School fees have risen by 19% in the space of 12 months

[Findingfactsaboutfees]

AIBU to think this is outrageous ?! Fees are exorbitant anyhow and in the last 12 months we have had an increase of 19% by way of 2 increases in a 12 month period. Fees per year for the senior school are £16690 per year and do not include state of the art facilities as other local schools do. The junior school fees aren't much less either! This is a school in the north of England. If you are paying for education, where are you based and how much do you pay? I wonder whether it is comparable.

Private education will only be for the ultra-rich if fees continue to rise at the rate that they are. It is unsustainable for most working professionals who are comfortable but not ultra-wealthy! Parents locally have tried to take their children out but can't as there are no state school places to be had within a 12 mile radius. The only other option is home schooling which isn't possible when the parents are working full time. We're not yet at the point where we are thinking of taking our child out of school but hearing the plight of those who are in the process of trying to is worrying. I've always been a labour voter but if they do go ahead with the introduction of VAT, I fear it's going to get even worse.

So we only go by the lowest denominator now? Many can't afford to provide tutors, sports clubs, drama clubs etc. Should we now vilify those that can?

My dd is taking 4 a levels. A level maths is completed in two terms to move on to further maths a level in term 3 of the first year.

That is a huge increase, and seems a very high fee.

We are in Lancashire and fees are no-where near that our local private school or their local competitor. At ours it’s been 1 rate rise of 8% in the last 3 years, which I thought was very fair.

Have a look at the websites of some other private school - fees tended to be listed.

I think it would work out better for everyone if only the mega rich could afford private (and I say that as someone whose parents wouldn’t have been able to afford todays prices).

There would be far more social and political will to properly fund and reform the state education system if the middle classes were forced to use them too.

I'm pretty sure the school haven't done this for the hell of it. Two pretty big price rises in close succession suggests the fees they were charging before weren't really viable or didn't have much flex in them.

There is a national shortage of teachers. This means private schools have to pay more to attract and retain good staff. As state sector pay increases, if they lag behind then they may struggle to recruit. I know many private schools pay over the odds to recruit physics specialists etc. Staffing is the biggest cost for any school, and when there is a shortage of labour, wages will obviously go up.

Schools are also facing massively increased energy bills, and many private schools will have a bigger energy bill than state schools to start with because of expensive facilities like floodlit pitches, swimming pools etc.

In the next few years, some schools are also facing large capital IT costs, because of the move to windows 11 - this means replacing any machines that won't run it. At my school, we have a lot of laptops that are less than 5 years old but won't run windows 11. In a private school it's likely these would be replaced, and this will run in to thousands.

There's a longish running thread on secondary education discussing all these things in a more rational way, and lots of people are reporting rises of over 10%.

The rises OP describes are especially steep though, which makes me wonder if this particular school is in financial trouble or maybe knows they will need to carry out some expensive building work soon. I would be looking at the school accounts carefully and consider moving my children to somewhere that seems a bit more stable.

I'm sure the people running the school are aware of the impact of these fee rises, I doubt they would have done it if they felt they had other choices.

Well yes but usually if you're not using something you don't pay out for it a second time.

Imagine complaining your fees going up but people are having to survive on wages less than your annual fees

Its not a race to the bottom. Someone who does have the money to spend on private school shouldn't feel guilty as others are low earners otherwise we will all just end up in a heap at the bottom. It's sad that it's seen as negative in this country to earn a decent wage or that you should feel some moral guilt about it, no wonder we have savage brain drain.

The cost of everything is increasing, many are worried about how they are going to feed their children - never mind send them to a private school. 19% is a lot but if you are able to afford private education in the first place you are already in a very privileged position.

For many of us it isn't about making sacrifices or working a bit harder. On paper my partner and I earn an ok income. In reality I can't afford to pay for an operation my child needs but doesn't quite qualify for on the NHS. So someone moaning about the cost of a luxury, increasing leaves a bad taste in my mouth - especially when it's followed by 'those parents made sacrifices' and 'work hard/long hours'.

I think 19% increase is pretty much in line with the rate that everything else has gone up. I would always (if I did!), go into the private education sector with the assumption that the fees would increase annually and potentially by a large amount if the economic situation dictated it.
Dh and I are doctors, (GP's),as are many of our friends. I think I know one family who manages to send one of their to DC private school on a 40% scholarship. ' Doctors' can range from your F1/F2's on £30k to Gp's on £60K to Hospital Consultant with a private list on £250K. Doctors able to send their kids to private school are few and far btw.

Yes let's close all independent schools then. All state schools will miraculously become equal - nobody will notice any difference between a school in a deprived inner city area and a wealthy suburb. Suddenly everyone will become 'equal' won't they? House prices will no longer reflect catchment areas, so nobody will move to get their children into certain schools. No more malarkey there. Schools in wealthier areas will be banned from fundraising of any type. People will definitely abandon religion and faith schools will disappear overnight. Govt finding is bound to miraculously increase for all schools equally ti more than compensate for the additional influx. The rich won't become richer with all the money they save from not having to pay school fees. Nor will they be tempted to buy other advantages or future investments for their children. Noooo! Who would do such a thing? They will just give the money away.

