If you send your child to private school, do you think this will work?

£4K and £100k savings plus a house … that’s why people
assume the well off use private schools, because they do!
What a waste of money. Use state school, pay for decent extra curricular ( private will be charging you anyway for music tuition, drama tuition, etc) show some interest in your kids education and they’ll be fine.
Better than fine - with all the advantages you can give.
Private school is no longer the pathway to privilege it used to be - my global company’s new grad scheme specifies state school only from age 6 all the way through.
We trialled it a few years ago for diversity, and the calibre and resilience of those grad was so good it’s permanent .
Of course, we don’t discriminate against privately educated - we just did away with the actual grad scheme ‘for now’ and have a DEI programme running separately that they aren’t eligible for.

No capital letter required to start the word 'klaxon' klaxon.🤦‍♂️

Wait until secondary. I sent mine private from Reception and it nearly bankrupted us because once they start the idea of taking them out is awful. If I had my time over I would keep them in state primary for as long as possible then switch. There's the fees then the uniform, the trips and lots and lots of extras.

You've got a house deposit for DC saved which is good, but also think about if you can also afford to contribute to university costs and driving lessons as well as giving your DC good experiences like holidays, activities and days out which are important for a balanced life. You also need to be able to save for your own life and retirement, have you got a decent pension pot and savings for yourself? I'd prioritise all those things over private school as life isn't just about which school you go to. If you have got all that then go for it.

Twat Klaxon!

I personally believe prep/pre-prep is when kids receive the true benefit of being privately educated if you pick the right school. Access to sports, access to a broad mix of experiences, art and music when the brain is forming means these kids tend to do well regardless of where they study later.

If you invest well you might be able to get a 15-20% annual return on your capital which could pay fees and still leave you with capital. Look at a good mix of high dividend (low risk
) stocks. Eg HSBC, Lloyds etc.

I think private school is great. Dh and I both privately educated. We haven’t thus far sent ours private as it would be cutting it close, though would consider it in secondary (eldest going into y7) if they were struggling.

What I wouldn’t waste money on is pre-prep or prep. Send them to a good state primary and bank those years of savings and re-assess what would be best for them as they enter secondary school.

As for your affordability, Dh and I make twice what you make and it would be tight. Investing that savings now to pay out at secondary age would be wise.

If this money is all you have then I'd put the money aside for a property / deposit for them when they are 18 and send them to school for free!

Do take a day off

I would take that 100k right now and buy a property ASAP. This gives you an ever increasing rolling income that will pay your child’s fees as they get older.

This is very doable in northern towns and cities with good returns

@PotatoPie111

Good point about the increased cost of childcare as holidays in the independent sector are much longer.

We have a nine week summer holiday, two week long half terms (apart from May), and three week Easter and Christmas breaks. All of those extra weeks outside of state sector holidays will require considerable childcare costs on top of those fees you're paying.

I would also say - think really carefully about what kind of world you'll be entering your child into and the wellbeing impacts of that choice. As independent schools do become more elite, your child will be sharing her school life with the children of very, very wealthy people who have access to a lifestyle you can't provide and your child will feel shut out of. I see this at my school. We have kids living in £20 million central London mansions being chauffeured to school by the family driver, unlimited pocket money and helicoptered off to their private islands every holiday. They go out for lunch every day and think nothing of dropping £20 on sushi and iced coffees. They never, ever have to think about money or what things cost. If that is the financial situation of your entire friendship group and your parents are not in the same position, it's really, really hard. A lot of my colleagues send their kids to our school as they get such a huge discount on the fees, but a lot of them say they do feel that it wasn't the right decision as their children feel very much like outsiders and often can't participate in the social life outside of school because their friends think nothing of going out for £100 dinners and so on, which is just not something a parent on a teaching salary can keep up with. So just be mindful of what you're doing. There is a lot more cost to going to private school than just the fees if you see what I mean.

Yes you can. I’m of much more limited means and I send two to private school. It means some interesting sacrifices sometimes but we make it work. If it’s that important to you I believe we find ways to do it!

I don’t have a child at PS but I would definitely price up all the ‘extras’ like trips. Would you expect ex to go halves, he might refuse on the basis they are more expensive than state. Same with uniform.
Do the school expect everyone to do an instrument and have lessons as extra. Things like this need to be added up.
summer holidays are longer aren’t they so need more childcare cover then.

I know 2 ordinary people struggling with fees just now, especially if they go up. 1 had an outstanding primary and secondary on her doorstop and just rejected them without looking. Even a few years in primary could have made the difference now.
The second used an inheritance and it’s running out in early secondary. His wife actually quit her job so she could take child to and from school as they live far away. I think they should have moved for a better school myself.

Not a stealth boast at all. Exactly the sort of info that's needed when weighing up affordability of private school fees.

Totally agree with the sector shrinking, I work in the mid range section, we don't expect any change, we are over-subscribed and have a waiting list, and thus far only one family withdrawing over VAT.

It will be the lower end of the market that will suffer, with the normal earnings parents priced out.

When I was at prep school it was what we called an "owner head" school, the headmaster owned the school, family business, passed down the generations - most of these are long gone. Small trust schools will also suffer, with advantages removed and parents unable to afford the fees needed to keep going.

It will ultimately make private school a more elitist thing.

I don’t have 100k in savings either, but I don’t wander onto the private education threads and get arsey about over people’s financial situations

its not a ‘stealth boast’- it’s vital information for when someone is discussing financial planning for education

Some people have more money than you

get over it

Another independent (and former state) teacher here. I would think you could struggle, as the other teacher up thread said, prices will go up by around a third in the time given, but your reserves won't keep pace.

I would look at the provision of the state near you, I teach in a good indy and our teaching and extras are superb, but I have previously taught in a Grammar and a Comp both of which had just as dedicated and good teaching staff - most of us teachers are equally educated and qualified wherever we lay our hats, cast from the same die so to speak, so it is a myth that the education in private is better.

What you do get is all the extras that we offer, as well as smaller class sizes, built in wraparound, boarding etc.

It's worth noting that, as the other teacher pointed out, there are many charges on top, such as trips, subscriptions etc. for example we do a ski trip at extra cost, horse riding and shooting cost extra as they are done off site, run by the local stables and TA centre respectively.

You work it out!

@Amyia i have in front of me my DD’s fee prediction from the bursar for fees in 2028/2029; £29,157. With VAT that will be £35,000 give or take.

@Amyia

Big tech company CEOs, oligarchs, start up investors, private equity and hedge fund managers, CEOs of various world banks. footballers, musicians, movie stars….we’ve got them all at my school!