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Principal Meg Hansen believes scholarships bring benefits to the whole school.

Westbourne Grammar School has two campuses – Williamstown (Prep-Year 3) and Truganina (ELC-Year 12). More than 1500 students attend the co-educational, non-denominational Christian school that has operated for almost 150 years.

Amici, the school's Early Learning Centre, offers a curriculum based on the Reggio Emilia principles, which is underpinned by the belief that children are naturally curious and want to interact with and learn from their world.

Small class sizes, a focus on literacy and numeracy and programs such as LOTE and visual arts feature in the junior schools, while the separate Year 7 innovative learning environment, completed in 2013, was designed in accordance with the school's strong sustainability principles.

Westbourne offers General Excellence (Years 7 and 9) and Music (Years 7-11)  scholarships for current and prospective students. Two others, the Ray Horsburgh Scholarship and the Di John Scholarship, are also available for students entering Year 10 who are not current Westbourne students.

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Principal Meg Hansen believes that scholarship programs bring benefits "not only for those who are awarded a scholarship, but for the school as a whole. 

"Scholarships can be very helpful to families who may not otherwise be in a position to attend a school of their choice.

"I would encourage any family seeking a school that offers an outstanding academic program and a huge range of sporting, cultural and extra-curricular activities to consider applying for a scholarship at Westbourne."

Naturally, General Excellence scholarships attract students talented in a variety of areas. 

"Applicants should be academically capable and show potential in this area," Ms Hansen says. "However, Westbourne also looks beyond academic grades. We are interested in all-rounders who are able to demonstrate such things as leadership skills, participation in extra-curricular activities and some ideas about how they might make a positive contribution to the life of the school. Whilst academic results are important, we also interview prospective scholarship recipients to determine whether a family might benefit from financial assistance."

Westbourne receives more than 100 scholarship applications each year, and every child will be required to sit a test or audition, which can be highly stressful. 

"The best advice I can give a student is to have a good night's sleep, try not to feel too pressured and, of course, to do their best on the day," she says. 

Naturally, plenty of students don't receive a scholarship, but Ms Hansen advises those who missed out to try and see the experience in a positive light.

Scholarships offer a win-win situation, she says: the recipient reaps the benefits of attending a school that can potentially bring out their best, while other students have a peer they might look up to and feel positively challenged by. The school itself develops a deeper culture.

"Westbourne strives to give each student opportunities to reach their full potential," Ms Hansen says. "Our community is rich in its diversity with a strong focus on our values of community, creativity, scholarship and courage."

More details: westbournegrammar.com.