I am Appalled by the suggestion that some Grammar schools are asking for up to £60 a month.

[soul2000]

I have just been on 11+ Exam website, and i have just read something i
am actually shocked about. Some grammar schools are asking for up to £60
a month in contributions , masked as development funds. This is dreadful
and surely unacceptable to be touting for funds in letters addressed to the parents of pupils. Parents who may be struggling, are made to contribute
by fear of being discriminated against if they do not.

Is it wrong to send circulars asking for money "DIRECTLY" from state schools.

My friend is a single parent with a DS at grammar.She can't afford the trips(which you get in any school) let alone this fee.Funnily enough she was talking about it recently as I was asking about costs.She doesn't pay it,there is no pressure and it is anonymous.She wasn't bothered at all.

I suspect a lot of schools will go down this route.Personally I prefer it over the emotional blackmail involved re buying your own dc's artwork(and other money making wheezes) at inflated prices to raise funds.

My grammar school asked for a termly contribution to the school fund in the 1960s so this isn't new.

Not sure how it is any different from school PTAs in the wealthier areas raising more funds than those in the poorer areas.It all comes from the same people- parents.Some schools will get more than others.Parents are busy,many would prefer writing a cheque than finding costumes,cakes etc.

Because there is a big difference between not buying a PTA raffle ticket and refusing to pay a sum of money requested in a formal letter from the school. Particularly when the letter is written in a way impossible to ignore, and suggesting that everyone else is paying.

Not according to my friend.Have you read the letter? In what way is it impossible to ignore(I ignore school letters all the time) and suggesting everybody else is paying?How is it different in wording to trip letters?

Aside from that I ersonally I find voluntary letters from school far easier to ignore than emotional blackmail and pester power.

I've read the letter sent by our local grammar school. It has a tear off strip at the bottom with boxes to tick- including one saying "I will not be contributing" If you don't want repeated reminders, you have to send the strip back.

Your friend is self confident enough to ignore. That's absolutely fantastic. Many aren't.

My friend had DC in the Grammar school. They used to be asked for contributions for 'building the new sixth form centre'. It used to annoy her because there was no guarantee that, after shelling out for five years, the DC would actually be admitted into the aforementioned sixth form!

curlew If you can't afford £60 a month you've got no chance of getting your kid into a grammar school anyway, so...........

That's simply not true. I know children whose parents couldn't afford an extra £60 a month who have got into grammar schools.

Slight exaggeration for effect, Indian.....!

I'm not sure that's different from any contributions, though, Senua.

I spent the last two years of ds's primary education, as Chair of the PTA, fundraising for fitting out the new reception base, which obviously ds wouldn't benefit from; but that's not how it works.

Nothing like that s asked for at my DDs grammar

We are asked to donate 'What we can afford' to our partially selective secondary school. The average contribute seems to be £40 per family per month and we are happy to pay this. Some people pay more, some people pay less. We are sent letters every now and again to urge us to set up a DD and outlining what the money is being spent on.
There is no singling out if you don't pay and everyone gets the same reminders.
None of the school parents seem to mind. We were told that we would be asked to contribute before our children started there and tbh we are all just grateful our children have a place there!

We aren't asked to donate anything to our Grammar school. There are lots of fundraising drives, but nothing the even feels slightly compulsory and nothing that seeks to introduce regularity to donating.

I have one child at a comp and one at gs. The comp ask for £120 a year, the grammar £25 a year.

I think most schools do ask for some contribution, luckily both our schools do this in a low key way, with no pressure.

My DD's grammar school had a suggested donation of £70 a month. Because I had not set up a standing order within the first 2 months I had a phone call from a school governor who chaired the finance committee... Just chasing those who had not signed up! Not sure who was more embarrassed when we both realised she was a parent whose dd x3 were in my reception class many moons ago.

I did explain that before giving £840 a year to a school my dd had spent 8 weeks at, I was going to give some money to the primary school that my dd spent 7 years at and was the school that got her into the grammar. I promptly wrote out a cheque for £250 for the primary school and had a lovely letter back from the chair of governors outlining what the money had been spent on.

I never did set up the standing order and have had no further phone calls ( not sure where the school stands on parent confidentiality as the governor was not a school employee but a parent governor), but I did eventually donate some money via parent pay... Not £840 though!

I pay £40 to primary school and £20 to comp per year but we are always asked for building fund on top and to raise extra money through PTA. £60 a month is way too much.

Many years ago my sister was at a super-super-selective sixth form (always in the top three state schools in the league tables). My parents were asked for a 'voluntary' donation of several hundred pounds (and this was 20 years ago) on the basis that they would be saving money by not paying for the private education they would otherwise have used .

We have been asked for a suggested donation of £10 per month.
We saw from the previous years' figures that what the school actually collects is way below this level and we were very surprised. While I wouldn't say we live in a particularly affluent area as such, there is no way most parents can't afford £10 a month, especially as many were paying £40 an hour for tutoring for goodness knows how long beforehand.
I'll be honest, we would have sought private schooling had our dc not passed the 11+. We are more than happy to donate to the school so that all the girls there can benefit from whatever the extra money can offer them.

This is hardly a new phenomenon. I recall my dad signing up to donate regularly when I was at secondary school in the 90s. I have no idea how much he contributed though and I never discussed it with friends. (Think I just saw the form when I was in his study). It was a school in an affluent area but there were plenty of pupils who weren't at all affluent and all students would have benefitted from the parents who donated.