How do parents afford private school

I’m not talking about top 50. I mean the actual top.

I don’t agree. Law trainees are on nearly £200k. Senior associates on £300k

My sibling works for a MC law firm. Trainees aren't on 200k! Look at NQ salaries, for one...

www.legalcheek.com/2024/11/revealed-what-100-top-law-firms-pay-newly-qualified-solicitors-with-some-earning-180k-straight-from-their-tcs/amp/

Law trainees are not on £200k. I used to work in a top 50 law firm. Trainee salaries there are approx £32k and go up to £50k on qualification (slightly more in the London office). Even in the London offices of US firms, they are not earning £200k as trainees. On qualification, yes, but not as trainees. And those on £200k once qualified are in the minority.

We are both high earners so can afford it easily. Friends we know inherited a legacy for their 3 children ringfenced for their education, however they are struggling with the increased VAT as they are not high earners. All these threads boil down to the same thing, people earn more than you, have inherited, have family help or cut their cloth accordingly, its not rocket science many people earn a lot of money, many people do not.

Here you go @Historyofwolves, from a quick google (note VP is 6+ years into IB, so late 20s if you start out of university).

Indeed. Plenty of junior bankers and PE professionals on £300k by their late 20s too. Don’t bother arguing with that poster though, because she’s lumping professions like investment banking, fund management, city law etc. in with general ‘FS’, when they are VERY distinct.

I don’t agree. Law trainees are on nearly £200k. Senior associates on £300k. Banks and other FS are around thr same. I don’t know why you’re saying otherwise.

Salary for us for 3 kids in private. DH makes 200k and I make 190k before bonuses. We live in a house worth 1.6m. If we didn’t have fees we would have gone for something closer to 2.5m.

So what is a high salary then?

Junior staff aren't paying school fees but they also aren't earning £300k. For the third time, £300k IS a senior salary, even in those sectors, and precisely the kind of salary that generally allows people to pay school fees. That's just fact.

You were responding to a post that was specifically about those professions, but you randomly excluded them from your assessment of £300k as a salary. Then you brought in ‘seniority’ as a factor when this is implicit in a discussion about school fees - junior staff aren’t paying school fees. Of course £300k is a high salary in general, no one would argue with that, but for those groups of professionals it is not a high salary. That’s just fact.

Did you actually read my first post? I specifically excluded 'IB'? And specifically said that even in law, finance, banking etc you have to be pretty senior to get to £300k. So yes the MDs and the big law firm partners earn more, but most well paid people in those sectors do not and £300k would still be a very large salary, even in those sectors and even in London. Saying it isn't a large salary is just disingenuous and pretty gross tbh, and I say that as a high earner!

@Chocaholic37 a lot of jobs at higher levels come with huge bonuses so the basic salary might be £100k but then they get a £200k bonus plus share options etc.

My mum's next door neighbour sends her son (7) and daughter (10) to private school, she won the lottery and was able to buy the 800k house outright. The school isn't too far I had a nose at the fees 25k+ seem to rise every year!

I wish I had her luck!

Not the point of the thread but I’m another one who feels like a total loser reading all this. I have a degree and an MA and earn £43k, more than 10 years after graduating and after a few promotions and career pivots. My husband earns £31k.
We too work hard and make “sacrifices” like driving old cars, not having expensive holidays, buying second hand and doing without cleaners/gardeners/nannies, (lol at those things being a sacrifice, that’s just normal life to most people). Yet we still couldn’t ever afford private school.
Then there people saying £300k isn’t much (wtf) and that jobs paying £100k are ten a penny. Where? London? Which companies?
I’ve never ever seen a job advertised with that kind of salary, or heard of anyone earning that much where I live (Scotland), except for people in CEO/director-type positions or doctors (consultants). Every job advert I’ve ever seen, even for quite senior positions, tops out at about £50-£60k. Even jobs in IT, finance and law that are thought of as lucrative don’t pay much more than that. But clearly some people are somehow earning more, because there are private schools here that are full. I’m not bitter (even though I sound like I am), I just want to know your secret!

