Cutting Edge - Too Poor for Posh School (11 March 2010)[PDTV(Xvi

Channel 4 - 11 March 2010



London's elite Harrow School is one of the world's most famous private schools. Renowned for producing statesmen, Churchill and Nehru; writers Richard Curtis and Anthony Trollope; and numerous captains of industry, Harrow is one of the last remaining all-boys boarding schools in Britain and one steeped in history.



Yet access into a world seen as the preserve of the super-rich really does come at a price: over a whopping £28,000 a year in school fees. But for those who can't afford the fees there's another way in. Each year, two boys from far less wealthy families are offered the chance of a scholarship.



The Peter Beckwith Scholarship is targeted specifically at families who'd never be able to pay for such a privileged education at a boarding school. The means-tested scholarship can pay up to full fees for a boy's entire career at Harrow, and two years at a prep school before they join Harrow at 13 years old. All in all it's worth close to £200,000.



In autumn 2009 Harrow granted Cutting Edge access - for the first time - to film the annual selection contest. It all happens on a single day in November.



The documentary follows the journey of three of the 11 shortlisted boys as they undergo a relentless day of tests and interviews. The parents of 10-year-old Krishan and 11-year-olds Numhan and Tumi can only wait in hope as their sons compete for a prize that will change their lives forever.