To ask honestly how much private secondary and sixth form cost you?

[Quantumphysics]

I have two DC, considering private secondary and sixth form after state primary. I’m trying to do some financial planning. Those who send their children to private secondary and sixth form, can you please tell me how much you spend on fees, transport, uniform, books, meals, trips, extracurricular activities? I’m reallt trying to get a realistic idea as to whether this is something we can do. My DCs are 2 years apart and therefore will have several years of paying for two at the same time.

I'm not in the slightest bemused at you using the second hand shop.

I'm not in the slightest bemused at you using the second hand shop.

I am confused that you don't appear to consider that doing so significantly reduces your expenditure thus undermining your assertion that yours is more "standard".

Your DDs must be considerably more demure than mine: knees gone in tracksuits, torn polo shirts, leaked pens on blouses etc etc all mean the idea of uniform lasting beyond a year is alien.

And don't get me started on DS ability to destroy at least one pair of trousers a term

I think you'd do a lot better to move house so that you're near to excellent schools.

I would agree with PP that moving to a grammar schools area would be a smart choice here. Especially ones like Kent & Buckinghamshire which are 'selective' but not 'super selective'.

My dc go to state school, we almost sent dc1 to an indie, but he did not want to go. So obviously I can’t give experience, however, you are asking for fees and expenditure now, when your dc aren’t even in school yet. Prices are going to change drastically by the time they go. So your 200k saving for both to go, may only be enough for 1 to attend. You say you can move anywhere for your job, as there are plenty everywhere. Will that still be the case in say 14 years time?

It's worth remembering that even at state school, you will have to buy uniform, lunch, travel costs etc.

My DCs are both at private secondary school. The uniform for one is relatively cheap, with shirts, jumpers and trousers able to be purchased anywhere. The sports kit wasn't too bad - on a par with state. My DDS school has just changed uniform, and the new one is very expensive. Neither had to have a specific coat though. Both have very well run second hand shoos, which are well used.

One had to have school lunch until Y11, the other has a card operated canteen or packed lunches. Neither had to pay for exercise or text books. We live near enough to both for public transport, and as in London, children get free/cheap travel.

The compulsory trips for academic purposes are reasonable. Places on the ski trips or 'let's visit Borneo for fun' trips are expensive, but have limited places and many students do not go. Exotic sports tours usually have several fund-raising events to subsidise the costs.

Both you have to pay the fees for exam entry for GCSEs and A levels.

It really will depend on the individual school, and your own child's interests. Neither of mine have ever been involved in sports tours!

All very well moving to a grammar school area, but if your child doesn't get into grammar school will the other state schools be okay if they now can't afford private school

Eek, just realised I missed a zero. The fees for my daughters old school are now £20500pa not £2050.

Going for a cheaper school can be a false economy. The cheaper schools in our town aren't much cop. You would be paying for a second rate education. There are first rate state schools that are better than the 2nd or 3rd rate independents in our town.

For some perspective when ds transferred at 8, the overall cost including lunches, trips, uniform, music, etc was about £9k. At 18 it was about £21k. Uni accommodation and subs about £8k pa. Living at home for his Masters but fees was £14k. He is contemplating a PhD.

There may be merit in saving funds for later if budget may be an issue.

My DCs don’t go to private school, we’re in a position to afford it but WC backgrounds so have chosen to not have our kids educated in an elitist bubble.

Most pointless contribution ever

On the charitable status, DD's school is part of a large group that is openly a business and does not have CS. I'm ok with this, they're not pretending otherwise

Fees for 2DC, inclusive of travel, uniform, trips, school dinners, music lessons, but mainly just fees add up to £40k pa for us. (Average fees of around £5.5k per term around here.)
Could be cheaper away from London, but not massively so, I'd think. So in total, that's around £280k (bit less as fees have gone up) for schooling from Yr 7 to end of Yr 13, inclusive of absolutely everything.

If you can move anywhere, move somewhere with excellent state schools, and save the money for university, and to have great life experiences outside of school.

of course this depends on where you are surely? Im in London and my daughters school (shes's 4 btw) is about £12k per annum. Her uniform is about £500 for three sets of each. Extras we have are theatre school and a sunday hobby she does. You have to consider inflation as well. Its all well and good to save now, but it might not be enough when your children finally get to that age.

