has anyone managed to pay for private school on a lowish salary? I am so worried about ds going to state school

[unhw]

Me and ex are divorced. DS is 3.5. Ex pays me 700 a month, he never sees DS so obviously that amount would change if he did start to see him.

I have been to some schools near here to look at them because if ds does go to a private school then I would want him to go to the nursery part too, from the word go. At the moment he goes to a nursery near the house which is average at best, despite an outstanding ofstead rating.

The schools are awful. There are so many kids. Barely any smartly dressed. Seems to be no order and organisation. Pick up is 3:20 (?!) so god knows what would happen to my job.

I really really want him to go to private school and the one I’ve seen is around 18k a year for primary. Has anyone done this on a low salary and if so how? Did you move house or downsize etc. I don’t want to do anything extreme but my priority is this and I would do what it takes it there’s a way.

Tbh, I’m not convinced we have the whole/any truth here. It sounds too far fetched to me. Schools aren’t charities. Children aren’t entitled to private education just because they scream and scream and scream. If the youngest is so bright and Oxford bound, I’m sure she would have done well in a state school.

I work with a partially sighted maternity consultant. She is at the top of her game. State school educated too ;-) There is no suggestion the poster is a single parent. There is possibly moral as well as financial bankruptcy at play here or just a lot of “I want.”

Levelling or a bloody ridiculous position to put yourself and children in.

How is it ridiculous or levelling would you say?

It's unfortunate she had the necessity to use a food bank, but it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of and shouldn't make anybody feel lesser, or levelled in some way, by the experience. If she said her children actually queued with her at food banks and I can't find that. It is a long thread.

Because in one of her posts she said she couldn't get funding for her youngest so absolutely skinted herself to send them to private school.

To send your child to private school when you can't afford it and having them use food banks because of this is ridiculous and incredibly unfair.

Of course it's nothing to be ashamed of to use food banks. To absolutely destroy the family finances to the level of food banks and have a child in private school is crazy to me though.

Of course it's nothing to be ashamed of to use food banks. To absolutely destroy the family finances to the level of food banks and have a child in private school is crazy to me though.

My apologies @Curtains70 I hadn't seen that.

@Curtains70 I agree. Totally ridiculous.

As I said earlier-what would people do without Enid Blyton.

I live in an area that’s awash with Independent schools, but 4 of the local state schools usually make it into the top ten for the area.

She's claiming UC and sending her child to private school. This is insane. Universal credit is about all survival surely, not funding the huge luxury of private schooling. Stop the private schooling and you wouldn't need UC, it's not a personal fund for people to spend on massive privileges.

I name changed for the 'go fund me' thread, so I hope that's ok. I just thought this was relevant to the UC posts. I don't think UC is enough to survive on though, I don't see how it could possibly fund private school?

I do know of someone who is on universal credit and their child attends theatre arts boarding school, but it's one of those schools you need to audition for a place. They didn't get funding at the funding audition, as only the most talented are awarded funding, so set up a Go Fund Me account instead, complete with wild exaggerations about accomplishments and a sob story, begging for 90k and got 109k and keep coming back for more. They're an only child. Though I don't think this sort of grifting is the answer for most people.

@Fallingthroughclouds You do know a working family on an average income can still be entitled to benefits? Arguments against benefit claimants are usually along the lines of them being profligate spenders buying flat screen TVs, fags and booze. Uc wouldn’t even touch school fees, that poster’s Dc are likely on a full bursary which they’ve received due to being on a limited income and their dc being exceptionally bright. No one is stopping you from doing the same, should you wish!

Good on any parent who maximises their benefit entitlement to better themselves and their families. Personally I’d rather that benefit money went on supplementing school fees, music lessons, private tuition, sports coaching for dc rather than whatever else. Ultimately whatever the source of a families income, it’s for them to determine how to spend it!

She said she had to scrimp and save to send dc to private school. Only the oldest 2 got bursaries and scholarships. Seems strange to prioritise school fees over food. Private school is a minimum of 1k a month. Seems a lot of UC to be spending when state schools are an option. The system seems very skewed to me. I'm happy we have welfare to support those in need, but when it's paying for a kids private education it seems a bit outlandish.

