Private school fees

[Muso124]

I don't suppose anyone would be able to help me navigate the world of private school fees...?

We are looking at a private school, Casterton Sedbergh, but are unsure whether it is a real option.

I am self employed and on maternity leave at the moment and so we are living on my husband's salary in London (£45,000).

We are planning on moving North to Lancaster and hope he will get a similar salary but are unsure whether this would generally qualify for a bursary or whether anyone is able to pay fees with this kind of household income?

If anyone doesn't mind sharing on this, I'd be very grateful!

Thank you

^^^

This is why we will only be having 2 dc. Currently at nursery and pre prep level. We are very comfortable financially but the thought of what senior schools will cost by the time ours dc get there, plus all the extras puts pressure on dh (I do not work) to continue earning at a high level for many years. We wish to enjoy life, not scrimp and save for everything. We have not entered into the private school system expecting others to subsidise us.

The key with private schools is getting your foot in the door. Start saving now and send them for as long as possible. When the money runs it ask for a bursary. They are far more likely to give it to you scone you are already at the school

that's a dangerous game. you'll need to be prepared to take your child out when they (as is likely) tell you to sling your hook. Change of circumstances is unexpected job loss, death of a parent etc, not running out of money because you couldn't afford the fees in the first place.

We have three children, one is only two and at home with me , one is in a state primary and one is in private school. The fees are currently £12,000 a year plus uniform which is soooo much more than my son's state school uniform. I actually gasped a tiny bit when I first bought it! We have a household income of about £120,000 before tax but I currently don't work so we are taxed a fair bit on that. We have a remaining £300,000 mortgage, two, dull, ordinary cars and a couple of mid priced holidays a year. We spend quite a lot on the kids but not much on us. It's still quite tight and a bit of a worry tbh, especially planning into the future. The school is amazing though and if I had the money I'd have all three there in a heartbeat. When my youngest is school age I might work and cover the fees for the others. It's definitely worth making some sacrifices for. It might be doable if you prioritised it and were prepared to work and put your salary aside or if you stuck to one child although this would have been a deal breaker for me personally.

Having said that I am sure there are equally great, free state schools out there but you are likely to have to play the system to get in, which can also have its downsides. It depends entirely on why you want a private education and what you feel you will gain from it.

And I'd also add that finding the right school is entirely child dependant. You probably can't predict which school will suit them until you know what makes them tick.

I'd phone and speak to the bursar of the school as fees and bursaries vary so much. My DD applied for two scholarships (and us bursary) at schools with fees of £30,000 and £37,000. Got offers from both, the first offered 35% scholarship no bursary and we'd have been left using every penny of savings, nothing to live on, probably with the result of selling our house. Second school offered at 90% scholarship and bursary, we can manage 10% out of income and keep our property (which is a large two bed) - this was DD's first choice so worked out really well.

Bursary ( & scholarship at secondary) works for us. Bursary at primary level is hard to come by ( generally no great benefits for the school as seldom any big exams sat at primary level). Bursary at primary school may depend on having significant academic)sporting/music ability.

I think you’ve posted about this before haven’t you and tbh I think you’re assuming that bursaries are just handed out to those who need/ want them. There’s no way you’d get one for primary and no guarantee at secondary.

I’m sure you know that There aren’t many private schools in the area but Casterton is the most expensive and prestigious. It’s also a long way from Lancaster so you would need to look in to whether there are school buses to your area and be prepared for your 4 year old to have a very long day.

There really is no private school culture up here. I don’t know anyone at all who has been to private school (except me and my siblings incidentally and that was due to living abroad) and I’ve taught in very naice primary schools in affluent areas for 8 years. Even very wealthy people use state schools.

I think if you’re serious about sending your DD there, you need to forget about having more children (as they’ll need their school fees paying too) and go back to work. If you don’t already, make sure you save at least £500 a month as then by the time your child is 4, you’ll have almost half the school fees for the first 4 years and then you’ll know if you can afford to miss the money each month.

£45000 is a decent salary but not massive when we’re talking about private education. Dh and I earn over £75000 between us and we only have 1 ds. I’d like to consider private secondary school but Dh thinks we can’t afford it!

I have known full fee paying children convert to a bursary whilst attending a school. The school weighs up parental income, bursary money available, and how much they want to keep the child! Where my DDs went to school, bursaries were offered and "worthwhile" children were not removed on hardship grounds. Those who were not achieving highly or did not represent the school at sport or music etc. were asked to leave, including the one whose Dad went to prison for fraud and the Mum could not afford the fees. Another Mum was deserted by her DH but they kept that child when the Dad refused to pay anything towards the fees. She was very good at music. Private schools do have a choice and some choose to exercise it.

