How much would you say it costs to privately educate one child through secondary school ? Do you think 150k is about right ?

[Kittencuddler]

How much extra would you need for trips and clubs etc

only talking secondary to finishing sixth form

state primary educated

Whatever the fees are, you need to budget 7-10% year on year for inflation
Ours cost ~£8 a term which is not a particularly expensive school

For the private schools near me it wouldn't be enough, as the fees are £30k to £40k per year. I know some private schools are cheaper though.

Unless it's a very cheap one, a lot more than that
Looking at my DD's old school the fees alone at today's prices would be near £200k, but they will go up every year. Then allow £500 for uniform/sports wear, clubs are usually included unless something very expensive, trips, well how long is a piece of string? If they go on a hockey tour to Australia for eg then £££, if it's 2 nights to Pompeii a lot less. Obviously these are all optional.

You need to look at the fees of some schools, they will be on their websites. Then calculate between 5% and 10% increase per annum. Also add costs of any equipment needed, sport and academic. Than additional costs for any extra curricular activities, plus pocket money.

Yeah it was just the average of trips and club and uniforms that kinda thing

We did the sums and reckoned you needed approx £250k per kid to allow for everything and unexpected high increases

thanks for the food for thought

I really had no idea how often trips and things like that occur

Even local to me I know that the prices vary so for the best answer I'd look at a specific school

Add inflation and a uniform/extras estimate for the most reliable figure

No point in me telling you a local one to me if you're interested in Eton 😁

Would be £250k in fees alone at the schools near me. Plus maybe £25k in trips/uniform etc?

One reason of many why we are in state…

About £250k for a day school in our area allowing some contingency for fee rises.

I wouldn’t worry about uniform or trips. The main trips are included at ours and you can always say no to the ski trip. Uniform is only a significant outlay at the start then the rest you buy as/when but they don’t outgrow it all at once and teens should get multiple years out of stuff. Also there will likely be a second hand shop. Drop in the ocean really compared to the fees!

Hmmmm quite tight for SE i think....
150k is 7k per term with no extras factored for and assumes no inflation.

We calculated we'd need £200-250k per child that assumes something like...
London collegiate, Habs, Westminster, UCS. (So day schools)
And no school trip to Costa Rica etc

Given inflation we think fees could come to more than that.

We started PS with DC in September and aside from fees, the biggest expense so far has been £400 in the uniform shop! Bulk of that cost is the 3(!) different sports kits needed but those are all through so are currently at least 3 sizes too big and won’t need replacing annually.
We’ve got circa £500 of trips to pay for this year, we already know when they are, the cost of each one and when it needs to be paid by. I’m expecting that to increase as they go up the school.
The school day itself is longer so we are no longer spending anything on wrap around care and things like swimming and music lessons are part of the fees so no additional costs for those.
The lunches are about the same as state were, so no real difference.

No, I’d say you’re at least 100k short on feee alone.

I've set aside £120k for my daughter through secondary, BUT - that's only my half, her father is paying the other half. Also she has a small scholarship (10%). I'm hoping what I've got will cover the fees, trips, and "extras" and that I'll still have some left afterwards, particularly as I've stuck the lot into as high-interest an account as I could find.

We're London borders, day school, fees are £7-8k per term.

The food costs are higher, the trips cost more, the uniform is bloody pricey. Also there are some small "hidden" costs I wouldn't have even known to think about - like they need pens in a certain specific colour to mark with, so I've had to hunt some down.

Trips are definitely more frequent than state school.
You can make savings with things like second hand uniform, but ultimately you have to be prepared to fund new if needed.

We are north west and that would not even cover fees set now, with no inflation taken into account

This. School fees had gone up 25-30% before the vat increases.

School bus here is around £600 per term but kids come a fair distance from rural villages
School lunches optional £5 a day plus tuck shop cash.
Uniforms, and sports gear. Kids grow quickly though most schools have a decent and well
used preloved uniform shop. If you have a very sporty kid, it adds up but a sporty kid playing in lots of clubs will be the exact same.
School trips are usually optional. We’ve had one compulsory one which was partially covered by fees so £250 for transport only.
Music, drama, other lessons. Again, same as state just the benefit of it all taking place on site which is a godsend if you have two
working parents.

The trips fluctuate over the years, less in y11 for example, more in others. Some pricey like sports tours £3k but actually get a lot for that money. Fewer trips in sixth form. I'd say over year 7-13 if every opportunity was taken perhaps an extra £3k per year. Lunches and bus extra £3k year. Uniform total over the time maybe ££1k total, plenty of hand me downs and sharing of uniform between children. Uniform is a tiny amount of private school coat, almost irrelevant.

So for total cost including fees budget over £250k.

Very often and generally very expensive. My friend is a teacher in a local private school with fees around £30k a year. This year, the Y9s have been skiing in Austria, done Disneyland Paris and are currently in Marrakech!. They’ve got 2 more big trips booked this academic year so that’s around £10k in total. Of course, your child doesn’t have to go on any of them.

Actually I hadn’t considered inflation - fees seem to go up by 10-20% per year, regardless of VAT/inflation. So by the end of 6th form, what is currently £30k per year will be closer to £60k per year.

So, at least £350 to cover the whole 7 years, assuming you aren’t planning to add to your savings pot at all (ie if grandparents are paying or you are using an inheritance or something).

Locally to me Secondary schools are getting on for £30k a year.

So £210k for 7 years… plus you need to assume they’ll go up each year.

Very much in the realms of ‘is it really worth it’ now.

Around here (south east) more like £250k

We’ve estimated that to be the cost, possibly slightly more. Depends on how robust the school is and if it has a trust that supports it. The larger the trust the more affordable the fee rises. This is based on fees of 25k per year x 5 years = 125k, plus extras (uniform, trips etc.).

£40k a year for a boarder where my DC are.

Lunch and clubs included. 5-10% discounts for scholarships.

DC not interested in big trips though they do happen.. MY DC been to Athens with classics dept and Hadrians wall so far!

£650 for full set of uniform in first form.

Bus is £900 a term.

Peripatetic lessons can be £20 a session.

Thank god mine aren't sporty because then you are travelling all across the south to fixtures!

I have 1 DC just started at an "average" private secondary (fees currently 24k pa inc vat). She has a 15% scholarship.

I have a model that works out 5% yoy cost increase and an allowance for uniform/trips/music etc. (this has been tested against the last few years fee increases)

I have allowed more like 180-190k to include inflation - without the scholarship it would be 215k.