Annual % increase

[Toocynical]

That time of year when the fees increase comes out.

What % increases have you been hit with this year?

4% on current school don't know about new school ds moves to in September.

4.2% on prep. Waiting to hear re senior.

Feeling very, very lucky this year only 2.7%.

3.9%

2.7% is very low

I'm waiting for the paperwork for ds's new school to find out what fees I'll be paying. When I asked them they said their usual rise was no more than 4% so hopefully that will be the same this year. Although ds has a scholarship so there is a chance I won't have any fees to pay at all until he starts weekly boarding in a couple of years (no clue how the scholarship works other than it is 50% off boarding fees - which are double the day fees).

2%

Coconutty which bit? I think a 2.7% increase is very low.

If you mean the scholarship bit, ds has a scholarship that is worth 50% off the cost of boarding fees. I'm not sure whether I have to wait until he is boarding to get the award or whether it is applied whilst he is still a day boy. If they latter then I'll have no fees to pay as they will be cancelled out by the scholarship. Once he starts boarding I'll then be paying the same amount as the day fees. Day fees are roughly £9,000 and boarding is £18,000.

Yes 2.7% is low, but it is correct. Last year we had 3.5%, but this is day fees not boarding.

LM do you know when the senior school typically issue theirs ? ds didn't bring anything home yesterday. There was no letter with the bill from dd's prep either but then she is leaving in the summer, so will try to find out from another parent.

We received our Easter bill in the post today for DD1, and it had next year's fees on it. We didn't get anything for DD2 who is moving up in September. I imagine they don't do the paperwork until sometime in the summer term.

LIZS, I think it comes by post from the Chair of Trustees after the Easter holidays. Ds2 is at a different prep.

MollieO: I think you'd better enquire sooner rather than later about what the scholarship is worth and when. I would read it as tuition/day fees at £9k, plus boarding fees of £9k; making your scholarship worth £4.5k during the boarding years.

I'll ask once I've got the paperwork. It's described as a 50% scholarship based on boarding fee cost (which is twice the cost of day fees). If its as you say Edith we'd look elsewhere as it would be a lot more expensive than other choir schools. I can manage the day fees but I'd rather not be paying the equivalent of senior day fees whilst he's still in prep. The boarding is a requirement rather than a preference.

ah ok , so that wasn't for the prep of the senior school.

MollieO I'm surprised you have n't clarified that before accepting the place. If it is a make-or-break issue then maybe they would take the monetary value of 50% for the boarding years and spread it from when he starts, or would they offer a bursary ? Is it really 9k pa, if so it is still relatively cheap.

Day fees are 9,000 boarding fees are 18,000. Which is normal where we are. Scholarship is equivalent of 50% off boarding fees, so 9,000 per year. From what I understand it is credited to your school account and you pay the difference.

Prep Day fees around here (Surrey/M25) are nearer 3.5-4k per term

Same here (Berks) but by the time ds gets to £12k per year day fees he will be boarding and the fees will be £18k (of which I'll pay half). Before that fees are £9k per year day and still £18k for boarding (which seems odd as the boarding fees stay the same throughout the school whereas the day fees go up).

Interesting. I'm hoping the paperwork will be here this week so I'll know for certain! It would be very unusual to be awarded a scholarship that isn't financially worth anything (at least in terms of what appears to be normal in choir schools). I've only been told that it is a sum equivalent to 50% of boarding fees, not the mechanism of how it actually applies, plus instrument costs for one instrument (so I'd have to pay for the compulsory second).

An outrgeous 8% at DS3's pre-prep (SW London). Have sent an email to ask how they can justify such a big rise.

Mine is just under 3%, on top of 4% last year (don't suppose I should grumble as for the previous 3 years there was no fee increase at all).