If you want to send a child to private school, it should not be the state that pays for it. It's an expensive, unnecessary choice that should be entirely at the cost of the parents.

The state isn’t paying for school fees is it though? It’s contributing towards her living expenses, what she chooses to do with surplus from that money thereafter is no one’s business.

I was on a very low income and managed to send my child to a private school.

He started out in the nursery with a free nursery place and when they were moving up to reception my LA were unable to offer him a place due to overcrowding in all nearby state schools. My hand was kind of forced and I decided to put him into reception at his little prep school for 1 year while we waited for a state place to become available.

1 year in and the reality of paying fees really hit and I am not going to lie, it was tough. So hard that I decided to give my terms notice and remove him with no school to go to. Thankfully once the school heard of our plans we were offered a 50% bursary to keep him in the school.

As people have said, it's not just the fees but also the uniform, trips, sports kit and endless other costs that add up, also will your child be able to handle being the 'poor kid'.

The one thing I will say is that schools are much more likely to help students who already attend the school and whose parents find themselves in difficulties. Most schools have a fund for supporting such cases and once you are in the bursary loop things become much easier, it also helps if your child is smart, good at sports or/and popular and you are involved with supporting the school, such as the PTA or day trips etc.

When it came time for senior school we were also able to get a bursary for 70% and finally, he moved on to a very well-known boarding school on a 100% bursary. I know we got really lucky but it can be done and in fact, being on a low income really helped keep my son at his schools.

Thankfully he is 18 now so that part of our lives is over. But I would do it again and take all the uncertainty and being the poor kid. He has had an amazing education and for that, I'm really grateful

Charities are exactly what most Private schools are, a lot of them were set up when there was no such thing as state schools. They are not allowed to make a profit and keep charitable status. Over 300 out of 1200 of the pupils in my dcs school are on an income based bursary. It is hundreds of years old. There is no mystery as to why they can afford small class sizes, new science blocks and state of the art sports facilities etc As well as high fees for those that can afford it there is a lot of fund raising and bequests from former pupils in recognition of the start in life and also to pay it down so others can benefit. It is going to be hard to remove charitable status from such schools. We all know people that would do well in any school environment but we probably and sadly know more that were failed and did not reach their potential.

UC does not fund dd3's private school she has a 100% bursary! I work part-time as I am unable to work full-time. Just before covid the school I worked in closed and I hadn't been there long enough to get redundancy. That Christmas we had to go to a food bank! We haven't been since.

UC can be spent on whatever the recipient wants to spend it on actually. And if you think UC is enough to pay for private school fees you're decided.

Deluded, not decided.

Private school fees are anywhere upwards of 12k so potentially you could pay for school fees with UC. Using UC to pay for School fees doesn't mean paying for the fees entirely out of Universal credit though, which is what I meant. Yes you can spend UC on whatever you want. You can spend it all on hookers and coke if you like, doesn't mean it sits very well with me though.

I don't think anybody could afford school fees if they need to claim UC though, and OP has already said her kids got bursaries. I get UC myself and I couldn't afford private school fees!

Me too.

She also said only her eldest 2 got bursaries at one point. Not sure which is correct.

You need at least £1k a month spare for private school. Minimum. That's for a cheap private school.

If you have that, go for it.

But I wouldn't recommend it. I was the 'poor' child at private (in reality, not poor in the slightest, just my family weren't famous) and it wasn't great.

No, we paid for the eldest two, through savings for the last few years when dh suffered a nervous breakdown. (They both left school over 10 years ago) The youngest two got full bursaries/ scholarships as we were then on uc. The youngest is still at school.

The school costs us no more than a state school. People on uc still have to send their children to school. The purpose of bursaries and scholarships are to enable children whose parents can't afford the fees to attend the school. I'm not sure why this is causing outrage!

I think the outrage is more having to use food banks, because your money is all spent on private school fees. Private education is an expensive luxury, so it seems a bit of a cheek to use food banks, when your money is spent on luxuries.

This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts on the thread.

A full scholarship would cost that OP the same amount as state school.

Do people actually not understand what “full scholarship” means?

It means there are no school fees to pay.