As well as doing your research into private schools, do consider moving to the catchment area of an outstanding state school. If you choose state schooling you could save up to help pay off university expenses, house deposits and insurance/car costs for when they start driving.

I just double checked their website. Turns out I remembered it wrong... sorry OP. Got your hopes up there.

But just in case what they have is still reasonable for you:

Years 7 - 8: £4585 per term
Years 9 - 11: £5225 per term
Sixth Form: £5430 per term

They do a loyalty discount though for those pupils who go through 7 - 11 by keeping the fees at the Year 11 level. Doesn't include lunch either.

So for 7-11 you're looking at:

(6 × £4585) + (9 x £5225) =
£27,510 + £47,025 =
£74,535

If you're still interested, I'll PM you their details.

About £20K pa here for day school fees - school lunch compulsory at £250 per term. No second hand uniform as the school keep changing it. (3 different uniforms in 10 years) Uniform costs:
Blazer £95
Blouses £20 each
Skirt £50 each
Jumper £40 each
Tracksuit £100
Polo top £20
Skort £20
Swimming costume £20
Swimming Cap - £10
PE shorts £15
Hockey Socks £10
Science Overall £15
Kit bag £20
Swimming bag £7.50
T shirt to wear over swimming costume £10
Leotard £15
Shorts to go over leotard £12.50

All logoed so have to buy from the school suppliers - I really think the PE staff should be taken out and shot at dawn....

Then on top of that black school shoes, black trainers for netball, white ones for tennis and football boots for hockey, and a plain black coat and rucksack. Oh and optional school logoed midlayer - £40 for the top and £35 for the bottoms if you have money to burn). Then remember that all the older girls will see Year 7 PE kit as fair game to use when they forget theirs (as Yr 7s will have a complete set to nick). PE staff wont give a 4X when it goes missing and tell you to replace it.....

Plus tennis racket, hockey stick, specific dictionaries, specific all singing all dancing scientific calculator....

Most clubs not run by staff are £25 a term

Luckily public transport to school is reasonable - otherwise school bus is £3 per trip.

@Quantumphysics Our private school tells parents that if they don't have an income of £150K+ that they realistically won't be able to keep up with school fees, trips etc for 2 children. Their fees rise to £18-20K p.a. for day students.Pluss late summer programme trips each year, plus optional trips, music lessons, or hot lunches, (packed lunches are fine, too). There is no school uniform, which is lovely, but possibly more expensive in the long run (designer brands are frowned upon, so the dress code isn't competitive).

It's not elitist at all. Teachers go by their first names, emphasis is on personal development, not academic achievement. It really suits families who have the money, but don't want that pushy, grade-seeking experience for their children.

I agree with lots of posters that grammar would be ideal, as we wouldn't have to pay, but the pressure to get in can be immense. I feel now that mine are bright, but I have no idea what they will be like in a few years. I also don't want to push them to achieve academically. I want them to fulfil their own potential and not feel demotivated, bored or uninspired.
We are looking for a setting that is more nurturing than uber-competitive, and have a few locally in mind, but equally would be happy to move.

@SnowyAlps, yes we are both in extremely stable careers so I do think even in the current climate, there will be jobs for both DH and I countrywide. We are lucky that both of us are in professions where we can find work pretty much anywhere, and don't need to be near a major city.

@Rabbiting on, yes in a couple of years our joint income will be £140K, more if I increase my hours as I currently work 3 days a week. Also we are planning to save £200K over the next 8-10 years which should help reduce the financial burden by the time they start.

@Plinkpink: thankyou, that looks similar fees-wise to the schools I am interested in here in our area, but please feel free to PM me if you recommend the school!

@shitholiday2018: I think the comment was quite rude actually. And when another poster commented on this, you asked for their post to be removed.
Your comment was snide and unnecessary. I think we can afford it, but as we have not got to the stage of paying for it yet, I was asking people for information to help me and DH do some planning, so we could look at extra costs. Plenty of people send their children to private school who are not extremely wealthy by careful financial planning. We are not very wealthy, but we will be earning enough to make it happen.

rabbiting is that a school up north perchance?

At the moment, £150K per secondary aged DC NOW. £300K for 2 DC.

In 8 yrs' time, taking account of a 5% annual increase, it would be approx £210K per child. So, I reckon approx £420K for 2 DC.