How can I calculate the cost of private ed for my dx for the last 2 years of their education?

[Badvoc]

I.e. from 14-16?
My dc are 9 &3 atm.
There are many changes coming up in the next few years wrt ed, particularly in this la and I would like to try and plan for the future if I can.
I have 5 years to save for ds1 and obv 9 years for ds2.
There are 2 private schools near here that offer day places.
I guess my questions are;
Can dc enter private schools in yr 9?
What are the other hidden costs if any?
Is it feasible bearing in mind dh and I have (atm) a joint income of £50k. I am hoping to go back to work at some point but things are very uncertain atm and I may need to retrain.
TIA

Sorry for all the typos am on iPad and not used to it!

gotta contact individual schools for current fees, add on 10% to those (minimum). Virtually all will have yr9 new intake.
What is your disposable income after fixed costs?

Should about £500 per month after this year

Then you could set aside, in theory £5000/yr, or £25k, before one of them starts. I'm assuming £1000/yr for other things, like new cars & household stuff.
I think sounds doable, You need to work it out on spreadsheets, with real numbers from your local schools.

A lot of private schools have a Year 9(13+) entry but the entrance exam can be quite challenging if your DC is coming from a state school.

The 11+ is something you can tutor for yourself but at 13+ the child will be examined on science and languages plus other 'core' subjects. Consequently the odds will be heavily stacked in favour of the highly tutored kid or the prep school kid.

The hidden costs? The schools usually have annual language trips to France, Spain and Germany at about £500 a piece. Out of 150 kids only about 30 go on any one trip and very few go on more than one. Then there are the history trips, the sport team touring trip, the ski trip and so on.

You can in theory spend about £3000 pa on school trips but in reality many parents just pick one or none at all. Out of 150 kids only about 30 kids go on a particular trip so its not like the child who doesn't go is made to feel like the poor relation.

Hidden costs aside, fees are currently between £9k and £14k. Reading other threads, some in the London area charge up to £18k with some up to £30k. Even assuming that its £12k a child average then its do-able with an income of £50k since DC2 is 8 years away from secondary school.

Whether I would recommend it is another matter :) The fees are only going to go up, usually ahead of income increases and inflation so if you are borderline now then you will have the anxiety of always having to keep one eye on household expenses.

But then, I suppose that once DC2 goes to school you'll be going back to work and by the time she is 11 you would hopefully have saved up enough for her.

Thank you

remember as well that by the time your DCs are in the final years of education they will have to go until 18, the rules are changing

If you can be good at saving then you should be ok but second the need to produce a spreadsheet and don't under estimate the extras involved. Be honest with yourself don't say I can save this much if you cant and if you do decide then make sure you put it in an account you won't be tempted by. We have a separate school account that has my mother has the withdrawal book and card to so we can't be tempted to splash out on a great family holiday leaving DC4 uneducated

Yes, you can enter at year 9. You will have a good break between the 2 of them, so you need to save for the first one now, then the second will start some years after that. But you need to think about 6th form. College or staying on at school.

Oh and hidden costs are aplenty! Well at present I allow about 750 each per term for extras.

Thank you all lots to think about!

Is it really possible in an income of 50k though? We warn way more but still I think would be resentful of not being able to afford say long haul holidays by sending dd to a indie school. What about uniform? Extra clubs?

megabored, different people, different priorities. Clubs tend to be included, at least in DS's school. Uniform - about £100 per year.

This is something of a worry for me too mega

I our area our income is way above average(!) and we would qualify for an assisted place at one school.

I suppose it all depends on fees areas and disposable incomes. So on what basis would one qualify for assistance ( financial ) for a indie school? I've always thought we would not as our income is above a 100 k but with a big mortgage to match.

I've last week spent more than Gbp 100 on uniform for a state school!

Where an I going wrong?

A part time job even paying 1000k a month would make a huge difference! That would pay one set of fees without you really having to save anything.

what is the point in going private for those 2 years but not 6th Form Badvoc? It would make more sense to go from 11 from an academic point of view surely? What are you trying to avoid / what do you think the DC's will gain from such a plan? Will they benefit socially do you think or do you think it might actually be disruptive? I'm just a bit

What about saving for the £27k each for University fees?

Or the deposited for a flat thereafter?!

yes of course you can enter in Y9 our school goes from a 2 form entry to a 3 form one in Y9 to accommodate all the CE students.

The fees in our school go up around £1K- £1.25K per annum but I don't know if this is average or not. Our invoice will then have compulsory school dinners added then you might have to factor in any SN support you want which could be extra (our school charges from £12 per period to £42 per 40 mins depending on what support you want) On top of that the school may charge for text books, some schools include them in the tuition fees others don't. Added to that you have the uniform, it is usually the sportswear that costs the most or the blazer if its a woollen one. Most school PTAs run a 2nd hand uniform shop where you can save £££ though.Some school run a minibus service to pick the students up so that would be a consideration adding a few hundred every year

Your dc will be embarking on gcse's (if they still exist by then which looks unlikely) so you could have a fair amount added for books as each subject will have at least one book plus revision guide. On top of that you will have to pay for each exam they enter usually ranging from £8.50 -18.50 (off the top of my head I can't remember) but modular courses end up costing a fortune. AS levels and A2 cost more.

Then you have to factor in the theatre trips the history trips the MFL trips the geography field trips any enrichment activities such as Friday afternoon horse riding or anything else where they go offsite and have to charge for hiring the facilities plus the transport to get there, then there may be art materials etc etc - there is always something. Get used to the letters coming home that say, the amount will be added to next term's invoice. They just assume you can pay.

@homeboy - I think that the OP is trying to postpone private school until 13+ so that they have an extra 2 years to save for the fees.

If finances were an issue I personally would bite the bullet and go for 11+ (easier to pass than 13+) and then transfer to a state 6th Form for A levels.

I am wondering about it as in ourLA things are changing and not for the better sadly.
We are a bit unusual as in this part of the county we have a middle school system (the only ones who do)
The high school is poor (and I speak as a child who went there!) and I know ds1 particularly wont cope at such a rough school.
I know things change and I am talkingg about the future but due to our finances we would need to plan ahead.
I am planning to go back to work at some point and and that would help.

Oh and dc1 may well not go to uni (some sen) so imo there is no point saving like mad for something that may not happen whereas he will def go up to y11 iykwim?

£100 a year for uniform! Where? At the DSs school the uniform is in the region of £350. At my friends DD's school the uniform is nearly £700 all told.