School bursar salary 2025/26
The median UK school bursar salary is approximately £42,500 once independent, state and academy posts are blended. The range is wide: a sub-300-pupil prep bursar normally earns from the high £30,000s, while a MAT CFO above 10 schools regularly earns above £120,000. The page sets the bands by school type and region.
Headline figures
| Segment | Low | Median | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prep school bursar | £38,000 | £48,000 | £65,000 | ISBA |
| Senior independent | £55,000 | £72,000 | £95,000 | ISBA |
| Boarding school | £65,000 | £82,000 | £115,000 | ISBA |
| State-maintained SBM | £35,000 | £44,000 | £58,000 | NJC + ONS |
| Academy trust CFO | £55,000 | £78,000 | £140,000+ | ATH + sector |
| SEND school | £38,000 | £48,000 | £62,000 | ONS + DfE HN |
By school type
Prep school
ISBA prep-school band with the typical fees-remission and accommodation package.
School typeSenior independent
HMC and SoH bands, including the bursar-as-COO range.
School typeBoarding school
Day-school plus boarding uplift, including on-site accommodation value.
School typeAcademy trust CFO
MAT CFO bands by GAG and number of schools.
School typeState-maintained SBM
NJC Green Book and LGPS-based band for the maintained sector.
School typeSEND school
High-needs top-up funding and the special-school SBM band.
School typeFaith school
C of E, Catholic and Jewish trust structures and bands.
By region
London
Inner and outer London uplift.
RegionSouth East
South East including the London fringe.
RegionNorth West
Manchester and Liverpool MAT bands.
RegionYorkshire
Leeds and Sheffield bands.
RegionScotland
SCIS and SNCT bands.
Salary calculator
The salary calculator on this site lets the bursar combine school type, pupil count, region and tenure to produce an indicative band sourced to ISBA, ONS and the Academy Trust Handbook. Outputs are full sentences and can be pasted into a governor paper without reformatting.