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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

Does your school ask you for money?

26 replies

mrsmootoo · 23/10/2013 08:39

Has anyone's secondary school asked for a contribution to general funds (books, materials, IT etc)? My eldest left Year 11 in the summer (it only goes to 16) and we were asked for a donation. No sum specified. We haven't been asked before, but I thought it might make more sense to ask from year 7 onwards then at least your child gets the benefit. The state 6th form college our eldest just started has asked us for £36 this year.

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Tiggles · 23/10/2013 11:31

Yes, but it is a church school so they have to contribute to the 'building maintenance fund'. Less than £20 a year and capped if you have more than one child there.

gazzalw · 23/10/2013 11:35

We pay £25 a month at DS's super-selective so count yourself lucky OP!

JoannaBaxterLovesBumsex · 23/10/2013 11:37

Everything is just shoved on the extras on the bill at ours, so I spend haf a day trying to work out what it all means!

LittleSiouxieSue · 23/10/2013 11:46

I think it is quite common now to ask for money for upgrading school items. By this I mean new books, new lockers, sports equipment etc. When there are large and successful fundraising PTA's schools tend to get this money from the parent body. If it hardly exists, they tend to ask parents direct. My parents were asked for money at my grammar school many moons ago! We were poor and it was hard. It is not fair in my opinion. Everyone can go to a PTA event and spend what they can afford. It is more difficult to refuse to pay a school direct when they ask for money for everyday items.

mrsmootoo · 23/10/2013 11:46

Thanks for the info - I wasn't sure if it was normal at state schools. LittleMissGreen - you might want to check that contribution out. If it's a Voluntary Aided Church school, it's actually the governors' responsibility to find 10% towards any capital spends. Have they passed that on to you as parents? (I think they normally do that with fundraisers, not out of their own pocket or asking parents). It's fine if everyone's happy to pay and it's not much of course.

OP posts:

Preciousbane · 23/10/2013 11:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tiggles · 23/10/2013 13:12

It is voluntary aided, there is a local charity that funds all the local Church in Wales schools, we get asked to donate an amount to them. I don't think it is 'forced' but recommended.

BrigitBigKnickers · 23/10/2013 22:45

We are asked if we would contribute to the standards fund and a sum of £12 a month is suggested. It is in no way compulsory.

We do it but I know parents who don't.

(State grammar school)

mindgone · 24/10/2013 19:49

A suggested donation of £50 per child per term here, or what you can afford within your means, lower or higher!

toolatetobed · 24/10/2013 23:10

Not asked to contribute to general funds. Everyone asked to pay for their own child when the kids went on a day trip at the beginning of Year 7 during school hours. They require payment for optional trips running outside of school hours, as you would expect. Asked to make a contribution in respect of materials for sewing class. Can't remember amount but it was definitely under a fiver. They charge for tickets to the school Christmas concert (which takes place in the evening) so they make some money that way.

Bunbaker · 25/10/2013 09:13

No. The headteacher isn't keen on non uniform days, so they have only had two so far. DD is in year 9 and I have only paid for a panto trip in year 7 and £2 for the non uniform days and that is it.

AugustRose · 25/10/2013 09:23

My DC's school doesn't ask for money towards general funds but others in the area do, something like £25 per year.

marriedinwhiteisback · 26/10/2013 22:13

The cofe school we sent our dd to never stopped asking for money. The piece de resistance was when they wrote and said they were upping the maintenance fund contribution from 100 to 300 per annum less than 24 hours after telling us they were all going on strike the following day and didn't have the courtesy to apologise for any inconvenience.

Having suffered nearly 18 months of broken promises since accepting the place that was the final catalyst that made us realise the ethos of the school was poles apart from our own principles, was a significant reason why our dd was so unhappy and made us go and talk to the indy schools we turned down the year before. Fortunately one had a place for her.

We didn't have problem with donations to a cofe school by the way, we just had a problem with the money grabbing attitude and sense of entitlement when promises made at admissions had not been met and the school was undergoing a significant sea change.

gazzalw · 27/10/2013 07:51

that sounds grim, Marriedinwhiteisback.... Hope your DD is happier in her new school....

DW commented that she was going to start keeping note of the extras we are asked for....aside from the £25 per month 'voluntary contribution' we've also had a plea for £15 for D&T and, I'm sure, £10 for another subject (possibly Art?) too - not huge amounts but I do wonder why the school seems to need these payments that are not asked for at comprehensives....

bigTillyMint · 27/10/2013 08:14

Not at their secondary - large comp, but primary was a CofE school so there was something like £25 each a year.

We occasionally have to supply extras for Food Tech - like raisins/chocolate drops to "change" the basic recipe. And if the DC need additional art materials they can buy them from the school shop.

Obviously you will be asked to pay a "voluntary contribution" for a school trip if you want your DC to go.

Thankfully there is no PTA either

NoComet · 27/10/2013 08:24

Our CofE governors asked once, those of us on the PTA said we do enough already and lost the letters, we suspect most other parents did too.

Wilfer · 27/10/2013 18:32

School 1 asks for direct debit of £50 per month. School 2 asks for £20 per year. Both state schools.

prettybird · 29/10/2013 13:03

Ds' (state) secondary school asks for £10 for home ec. That's the only charge that I can recall for "basic" education. There's a cost for "extended" school trips (like a long weekend to Paris or London) but there is also an "Achievement Fund" which the Parent Council contributes to (funds raised from things like the Mela which it runs) and which the school matches from its own resources, which is used to ensure the no pupil ever misses out due to lack of money.

BackforGood · 29/10/2013 15:12

Both my dcs' state secondary schools asked for a contribution of £10 for school fund as they were about to start Yr7, but then both have been very lax in following that up later.
Strikes me, that asking the 'not quite started yr&' parents to sign up to a standing order for 5 years would be a sensible idea.
I wouldn't mind paying that sort of amount each year - to be fair, I think that would be fair just to cover use of the minibuses we never get charged for, before you even start in on anything else.
Does seem an odd time to ask as you leave though.

coppertop · 29/10/2013 15:16

No contributions at ds' state secondary.

Parents pay for trips but that's about it, unless you count taking in ingredients for cookery.

IloveJudgeJudy · 29/10/2013 15:20

My old secondary school asked for school fund. You had to pay it. It wasn't much, but it was hard for my parents as we weren't rich. DC's Catholic secondary school asks for £120 per year. We pay £60, but we do pay it. Many don't pay anything. DD's grammar asks for £20 per year. So schools always did ask for school fund ime.

IloveJudgeJudy · 29/10/2013 15:21

Meant to say that we pay £60 which is what it used to be. The school now asks for £120, but we still pay £60 as we know that some very well-off parents pay nothing at all (and moan a lot about the school, without doing anything about what they're moaning about).

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CarpeVinum · 29/10/2013 15:31

My son goes to an Independant Secondary Online School. We pay for fees and books, but nothing else. Don't really need our money for extras given how all pur kids are actually in their own homes when at school.

At Italian stare there used to be money flowing out for insurance for the kids (in case they got hurt at school) and other various stuff, plus we'd have to send in loo roll, soap, photocopy paper in bulk packets etc. etc.

CarpeVinum · 29/10/2013 15:31

At Italian state

lborolass · 29/10/2013 15:45

Yes, I'm asked for a small contribution, £10 I think, per year for materials for woodwork etc. This doesn't include cooking for which I send all the ingredients. I don't mind and I can afford to pay, I'm not sure what happens if you don't pay

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