Sorry but I never had a spare £32000 around to pay for anything like this. In fact I never earned that per annum, despite doing a responsible job in the public sector. I'll probably be told to shut up, but it's not a disaster if you can't carry on paying. A disaster is being repossessed and becoming homeless and having to present as homeless.

Yeah, not really feeling that sorry for people who choose to private school fees. It's a choice to go private not an essential, unlike food, heating and clothing which a lot of people are struggling to pay at the moment.

Private schools are meant to be exclusive. It has never been its goal to be priced at a level where everyone able to go. I don't really see what the issue is.

I agree, in general, it is a luxury and if we lost a job, the hard fact is we couldn't afford.
However we don't consider the very low fees a luxury for our SEN challenged DC who our doctor agreed would be chewed up and spat out by the local schools.

Very happy it's not a problem I have

I think most people budget for 5-10% fee increases yearly (although some people forget this will be cumulative). But obviously when inflation is so much higher, school costs will increase by more than 10% on average. Plus add in a shortage of teachers putting pressure on wages.

I have a couple of friends (science teachers) who have recently moved from state to private. One school wanted to set up a class for the new astronomy GCSE, but couldn't find anyone suitable to teach it. The wage they offered was quite a bit higher than my friend was earning in the state sector (for those who know teacher pay scales, think top of UPS Vs M6). If this is being replicated everywhere they have a skills shortage, then there will be a lot of upwards pressure on staffing costs.

If private school parents want lower fees, then I think solving the teacher shortage in this country would go a long way.

I'm intrigued by a point in your opening post, OP. You said that you've always voted Labour, but now because of this, you may change? Why? (To both parts of your statement).

Looks like Mumsnet is not the place for sympathy on school fees op. You are right, that's a big rise and as others have said, most likely linked to their costs increasing with inflation. Not all of us are fortunate enough to live close to a state school with places (let alone a good one), so private gives you the ability to educate your children locally at somewhere half decent. It'll be a tough few years but well done for recognising the importance of a good education for your kids. You are doing the best for them. Sacrificing some holidays, nice cars, meals out and subscriptions is a small price to pay. A lot more people could afford private school if they wanted to but choose not to make these sacrifices.

Yes this. The insidious route of buying your privilege by stealth is worse when it comes to competition for university places.

People who pay for tutors should be forced to declare this on UCAS forms.

There's a limited supply of the best university places and when you have to pay extra for tutors because your kids are not as smart as the state kids, you should have to make this transparent.

Top universities already filter applicants according to whether they paid and they also look at your individual school results to see what kind of opportunities you had: An A from a bogstandard comp is worth more than an A from a grammar and way more than an A* from Harrow.

It would be even fairer if they also had access of the kids who had to be spoonfed by tutors because they couldn't make it like the rest of our kids.

Disclaimer: I have no beef with people who send their kids to private schools or pay for tutors because they have additional needs or because their child has a horrible time at school because of other pupils

The sad reality of life is that kids that have disabilities will always have a smoother life if their parents have lots of money lying around. For example it would be nice if say they had a parent who was very senior in a good industry who could circumvent the normal recruitment process and get them a job (this would also help them get promotions if the industry is competitive etc), but sadly many do not have this.

The erroneous bold writing has obscured the meaning, the As should read A stars

This exactly. Same goes for everyone upset about the potential VAT increase - people are ok with the unfair system as long as they are on the privileged side of the divide. Once the dividing line shifts and people find themselves on the other side because they can't afford the fees, they suddenly find solidarity with the people whom they were happy to previously exclude!

As I’m sure you know independent schools don’t make a profit so the fee rises are generally to make up for discounts during covid, to deal with the huge hike in pension contributions from the employer and to fund pay and maintenance. Our schools has only increased by 7% but it is tough for families. If Labour gets in, and despite it not being in my best interests in terms of my job, I absolutely hope the do, then it will get worse. As other posters have said the fees you quote are quite low comparatively.

Well yes but usually if you're not using something you don't pay out for it a second time.

The poster is talking about taxes, so this is nonsense. You pay your taxes throughout life whether you use the things they fund or not (and I have no issue with that in principle although I might question some areas of government expenditure).

People who privately educate their DC paying taxes that fund state schools simply puts them in the same bracket as people who don't have DC paying those taxes. But unless you envisage a future where all products and services will be provided by and run by people who were privately educated, of course we need to provide education for all our future citizens.

Apparently we all have to accept we are poorer.

https://www.independent.co.uk/business/someone-will-have-to-get-poorer-to-end-runaway-inflation-says-bank-economist-b2326571.html

The point is those that 'can and do' give their children a better chance are complaining about the cost of the better chance.