Private school - how much do all the 'extras' add up?

[reastie]

We are loosely considering private school for DD. She's still very little but we want to decide where we think she'd be best placed so she can go to the same nursery as school (ideally, although I know these things dont' always work out).

The fees are in the region of £9000 - £15000 per year (primary school) depending on her year group at the school and which school we plump for. But I know there will be lots of extras (expensive uniform, school lunches, school trips, possibly music lessons (although if we did this I think we'd do it out of school anyway) etc etc etc) and just wondering if anyone had any idea how much extra this would tot up to or what to expect in this way. Do students get charged for text books at primary school? Are there other fees (other than registration type fees) or payments which are made that I have no idea about? [clueless]

It is hard to tell - but if you go to the open days for the schools you would consider (both in school hours and outside) you get an idea what the school as a whole is like. Don't be afraid to ask the school about costs either - ours is very upfront, and apart from trips, you can see everything on their website.

And ask on MN - theres pretty good coverage either directly or friends on MNetters, so people will know what schools are like.

I've just kitted DS out for Reception. I think I've spent about £250 on uniform, most of which is bespoke. The rest was M&S! The secondhand sales seem to have vanished this year (supposed to be once a term) so I missed out there, but the one I did catch I got a (too large) blazer which will do nicely in a couple of years, for 1/9 the price of a new one. I am watching like a hawk for the next Sale, as I'm not one of the rolling-in-it parents; we're going to go without a lot for the foreseeable to be able to finance this. And I need more polo shirts!

Breakfast club and after-school club are both extra though, and add on about £2K a year. After-school clubs are probably similar to teatime.

Yes there's birthday parties. We were in the attached nursery so I've had a year to learn what is expected and it's pretty much whole-class, £10-15 a present. I've budgeted £400 for DS's at the local Soft Play (which has hosted about 70% of parties in the past year); was hoping to get away with less but he has seen what others have had and is very definite on what he wants this time (last year I was the skinflint who just took in cupcakes!!).

I have just averaged out our extras over the year. Around 1,500 for 2 dc. Senior. That includes exam entries, school bus, clubs etc.
Uniform around 500 on top. That is a full uniform each.

BUT you can choose as much or little extras yourself to keep things to a minimum I would allow £100 per term per child. Then you should be ok.

The school dd will hopefully be going to next year - blazer £105!! I will be using the second hand shop...school lunches £210 a term, but included.

DD left a private school in the south east 2 years ago. Fees were £12500 a year but the bill was always £15000 including trips, music lessons & school coach. Uniform was quite reasonable but they have since changed to a much more expensive one and lunch & books were included. Ridiculous price considering it was a far from top notch school (good but not up there with the top names).

something you weren't in Kent were you? If you were, would you mind PMing me the school your DD went to (incase it's one near me) . this is what I worry about - that the fees will be a set amount but will tot up to so much more with all the extra's, even if I didn't do many extra's, I can see lots of activities with letters sent home saying 'the cost of this will be added to your bill' . I wonder how low your income needs to be to qualify for a low income bursary

kind of shocked about disparity on prices.

our nearest prep is £1500 a term-not sure if that includes lunch
breckfast club and after school club are cheaper than my my daughters state primary..

Their inform apart from blazer could easily be brought from department store.

The 2nd one which is bigger and has baby unit, nursery class, holiday clubs, bigger grounds is nearly £2500-3000 per year goes up slightly each year and get impression lots things extras.

The schools that are all through or city centre tend to be pricier.
secondry does seem lot pricier.

This week I have paid for number 2

£3599 fees
£119 pony riding
£59 speech and drama
£45 elocution exam
£175 piano lessons
£89.50 after school care for last term
£105 new blazer

When we started budgeting we added £300 per term into our fees jar for each. Pony riding is a complete one off treat, and this term only to compensate for the ski ing trip that number 1 is off on!! (grandparents are paying for both)

• I havnt finished Paying for number 1 yet as some after school activities are still not confirmed.

