Why do people think parents who pay for private education are enormously wealthy?

[SheineOn]

Is this just the stereotype?

I went to a school that cost 18k a year (15 years ago). It’s now 24k a year.

There were wealthy people there. But also many ‘normal’ people. At least 40% fell into that category. People who lived on estates, drove modest cars, skipped holidays and ate cheaply.

They made a choice to spend their money on private education. For context, two of my closest friends have dc in private. They live off 450 a month after paying fees. They are not high earners.

Not everyone has endless wealth. Some are just happy to make the sacrifice. I find it strange people don’t seem to get that and makes me wonder how lacking in knowledge you must be to have that view of the private sector.

Free? 😁🤣🤣🤣 And breathe.

Well there are a lot of subjective terms here. What does enormously wealthy mean? What do you consider to be a high earner? To some extent all those terms are relative. Also the range of private school fees is vast - anything from £15k a year to £65k.

I think you can safely assume that any parent who is bearing the full cost of 1 or more children at any private school has more expendable income than the average (even the majority) of people in the UK. As does any family who spends the equivalent amount on cars, holidays etc per annum. I think it’s also a fair assumption that any parent paying for one or more child at a boarding school (at £35-65k per annum) would fall into most people’s definition of ‘enormously’ wealthy. Much more so than 20 years ago when earning just in the top tax bracket would enable a family to send kids to let’s say Eton etc. That’s no longer viable. There are a number of children paid for by grandparents or inheritance where the parents themselves may not have additional cash for holidays, cars etc or kids on full bursaries whose families also don’t have ‘wealth’ but those don’t make up a huge percentage.

To the single mother worrying about feeding her kids especially over the summer, the family down the road who have two incomes, just get bills paid maybe get to go on holiday in the UK once a year are ‘wealthy’, so it is totally understandable that the vast majority see the funding of private fees at any level totally outside the realms of what is achievable and those who do so as having the privilege of ‘wealth’. An article in I think the Telegraph reported that the ‘poor’ in the UK have never been poorer and the ‘rich’ never been richer than right now so I don’t see this as a lack of knowledge - its just reality.

@MrsSunshine2b To rent a very modest 3 bedroom house round here is about £1200 to £1500. You still have utility bills, childcare costs and everything else to pay. Do you own your home outright and this is why you are out of touch with costs?

Good evening brand now accounted created solely to post tory talking points on private schools, how are you?

Most private schools offer free wraparound care so that's not such an issue.

Mortgage costs are a choice too, if private school was really important to you for whatever reason, you could move to a smaller house in a cheaper area. Ours is around £600pm, which is average for NW England.

To be honest, I have no real opinion on this one. I can see some positives and negatives. Not least of which is the strain that may be put on state schools and the fact that I don’t think education should really be subject to VAT.

However, the continual threads about how not all people who put their kids into private school are wealthy is ridiculous. Obviously, if you have £24k to spend on this you are wealthy. Just because that means you can only afford a caravan holiday as opposed to abroad doesn’t mean you are poor.

There are people on here who literally cannot afford to eat and have to go to food banks. I realise it’s not a race to the bottom but please don’t say you’re not wealthy.

Agitate and make your argument but don’t site hardship. I say that as someone who may well choose to send my children to private school, if it’s what’s best for them.

I find it incredibly sad that paying to educate your child is seen as the work of the devil incarnate but if I spent the equivalent (£13k per year where I live) on a holiday to Disney and a lease on a Range Rover no-one would bat an eyelid. As a country we've gone nuts.

This doesn’t make any sense

I love this thread. Families who can live off £450 and young adults leaving uni without a fucktonne of debt. Brought to you by@ topsy turvy MN land!

Is this like how everyone can afford a house if they just buy less coffees and buy less avocados?

So your BIL was gifted a hefty deposit to enable him to buy his house, which means his mortgage payments are low. He's on £44k, higher than the national average. Is he in a relationship? Is his household run on a single income?

I think you're being dim at best, disingenuous at worst.

I feel like a lot of posters would change their tune if private nurseries were about to have VAT added, it’s sad that people can’t see further than their own back gardens. There shouldn’t be VAT on education unless you are adding it to all types: nursery, preschool, private schools and universities. Add VAT to all of them if you want to raise taxes for education. Labour are spineless cowards, so they’ve isolated a small group of sub-section of people for others to be angry at. A fine piece of entirely post-factual spin doctoring. Sadly the conversation has become so polarised, there isn’t really a debate to be had.

Not enormously wealthy necessarily but people who have 24k (maybe x2 or 3 as many have more than 1 DC) after tax spare are pretty well off compare to average no matter how low their holiday/car etc spending is.

someone I know had 3 dc in private school at the same time and it was costing around £80k a year (after tax).

I don’t have anything against private schooling (was privately educated myself, luckily I have good state options for my DC) but let’s not pretend it’s available for average earners.

Can you post links to a private school that costs about £20,000 a year and offers free wrap around and holiday care?
Remember school terms in the private sector are shorter with more holidays. I get 25 days annual leave plus bank holiday.

24k a year? That represents a year's salary for lots of people. If you can spare £24k a year to pay for school then you are wealthy. Seriously OP, I suspect you don't understand your own privilge.

Are you saying that everyone has enough sacrificial money for private school ?

I depends if holidays and Christmas and birthday presents and clothes and haircuts and savings are already accounted for - then yes, 450 to spend on things you just fancy is OK. But it it's after main bills, I wouldn't feel comfortable.

I've worked out that with our current mortgage and bills, we'd need £4kpm to pay for the local private school. £2kpm each for 2 full time workers is about £29k each which is less than the average wage. For most people, it's a choice not to (and often a privileged choice which they are able to make) either to have one parent be a SAHP or to have holidays and nice things, or any number of other things you could choose to do with that money.

For most people it’s not a choice as for most people housing, bills, travel, etc would eat into 4k.

Also is the argument that if you earn 4k plus you should be using PE and if you don’t you are punishing your dc?

If you ain't making 'huge sacrifices', you obviously don't value education highly enough

Nurseries are childcare. You don’t choose private nursery in preference to a free one provided by the state, you pay because it is a necessity so you can work.
If the state provided free nurseries for everyone then charging VAT on the private ones would be a different issue, but it does not.

If you came on posting that you wanted to spend £18000 on a holiday but the travel company had added an extra 20%, and expected other posters to feel sorry for you, I think you would be a bit judged.

Most private schools offer free wraparound care so that's not such an issue.

Do they @MrsSunshine2b?

@MrsSunshine2b I have googled and can find very few places in the north west for rent for £600, that is exceptionally low. I was curious as my friend pays this for a 2 bedroom housing association house. It is almost impossible to get these now.

And apparently free holiday care as well? Who knew?

@Pollipops1 and houses for rent for £600. I wonder if olive oil still costs £2 a bottle as well?