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.

there are no state schools with sixth forms in the city where I live, just one tertiary college with 10 to 12 000 students. Clearly not all are taking a levels, but with maths a level as one of the more popular a level choices there are no classes with three students.

‘The point of the thread is, is the rise in fees reasonable? Rather predicatbly, got off topic. Why do people even post on these threads who don't use the schools?’

if that really is just the point of the thread then perhaps the OP should go and ask the finance officer and head of the school that question instead.
Ask why they’ve gone up by so much, and what extra value they’re providing.

@alaran how many times. Owning a big house or an expensive watch or having a private hip replacement doenst make it far more likely you will end up in a position of power by virtue of your wealth.

If you can afford the rise - then leave the school!
it’s like whining that you can’t afford a Range Rover because of the cost. Don’t buy one then! Get a different car.

Owning a big house or an expensive watch or having a private hip replacement doenst make it far more likely you will end up in a position of power by virtue of your wealth.

Just to make this extra clear - by virtue of your wealth, not your ability.

"Just to make this extra clear - by virtue of your wealth, not your ability."

You do realise that many independent schools are highly selective. More so than Oxbridge or other top unis. Some schools in London have 15 applicants per place. No amount of money or celebrity can buy your way in.

That type of "networking" will always exist because it is based on background.

Those kids grew up in a wealthy bubble together, which is also why they tend to stick together when older.

Increasing VAT on private schools will in fact make that worse because it will push away the middle class from that rarified circle, further concentrating it.

If you want to fix State Schools, you first need to be objective about what the problem is. It is not kids that go to private schools, but rather it is a lack of funding (for buildings and teachers).

Increasing VAT on private schools is small potatoes at circa £1bn Won't make a dent in that.

So while I do agree there are avenues for raising more tax on the wealthy, this will only work if everybody pays more in as we have an ageing population, and far too narrow a working population tax base.

So the people complaining on here about people paying for private school, you will have to pay more in tax as well if you want the situation to improve.

The days of being heavily subsidised by higher earners for school, NHS, and various other benefits are effectively over due to the deterioraring nature of UK demographics.

"Somebody else" is not going to be paying for the situation to improve. You need skin in the game as well.

And yes, wealth does buy advantage , regardless of school. It also means you are more likely to be in a 'position of power', regardless of school.

Quite a few nurses, police etc at my DC’s private school. They use most or the whole of their salary to pay the fees and the other parent covers the other household bills. I’m not sure why people are under the impression that all private schools are filled with kids with one parent earning bundles in finance etc and the other going for lunch every day. Maybe because they have no direct experience of private schools but still think they are an expert on them!!!

It’s £16800 per year for a full time nursery place at my DC’s old day nursery. So if you can stretch to that, you can pay school fees of £14000. Yes, that’s prep and it’s more for seniors (around £20k) but not impossible if you only have one child. My police officer friend does loads of overtime (which she gets paid for) to bump up her income.

U want private education u pay, if not don’t bother.
Its always been for the rich or the very gifted.

They use most or the whole of their salary to pay the fees and the other parent covers the other household bills.

Don't you realise how few nurses, police etc are in a position where their salary is not needed towards basic living costs?

i.e. they can be (apart from school fees) a single earner household and not live in poverty? How unusual that is?

You seem complacently unaware how many millions of families ARE supported entirely by minimum wage jobs.

Can't dispute your point about DC being a privilege, not a right though.

However:
Are you denying that there are more net beneficiaries than there are net contributors in this country?
I'm not denying it - I'm stating it.

You seem to be buying into a trope that more than half the population are benefitting from larger contributors. It was a hot topic around a decade ago, promoted by the usual media suspects goading public opinion with phrases like "client state".
It's a facile notion, & wrong -
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2215070/Are-contributor-burden-nations-finances--Squeezed-middle-increasingly-dependent-state.html

https://fullfact.org/economy/are-half-british-households-burden-state/
While the UK poverty figures are excruciating (4 millions kids currently below the poverty line) the bulk of tax contributors are making ends meet without absorbing more than they pay in.