You decided to broaden the discussion out to ‘FS’ to make your point but PP was clearly talking about specific roles within FS: investment banking, fund management, City law. Amongst THIS group of professionals, at a level of seniority where one would be putting children through private school (so age 40+), £300k is not a high salary. IB MDs, PE partners, law partners etc. typically make 7 figures, you should know that.

My husband moved to Singapore to pay for the school fees. We too always wondered how people afford independent schools, but tbh it’s a stretch for everyone we know. However, we really had no choice. My eldest needed SEN support which the local secondary school told us they couldn’t support. My dh is now in Dubai, which is a bit closer and better in terms of time difference. But I’m still left raising all 4 kids on my own 4/5 of the year. The difference between state and independent in our area was so profound that we decided to send all 4 of the kids to independent schools, where they’re now very happy and thriving. This decision has been a massive sacrifice for us, but the right thing to do for our family and children.

No. I literally said £300k would be pretty senior in most FS and that is correct - I have the benchmark data! I know the market rates. Not the c-suite at Barclays, no, but most other places. There are very few places, even in FS, where £300k would be pocket change and suggesting that is just a bit cringe to be honest.

I moved to find a job with a 200k salary and perks like subsidised canteen and free barista coffee
hours are long.
stress is high
i mostly love it but worry iN case it all gets too much.

DH works full time too but not at the same level.

we don’t have a cleaner
we don’t have gardener
we don’t have a nanny
we drive battered old cars
DH fixes and mends
we buy 2nd hand. House / garden / stuff as well as Clothes from eBay vinted charity shops etc
Every day shop in Aldi and Lidl
grow our own
DH hunts
we don’t holiday every year and when we do it is camping or to stay with friend or family.
we certainly don’t pay for sky TV

we do have Netflix and Disney but considering stopping that too
inherited furniture!
we rarely go out to th theatre cinema or for dinner

we just need to get thru the next 10 years
currently only 1 in private. Would struggle to have both there.

DC1 doing really well. Such a relief. After failing / being failed in state.

DC2 will need same support but am hoping to get a lodger to help out and hoping for a a Few more years of bonuses to create a buffer

we don’t have family money but we both went to British public schools and were shocked at the state of state school when DC1 started.
Lucky for DC2 we moved before they started school. And this primary is far superior to the outstanding school in a posh area that DC1 started at and nearly ruined him.

so no. It’s not easy.
I’ve taken Out a few new credit cards to pay school fees over the last 3 years. When there was a shortfall.
just hope I can keep working long enough to sort out my retirement once kids are on their own 2 feet.

It isn’t the 24 year-old analysts that are putting children through private school though, is it. It’s implicit in the context of the discussion that we’re talking about senior members of staff - directors, MDs, partners etc. Among this group, in those professions, £300k is not a very high salary. But in general it is of course a high salary.

Stop saying it's not a lot. I work in a senior role in banking. £300k would not be sniffed at and you'd need to be senior to earn that. Yes, a lot of people would laugh in the face of £100k being a lot, but once you start getting over £180k, you're really into MRT territory and you'd be in a highly responsible and stressful role. In my experience that translates across to finance generally and also law. Obviously investment banking is a different kettle of fish but they're not paying the small fry £300k there either!

Ds got a 90% bursary in years 7 and 8 and 100% from year 9. I really think he benefited from going there as he is ASD and was being bullied at his state school. Dd3 would probably have done as well.at state school but felt that as her 3 siblings went private she should too. She has always had a 100% bursary. I coached them both for their entrance exams myself - we applied to 2 schools for ds and he was given a place at both.

@InveterateWineDrinker I meant bursary places with heavy discounts. Some schools give you 10% off if you earn 120k but that doesn't really make it affordable. One of my friends dds has got a 75% discount for a London day school but their income is such that it will be a struggle to find the 25%.

Our 7 year old goes to prep school. It’s not that expensive and costs us around £1100 per month. We earn approx £7000 per month between us and we have one child and a low mortgage of £550. We choose to spend our money on that but it’s not overly tight. We live in a modest area, with a band D house. It is from wages though so if we can’t work we can’t continue…

I remortgaged just for GCSE’s due to bullying in his state school. It’s a struggle and I can’t get rid of the lodger like I wanted to. However, it’s been a huge positive for my son.

He is definitely the poor kid though 😂