Would you rather spend money on private education for your children, or gifting them with a mortgage free house?

[Amyk01]

My husband and I are not wealthy by any means, but are fortunate to be mortgage free meaning we save the vast majority of our income. We are planning what to do with the money we are saving, and can’t decide whether it would be more beneficial to:

1. Spend this money on private education for our 2 children throughout primary/junior with the hopes of them getting into the local grammar for senior. Should they not get into grammar, it would be private school for senior too.
2. Send them to the local state schools (which really aren’t all that great), and after university gift them with the money we have saved in private school fees to allow them to purchase homes mortgage free?

I have looked into private school fees and I’m confident that with our income we would be able to afford it. My feelings are that with private education, our children would ‘hopefully’ turn out to be very well rounded individuals which will stand them in good stead for life. Where as the mortgage free home would ensure they don’t have any significant financial worries for the remainder of their life. Each has its pro’s and con’s but I’m not sure which route to take?

Private education, no question.

OMG. House. No question. I know many people who had a private education and it didn't give them much of a head start in life. Whereas the property ladder is becoming more and more impossible.

We've gone for private education and a deposit on a house. Best of both worlds hopefully. Just can't help thinking that if DS knows he's got a house coming he might not work quite as hard once he gets to his teens.

I read the OP as saying that, because they are not paying mortgage/rent, they have excess disposable income, which could either be spent as if accrues on school fees, of saved, with the hope of buying a property for an adult DC - so betting on return on investment and house affordability in next 15 years.

If that's the case, BTL might secure a property, but any rental yield would go on servicing the mortgage not school fees.

Have you actually been to look at the respective schools yet?

The question should be: would you rather have a free house or have had a private education?

The answer is probably very individual and there’s no wrong or right but for me personally I’d rather have had a private education. I was an exceptionally bright student, in a shit, shit school. Actively mocked by careers advice for wanting to study hard science type subjects at uni.
I did very well academically, despite my school, not because of it and I’ve also seen that data that shows that all other things being equal state school kids do better but I don’t think that’s the whole story.

At secondary I was the only kid in my school to be accepted into a county wide mathematics program designed to stretch exceptional children. We were seconded for x hours a week to what I assume now was a private school and it was like a different word. No violence, no drugs, no knives to avoid, just respect. We were pushed and encouraged. It was glorious. It was absolutely fucking amazing. Like the world opening up.

Then the funding got cut, and back we all went to our various shit comps- get back in your boxes, poor children!

So yeah, for me, private education all the way. I know the quality of it various and there are one or two state schools/grammars near where I used to live that I’d make an exception for, but education, every time.

It’s front loading you for success. And by success I dont just mean ‘career in the city’ I mean confidence in ones abilities, lowered anxiety (I was regularly physically beaten up at school and knives were often around) and more awareness of the choices that are out there. More rarified schools give you an in to the old boy network.

Education, every time. No one can take it away from you and it sets you up for better life outcomes

It's would depend on the quality of state education and the ability and character of your children. Are your children showing signs of tenacity and hard work it would they need extra assistance to help them achieve highly?

Some children would achieve 4 grade A A-levels in mediocre education due to natural intelligence and hard work. Other children will be very average and laid bAck and need the private background.

Private school for sure unless you have outstanding local state schools. People have very occasionally picked me out as having been to private school without knowing anything about my education and when I've asked why they say it's something you can just spot. I think people say there's a kind of confidence that comes from that environment. And, btw, I was on a full scholarship, so for me it definitely doesn't come from growing up rich or anything close. That extra polish can really count for something, unfair though it is.

I'd go for the house. You can get educated at any point in life.

Education.

It's the one thing no one can ever take away from you.

Also, if you're doing that well I would do both. Either invest in a buy to let
Now or once the kids have left
School leave them to their own devices for 6-7 years stacking the money away for a house deposit to gift them when they prove they're hardworking/not got a dodgy taste in men/addiction issues.

It depends on what you see as the reason to go private for education. If it's to get better academic results it's arguable that a state school could serve them just as well but it comes down to the individual child. The enormous benefit of private is being able to choose the school for the child. Private schools vary widely, like country mile, widely in what they provide and their ethos. I think all children benefit from smaller classes at a younger age. They get individual attention and their social/emotional development is well attended to whereas it just can't be done in a class of 30. Going private will save them from the relentless stats prep in certain years and the overemphasis on Maths and English. On balance Id choose private school as I think it gives them a much better quality of life during their childhood. What they do with their adulthood is on them really. And presumably their will be something to be inherited at some point.