There is a trend toward more beneficiaries & fewer contributors, but if businesses were made to pay their staff properly, even (especially) for the McJobs, guess what? - those beneficiaries would become contributors.
Working Tax Credit is effectively a bail-out scam by the government to use taxpayers' money to prop up inadequate wages. It's a huge drain on the state. Make those big corporate employers pay their own wage bills, & you not only lose that huge cost, but low-paid people will be contributing more income tax.

You do realise that many independent schools are highly selective. More so than Oxbridge or other top unis. Some schools in London have 15 applicants per place. No amount of money or celebrity can buy your way in.

I am talking about the disproportionate amount of privately educated people in positions of power.

(Btw many Oxbridge courses are more competitive than that - maths at Oxford for example has an acceptance rate of 4%.)

It’s £16800 per year for a full time nursery place at my DC’s old day nursery. So if you can stretch to that, you can pay school fees of £14000.

😂No you can't.
What a selective (pun intended) way of looking at the facts.

Nursery places are partly funded, for some of the years.
Nursery also only lasts 1 - 4 years, & one of its prime purposes for working parents is childcare. It's necessary, if you need to keep working.

School is 11 years.
If you are already stretched, there's no way you can allocate (11 x £14k =) £154k to education. That amount of money is rent or mortgage for most people. Unsurprisingly, they are more concerned with keeping a roof over their kids' heads & having them safely cared for in school so their parents can keep working.

@mixedrecycling I am well aware of how some people are struggling but there are people on this thread that deny that there are children of nurses and police officers in private schools which I know to be complete bullshit. Yes, as a single household income it is a struggle and also as a dual household income if your housing costs are high. But there are plenty that I know that are not struggling. My friend is a police officer (and so is her husband). She goes away on holiday in every school holiday including abroad three or four times a year. Then there are the friends who are nurses or midwives supplementing their incomes with aesthetics. They are doing very well for themselves!

As well as the assumption about the 'squeezed middle' paying more than their 'fair' share, there are also huge assumptions about contribution to society being about the amount we pay in tax.

I would have thought the pandemic brought home how much we as a society rely on poorly paid workers to do the difficult and unpleasant tasks that keep the show on the road.

One of my friends has been a midwifery assistant for over 20 years. She left school with minimal qualifications, but has become an expert in supporting women in labour and post-birth. The vast majority of women giving birth in that unit will never need to see a consultant obstetrician - though for those that do need it, their input could be life saving. The consultant earns far more than my friend, and pays far more in tax. I don't see my friend's contribution to society as less than the consultant.

Not at Reception and Y7, or even 6th form colleges, they wouldn’t. They’d be applying with everyone else. I can guarantee that those parents who are paying for education now will not settle for a failing comp. They’ll fight tooth and nail to get to the best state schools, whether that be by tutoring for selective schools or moving to a catchment of a decent state school.

Oh dear... whatever shall we do.

They’ll fight tooth and nail to get to the best state schools,

Sadly they are far less likely to put the same energy into fighting the endless cuts in state schooling resourcing. May even, perish the thought! Vote for the party of austerity...

😄

This

Unless you access private school due to lack of SEN provision, I should just think yourself lucky that you can fall back on the state system for an education.

I know lots of professional people, none can afford (or choose to afford) private school. It's already for the ultra rich.

If you want your children to continue going, you'll have to pay for it. They're businesses and that's how business works. If you want fairness, then you won't find that in private schools.

Unless you access private school due to lack of SEN provision
and then if you are actively involved in campaigning/advocacy/politics to address the lack of resources that have led you to go private, and recognise that it is equally unacceptable to have the lack of provision for those who can't afford it.

True. It costs on average £200k to educate a child privately from 5-18. The value of a house bought in an Outstanding school area can increase by £50k a year. I know I live in one - our house value has nearly doubled since we bought it during Covid Lockdown & even then we have estate agents and private buyers offering us more than it’s value to convince us to sell. We are so tempted to say yes but are currently restricted by DD’s SEN.