Would you pay school fees in this financial situation?

[ipalo]

I’ll start by saying if you’re not interested in private schools then not much point responding… or at least put yourself in my position that I would love to send my dc to private school so it is very important to me.

I will have around 1,800 spare cash as in cash that could go direct to savings each month. I have already built up around 15k following a recent house purchase where I had to start saving again from
scratch. Obviously 15k is nothing for school fees but this is where this 1,800 is going each month at the moment. Dc due to start school in a year.

Would you put this into school fees? If I do it will mean my savings will be around 300 a month (private schools round here are circa 15k a year).

I think if you did it you might leave yourself unable to afford private secondary. And imo at least private secondary is more valuable than private primary.

But it depends a lot what your "savings" need to cover and whether you could cut back elsewhere e.g. if savings need to cover house maintenance and expenses like holidays, Christmas, new car occasionally etc. it's probably not doable but if you have already budgeted for that sort of things might be more of an option. Private school fees are such a long term expense that you need to think about the other big expenses that are likely to occur within that period - chances are there will be some major house expenses in that time, for example.

Plus depends what is likely to happen to your salary and whether you have the last resort option of remortgaging to fund fees if it came to it.

I think you’re mad. We have 4 kids and are thinking of moving one for secondary school for various reasons. We have the cost of the entire 7 years in savings and have spare cash of £2k a month and are still nervous. What if one of you loses your job, or you need a new roof?

It sounds tight to me OP. We’ve just had a 7% increase in fees and you need to factor in the potential of a labour government introducing 20% VAT on school fees.

Fees go up by 5 - 10% a year with bigger jumps at key points like year 7, 10 and 12. With compound increases the fees will more or less double from reception to year 13.

For me the private school is worth it as my child would be chewed up and spat out in our local secondary. This gives him a chance to succeed I don't mean 10 grade 9 GCSE's either. I mean hopefully a few good GCSE's, a good experience of school and a happy childhood. It's more valuable to him and me at the moment, rather than a house deposit in 20 years time. But it all depends on your own circumstances. I had no savings for 3 years and am just about to start saving again now.

Are there any grammar schools in your area? I paid for independent primary and then two of mine went to grammar schools, and it was a brilliant decision for us.

echo previous thread

you may send dc in Y3/Y4 and save 45-60k fees (if in grammar school area)

Or go for Secondary

I think your child will have a much better life if they go to a state school and you are able to spend more on their activities/holidays/extras/savings and being very financially secure.

I would love to send my dc to private school

Why would you love to send your DC to private school? What are the state schools like in your area? How many DC do you have / plan to have? What advantages do your local private schools provide over the local state schools?

In theory and on paper, I couldn't afford it (your figures are more promising than mine ever were). However, anything other than private school was a non-starter for me, so I did manage it by the skin of my teeth, credit cards, staggered repayments etc. I have two children who are now at university, thank goodness. Costs of uniform etc are not as great as people suggest (most children have second hand).

@WarningToTheCurious I had hoped my OP was written in a way to avoid the private/state debate. But in answer to your question, I have done much better than nearly everyone I know from my local area in terms of job, experiences in life, connections I have made. It’s not because I was more intelligent, attractive or ‘better’ in any way… it was because I went to a private school. Similarly, as I’ve grown up I’ve noticed how it is often very obvious someone has been privately educated, they’re confident and self assured. That’s not to say state school children are not, but that I feel there’s a better chance for it in the private sector. Of course there’s negatives to private school and you have to be careful not to become narrow minded but overall, I want my dc to experience the opportunities I had.

I didn’t mean to frame it as a state v private debate.

What I meant was you need to really look closely at the schools available in your area to see what advantages private schooling will bring versus the cost.

Your experience of being privately educated in terms of confidence and self assurance can also be achieved well through good state schools.

My dd went to state primary then refused to move to private for secondary. However, the state school wasn’t right for her and she asked to move for year 9. Despite my experience, I would do state for primary and use tutors if needed then encourage your dc to move to private in secondary. NB part of the reason for dd refusing to go privately was going alone, which she couldn’t handle un year 7 so it was quite specific.

It sounds like you'd be spending all your savings on school fees. If you can't afford it relatively easily I personally wouldn't at this point. Id bf more inclined to save with the goal of sending them for senior school....

I second what @queenofthebongo says in many ways. The sports kit my DS uses has lasted almost a year so far and I bought the majority from the 2nd hand uniform store and was pristine. All uniform is M&S aside from the tie and blazer.
Fees are paid monthly, trips are paid in instalments over five/six months and are given plenty of notice for.
Downside is the 10% fees hike (approx) per year which is every single year. It’s soon adds up and you need to take it into account. My DS only started at the school 14 months ago and fees have risen by almost £3000 a year in that time (price hike in May last year and May this year).

That's what we are doing....state for primary and tutors if needed with hood of moving to private at year 5 or 7. I guess the only downside is the possibility that they won't get in come year 7. I get the sense that by starting early you are reserving your place for later to an extent.

Having said that....if they can't get at year 7 from a reasonable state school and with support of tutors then you have to question if they should be there in the first place. Nothing worse than being forced down an academic path if you are not academic (not that all private schools are selective or particularly academic).

*with hope of

I haven’t seen massive price hikes yet either. We have one coming but it’s only 3 or 4% I think.

how long have your kids been in private school? a rise each year is normal.

Unless your State Primary provision is bad opt for State until Secondary.
It will give you chance to save so you will have a good buffer, I would suggest at least 2 years school fees as a minimum.
It’s what we did but our Private Secondary isn’t selective and once DD was in for Y7 we knew they would accept DS 4 years later.
There was no knowledge gap and they both slotted in fine.
However, it does depend on the schools so that might not work everywhere

As things stand I think it would be too tight for you to send your child Private now/soon

Our school froze them for Covid so no rise for 2 years and now 3%

Save and move at the end of Year 4

I think it’s been2% or so each year. Or something. I can’t remember. But not enough to make me worry about the monthly payment. It hasn’t risen very much but they have apologised this year as it is rising much more than usual. Been in private system for a while. This is the 5th year. But I only have one going through it so different. There was a jump from prep to senior but only a grand or so.

That's very low. I'd be concerned about the financial viability of the school if it's small....

The extras really add up.

Uniform for the first year was about £600, and a good deal of that was from the second hand shop. DC has outgrown the £150 blazer in under a year, and has helpfully also got a biro stain on it so it's not even saleable or usable for a future sibling.

Bus transport is an extra £1500 per year.

Music tuition is another £1500 per year.

Trips so far have only been another £100 or so, but there haven't been any big ones yet!

Even the uniform/transport/music lessons would take all of your savings money, leaving you no buffer for a boiler/car/washing machine type expense.

I wouldn't commit to school fees with the finances you describe here. I would save hard and consider again at secondary if the state system isn't good at that point,