In answer to an earlier question, 3rd year in, not encountered any snobbery, a lot of the children in school with ours are there because of wealthy grandparents and the parents I've met are very honest and appreciative of this. I know we certainly appreciate the help we received this term for the ski ing trip as otherwise number 1 would have a very unimaginative Christmas and birthday!

Our school day trips are included in the fees. The uniform is expensive but I got the whole lot in the second hand shop/Sainsburys and it cost less than buying a brand new blazer!

DS2s school is small and not a big posh school, there is no feeling of having to 'keep up with the Jones' and my experience of birthday parties etc is all very normal, no different to DS1s state school.

There are more opportunities for residential trips and after school activities including all musical instrument lessons but of course not every child does this.

When figuring out whether we could afford both our DCs to go to private school from pre-prep we factored in a music lesson plus school dinners (plus inflation) just to be sure. We would have waited until Juniors or Secondary if necessary.

Ds4 has percussion lessons at £15 a week and obviously any trips he goes on.

Ds5 has speech and drama that is ( I'm guessing because I've forgot ) about £60 every half term.

That's it for now.

Obviously the uniform costs extra but you'd be paying for that at a state school so I don't class that as an extra.

IME the first five years aren't too bad. We pay extra for lunches - but they are worth every penny and I would spend the same on a packed lunch if everything was taken into consideration I'm sure. School trips - £5 asked for occasionally, Music lessons : ours don't start until 8 and they are £20 for half an hour - I could get them a few quid cheaper outside but when I've paid for the petrol (and books - they are included) it's a false economy.
However, when they hit Year 5 it becomes a whole different ball game, that's when the ski trips start every year, games kit runs into the (many) hundreds and their hobbies (horse riding/football/swimming and rugby for us) start to get expensive and time consuming too -
BUT what I would say is that 95% of people at the school will be in the same boat as you, and for most of the kids they will go on one or two of the 'expensive' trips throughout their school life - not every single one.

We never had much at all for extras except music (they did a lot of that and 3 won music scholarships but some of it we taught at home).

Uniform you can buy for next to nothing from schools' second hand uniform shop.

In their school the lunches at prep level were included in the fees as was the annual school trip away to make sure every child could go which is a wonderful philosophy.

We may have been helped by being in very academic top 20 private schools which are day schools and a bit like ex grammars where lots of the parents are not very well off but the children are bright. So not really "posh" schools in the same way some others are but often with better exam results than less selective posh ones. Ski trips - I have often offered mine to go and they virtually always turn me down! Most chidlren dont' go on the ski trips in my experience and it is not a problem not going.

Extras for my two were learning support which for DD (left this school 3yrs ago) was £32 per 40min session. She had two per week. The day fees at her final school were £17k per year. DD also had music lessons which were £30 per session so we paid for her lessons outside of school & paid half that price. Extras included day trips & exam entries. Also included some books, but most were included. Paid extra for pens & folders etc her uniform was ridiculously priced. I paid about £600 over a 3 year period & that included some second hand clothes.

DS prep school (£12k 3yrs ago) included LS & most other items. Extras again included music lessons which were comparible with music lessons outside of school. Trips were extra (£400 for a 9 day ski trip). Prep uniform was cheaper than the state primary school he had previously attended. His boarding senior school which without a bursary would cost £28k a year. Extras on topincluded dyslexia LS per year at a cost of £1300. (Differing levels which range from £900-2000 per year) We paid for insurance to cover his fees in case of illness & it was worth it! Other extras included house subscription, £50 per year, pens & paper, exam entries, retakes & this last year we were charged £10 for DS to use a computer each time in his exams!! As a computer is part of his entitlement, we were none to happy. DS went in one trip for all the new yr9s which was paid for out of house funds as we couldn't afford for DS to go. DS's uniform was fairly reasonable as you could purchase most of it at M&S. That's now changed & it's £100 for a blazer.

Loads more extras but for the life of me I can't think what now?

DS now at state sixth form where it's £60 for books which we get back in two years time. Perfect!!