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Scholarships
Celebrating aspiration, individuality and potential
Wild Cherry Steiner School offers a range of scholarships some that celebrate aspiration, individuality, and potential, and others that foster access, inclusion, and diversity within our community. We believe the richness of a school is measured not only by what it teaches, but by the diversity of families and experiences that come together within it.
Our scholarships are designed to recognise the unique capabilities, qualities, and potential of each child, and to support families who will both benefit from and contribute to the rich, holistic education offered at Wild Cherry and who may not enrol due to financial barriers. Rather than being awarded solely for past achievement, scholarships are offered to children and families whose qualities of mind, heart, or hand may enrich our classrooms and strengthen the wider life of the school community.
As a small independent school in rural East Gippsland, we recognise that the cost of independent education can present a barrier for many families. Our scholarship program aims to make Steiner education more accessible to eligible applicants who may otherwise not have the opportunity to enrol due to financial disadvantage, while also supporting a vibrant and inclusive school community.
A limited number of scholarships are available each year. The number awarded will depend on applications received across year levels, financial capacity, and consideration of the social and educational benefit to individual classes and the school community as a whole.
Three Streams
Head, heart and hands
At the core of Steiner / Waldorf education is the understanding that a child is educated most fully when thinking, feeling and doing are cultivated together. Our scholarships are shaped by that same image, and may be awarded across three areas.
Head
For students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity, imagination and a genuine love of learning — those who think deeply and approach the world with insight and ingenuity.
The Head stream celebrates children who ask good questions, who are nourished by story and idea, and who bring a quality of thinking that lifts the learning of those around them. We look for liveliness of mind rather than test scores: a reader who loses themselves in a book, a problem-solver who finds unexpected routes, a child whose wondering enlarges a classroom.
Heart
For families who value connection, community and shared purpose — who will engage meaningfully with the life of the school and contribute to its culture of care.
A Steiner school is built as much around its parents as its pupils. The Heart stream recognises families whose warmth, commitment and willingness to participate — at working bees, festivals, in the classroom and across the wider community — will help sustain the shared work of the school for the children who come after.
Hands
For students with creative, artistic or practical talents, including music, craft and expressive arts. We also welcome applications from children of artists and those in creative professions.
The Hands stream honours the living arts at the centre of Waldorf education — the making, tending and creating through which children come to meet the world. Whether your child is drawn to music, painting, handcraft, woodwork, gardening or movement, their gifts are welcome here; so too are the gifts of parents who live creative lives and can share them with our community.
A single scholarship may reflect one of these streams, or several together — children rarely fit into one alone, and many of the families we most hope to welcome carry gifts across all three.
Apply
Begin a conversation
We warmly encourage families who feel their child may align with one of these areas to begin a conversation with us.
Applying for a scholarship is the start of a relationship, not the filling out of a form. It is an opportunity for us to learn about your child — what lights them up, where they are growing, what they bring — and for you to learn whether Wild Cherry feels like the right home for them. Families are welcome to apply at any year level, and we consider each enquiry on its own terms.
Request a scholarship application form
To apply, please contact us for a scholarship application form. Tell us a little about your child and which of the three streams — Head, Heart or Hands — feels most true to them. A brief note is plenty to begin with.
admin@wildcherry.vic.au
Subject: Scholarship Enquiry
What happens next
- We will send you a scholarship application form along with information about our timeline and selection process.
- We invite families to visit the school, meet the teachers, and spend time in our classrooms and grounds so that both sides of the conversation have something to stand on.
- Scholarship decisions are made by the School Leaders in consultation with our teachers, with regard to the gifts a child or family might bring to the life of the school.
- All enquiries are treated in confidence, and no family is put at a disadvantage for asking.
Start your scholarship enquiry
We'd love to hear from families who feel aligned with our community.