For what it's worth I have kids in both state and private schools at both primary age and secondary.

Depends where in the country you live. If you live in the South East then I doubt they'll be able to afford to buy a house whether they're state or privately educated, unless they manage to get extremely well paid jobs.

Buy a house, rent it out, go state primary and grammar and/or use the £ rental on fees if need be.

Hand over the house.

I went to both state and private. Dp did exceptionally well on a private scholarship. Xh did exceptionally well at state. I've done averagely well on the combination. You would not guess which of us did what.

I would give them the deposit for a house along with secondary private education. Best of both imo. I wouldn't and don't pay for prep education- I think the benefits of private kick in later on unless you're in an area with very poor primary schools.

Education everytime.
There would be a guilt associated to selling the house and spending the money / moving /traveling. It’s too tying.
I was given the choice of state or private when I was around 11 and as PP have said it’s a different world of opportunities and expectations. The target is higher, they expect more, they push more. I didn’t have the worries that my primary school friends had (who had stayed in state schooling)
I’ve got hairdresser friends from both schools, both successful but the privately educated one expects better pay/conditions.

I used to take my DD to a sports club where a good proportion of the other children went to a variety of private schools.

They were the worst-behaved set of girls I have ever come across. They were loud, arrogant and had no respect for the equipment or the volunteers. They would roll about and squeal like a pile of puppies while the poor old state school kids would watch in wonder from the side.

My DD has gone on to an RG Uni from her middling state school and I would love to be able to buy her a house, because for sure I would have wasted a great deal of money if I had spent it on a private education.

If your local state primaries are good, I would do state primary plus extra tuition and so on outside of school. If they did not get into the grammar and if yours is an area where the grammars cream off 25%, then I would definitely consider paying for private secondary school.

Once that decision is made, I'd put whatever money is left into a flat for the kids.

I would only go private if I felt confident that this was going to result in significantly increased lifetime earnings, making up for the cost of the education.

I know that sounds materialistic, but I don't think it is.

Being debt-free (in terms of both university fees and mortgage) brings freedom and confidence.

If my parents had thrown that away because "Well, the local private school probably didn't actually result in her doing any better in career terms, BUT it was all lovely and holistic and the school had a nice drama club and wonderful sports facilities....!" I think I would (privately) feel a bit cheated. Like, what would make me feel holistic and well-rounded right now would be, you know, not having a millstone of debt round my neck...

I just don't know how our kids' generation will ever afford a house without substantial help. It's a nightmare.

I would save some money by only sending them to private secondary school.

With the money I saved by doing this I would give them a very decent sized deposit for a house.

No reason why they can't get a mortgage as this is the norm and the deposit is the reason many people can't get on the housing ladder.

runner its not the deposit for my area (not london) its the loan to wagevalue thats the problem. with a 1 bed flat costing £300,000 upwards you need to earn £60,000 a year to get the mortgage..

I don't think I'd go for either of those: instead I would be prepared to use the money for the transition between secondary education and adult life, being prepared to help with university or giving them a chance to study abroad or whatever specially targeted help might make a difference to them as individuals.

Education so they can learn it is give them money not gift them money.

House.

If you live comfortable lives, mortgage free, and cannot manage to bring them up as well rounded individuals then you need to look at your parenting!

If they are bright enough for the Grammar, some tutoring to understand the test format will get them in: private school won’t guarantee a Grammar place. If you live in a Grammar area and don’t like the High Schools, use your resources to move to a better educational area.

I was privately educated (for much of my school career) and wouldn’t spend a penny on it in favour of a good state school. If I could afford it I would reserve money as a backstop in case my child needed to be removed from a school at short notice, for their wellbeing.

House buying is going to be so much harder for our kids. And we, their parents, will , on average, live longer and longer: they might not get an inheritance to buy a house until they are retiring and their own kids are leaving home.

If I could help my Dc buy a house, O would.

I think I'd go with private education. It cannot be traded in a divorce, unlike property. But, and it is a big but, not every individual is able/equipped to use it as a launch pad to success.