Anyone ever managed to negotiate down private school fees?

[tjandpootle]

I wondered if anyone has ever tried to negotiate private school fees and if they were successful.

My DH and I were having a discussion last night about the recession and how it's affecting private schools and we wondered if they would be willing to be flexible on fees in order to fill classes and 'look good' for those willing and able to pay the full whack.

I think the best way of checking the financial worth of a school is to do what Ladymuck suggested and have a look at the Charity Commission website. Obviously if the school isn't a charity then you need to consider other ways of getting info. Ime if a school is privately owned they are less likely to offer bursaries at prep level.

I agree with others about the scholarship route. That seems to be the way to get some kind of discount.

Think of your DCs achievements at primary school and maybe make up a scrapbook - what sports have they excelled in, have they represented the school for things, do they have a talent for drama etc.

Phone up the school and ask for a meeting taking along the scrapbook and what your child can offer their school. Without some reason to give them a scholarship I would doubt they would simply reduce fees - as someone else said, this would cause havoc amongst full fee paying parents.

Normally, unless you are impoverished, and can prove so, you will not get more than 10% off a scholarship. I doubt very much private schools would need to "fill classes" by offering knock-down deals.

Sorry to be so blunt, but several years ago, my DD came top in a test for a private school and they very much tried to woo us into signing her up - but said they were bound by law to offer larger scholarships only to the impoverished. I don't know if this still applies, but I suspect it does.

Agree with all the replies that say that this really isnt like buying a used car (or words to that effect). If it got out that schools were doing 'deals' there would be riots. Why does it not surprise me that a man thinks that they are open for negotiation. My SIL is sniffy that one school has put her on the waiting list and wants to test her DD. Now she has seen the school and realises how this all works she is desperate to get in.

There are stories about Eton, Charterhouse, Harrow etc being offered briefcases stuffed full of money from Russian and Middle Eastern Families who think this is how it all works. There is even I believe a Russian lady who tutors boys in the ways of these schools for some huge fee.

You need to check the terms of the scholarship: some are purely titular.

"Negotiating down the fees" is normally called "applying for a bursary", and each school will have it's own method of means testing for these.

A friend of mine was offered a deal to pay the next five years of school fees in one lump sum (around £40,000 I think at the time)and all at the current rate. It was at a well thought of North London school.

he deal seemed good on financial grounds, but the child had been accepted but hadn't started yet. If the child had been unhappy at the school then the deal was that the fees would not be refunded at all.

My friend decided that this was far too risky to be worth the (considerable savings). This was 9 years ago.

Some schools do have fees in advance schemes still. The T&Cs vary, and are not necessarily as restrictive as the scheme outlined above. You can, for example, sometimes buy future terms at the current price - just the number you can afford, rather than a whole school career lock-in.

My parents negotiated (I had a 20% bursary and my brother a sports scholarship), as did my uncle and aunt. My uncle and aunt had four children, and I think had one child free (25% bursary/arts scholarship for each child). I think it was three bursaries and one arts scholarship, but cousin was not outstanding at art.

I think it depends on the school, you can but try.

Having a bursary isn't really the same as negotiating a discount. There will be guidelines for bursaries, probably oversight by a committee, and as many are charitable then there are formal governance issues (even in non-charity schools, the bursary fund is often set up as a separate charity). The application process and level of means testing will be known to all parents.

Giving parents different rates outside the bursary system would be a very brave move for the school.

It is over ten years ago since I left school, but we were never asked for proof of our income. My dad just visited the school, and told head that he would love to send us to the school, but that 9k per year per child was the most he could afford. Otherwise he would need to look at alternatives.

My uncle did the same, and that was more recent. If anyone had asked to see my parents or uncles accounts, they would have probably advised that private school was perfectly doable for them.

I think it depends on the school.

I think you'll find the rules are a lot tighter nowadays, shouldnotbehere. The giving of bursaries is tied to the school's charitable status and a way of showing the Charity Commission that such status is deserved.

If schools were found to be giving bursaries to people who could afford full fees it would cause all sorts of problems.

DD came top in the entrance exam and has been offered a 30% scholarship. Other D also at the school (without scholarship) so 35% off fees for DD. However, even so, in the current climate, it looks like we won't be able to see them both all the way through. I'm hopeful that an honest and open discussion about our concerns would not be seen to be us haggling but rather exactly what it is - a concern that we wouldn't be able to see them both all the way through. Your views?

If you have a particular school in mind look for their policies on bursaries and scholarships. Otherwise, if you are seriously wanting to go down the private route and can be flexible location wise, consider looking up north where there are well performing schools with fees a fraction of their southern counterparts.

Schools don't haggle on fees. If another family found out, there would be a terrible parental mutiny. Far too risky from their pov.

Perhaps you need to lookat securing addtional income during the school years, or agreeing a longer-term payment plan with the school.

Or, though disruptive to DDs, see a less expensive school for one or both.

DH and I were just discussing the other day that the recession hasn't touched Surrey/South London schools. They are more in demand than ever with several of them having their highest ever numbers of candidates. Money doesn't disappear in a recession, it just redistributes itself.

Some schools offer a discount if you have more than one child attending - check the small print in the terms & conditions.