, carers, and former students support the school by making a donation, either as a one-off, or regular monthly payment.
If you are a UK taxpayer and not already using an alternative tax efficient giving scheme such as the Charities Aid Foundation or Payroll Giving, you can Gift Aid your donations if you are paying Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax of more than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all your donations in that tax year. Gift Aid of 25p for every £1 donated can be claimed by us at no extra cost to yourself. Furthermore, if you pay tax at the higher or additional rate, you can claim the difference between the rate you pay and basic rate on your donation by either including the donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or by asking HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to amend your tax code.
If you would like to make a regular donation, please download and complete the Standing Order & Gift Aid Declaration form.
If you are able to Gift Aid your donation please download and complete the Gift Aid Declaration form and return it with your Standing Order form.
Standing Order & Gift Aid Declaration (Printable)
Standing Order & Gift Aid Declaration (MS Word format - editable for emailing)
Alternatively, a Gift Aid option is available on your www.scopay.com account. This can be found in the ‘Your Info’ section and can be completed online.
School Trips and Events
Payments for trips are only accepted in the Finance Office and online. Signed consent forms must be submitted at the time of payment.
16-19 Bursary Fund
The 16-19 Bursary Fund is designed to support those students who are experiencing the most severe financial hardship, to continue in full-time education at The King’s School, by removing immediate barriers to participation. To benefit, all applicants must meet the published eligibility criteria and conditions.
16-19 Bursary Fund Policy 2024-25 (including Application Form)
Advice and Support
If you require any assistance or advice relating to payments, please contact one of the Finance Team below, either by telephone (01733 751541) or via email.
Requests for Financial Assistance
If you need to make any enquiries about assistance in the event of financial hardship please contact the Chief Financial Officer Mrs Natalie Ray.
Department Staff
Mrs Natalie Ray - Chief Financial Officer
Mrs Esther Wild - Finance Officer
Mrs Rachel Hancock - Finance Officer
Mrs Ruth Shortland - Finance Assistant