I know from experience that bursaries mostly given to families where both parent work. So you won’t qualify if you are staying home with a child.

45k won't be enough. Bursaries and scholaships are very rarely available at primary level, even less likely in reception and ks1.

To put it in context, DH and I have combined earnings of roughly 80k before tax. If I chose to use it, I get a 50% discount for each DC (I work there) and they are both infant school age so this amounts to around £500 for each child. 1k a month is a lot for us considering we also have mortgage and usual bills. This might be okay for some, perhaps with a smaller mortgage or some extra money from somewhere but for us it's a lot and fees only go up.

I would say you can't afford it and in your shoes (and my own in fact) I would concentrate on reducing your other outgoings in time for paying for private secondary if it's still something you want to do

WOuldn't you be better looking around at where you can buy to have the best chance of getting into the very best local state schools?

We earn more than that but would still struggle to pay for one child at private school. What makes you so sure your child of four months will qualify for a bursary anyway? Don’t they need to earn a scholarship first in order to be considered?

I work with private schools and this salary might have qualified you for a bursary at a secondary level (provided you both work). At primary some schools do give bursaries but they are extremely rare, mostly after 7+ and given to families on a lover income or benefits. You can’t own a house or have more than one car or savings/private pension. And they’ll look at all you expenses and your level of education etc etc. From what you said I think your chances are non existent at primary level and there is a slight chance at secondary provided you work too and you live in London.

I am more optimistic . DS got a bursary at age 4. So no harm in trying.

DS has been privately educated so far. The early years were fairly affordable and the wrap around care that was included meant I could work the hours I wanted. Our joint income was over 60k before tax and with a very small mortgage we managed. DS is now yr9 and the last 5 yrs the fees have risen from 12k to 15k a year (well outside London).
We have had to forgo foreign holidays and our car is now 11yrs old. Savings have helped but we would never have qualified for a bursary.
It has been worth the big sacrific, but due to a change in our circumstances we will no longer have to struggle after the end of this year. This change was always on the cards so there was always light at the end of the tunnel. We would not have continued past primary level without this guaranteed change this year.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend private education without having a sound financial plan. Always plan to cover the fees without a bursary and then if you are awarded one it is a bonus.

You could considering a move to Cumbria.
QEGs Penrith, on the M6
Keswick
Cockermouth
Independent, Austin Friars
All good schools.

We earn good six figures but couldn't afford private schools without sacrifices.

OP I think you need to look at the State system and put yourself in the path of some good state schools.

It’s doable but you’re going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. It’ll be tough OP.

I know from experience that bursaries mostly given to families where both parent work. So you won’t qualify if you are staying home with a child

^^this
At my daughter's school, we applied for a bursary and had to complete a very very detailed form, covering assets we owned, equity in house etc. One of the questions was about parent's working. If you don't work you may need to justify it - such as having other pre-school children or a disabled child. The school may not expect you to be a stay at home mum through choice with one child and expect a bursary. Your child may get a scholarship if the school really wants him/her but bursaries are means tested and if you can work the school may well want to know why you don't. Or if you have lots of fancy assets, similar may apply as to why you can't sell them to fund the place. We even had to write down what cars we drove.

As others have said, i think this will be too much of a stretch for you on that income. Aside from the costs of fees and challenges around securing bursaries and scholarships; your child will inevitably want to participate in clubs and music and school trips etc, and these things only get more expensive as they get older. I was the child of a family who really really struggled to pay school fees, and witnessed the strain it put on my parents to keep us in the school after redundancies and other unforeseen financial challenges. I was very aware of our financial position in comparison to other families at the school, and we did not qualify for bursaries. We could not afford any of the extra curriculum opportunities and never went on family holidays, and I was always anxious that one day they would suddenly have to pull us out of school. In fact it has given me a lifelong fear of not having financial security and i find anything related to borrowing money/credit cards/loans etc, gives me huge anxiety.

As it stands, our household income is significantly higher than yours, and yet we know it is still going to be hugely challenging to cover private school fees for more than one child. We are both making huge sacrifices to save and progress in our careers, so we can give our children this opportunity. So if you really do want your children to attend this school, then you need to go back to work and do everything you can to increase your household income.

I don’t think you’ll afford private on that salary. But assume you will make money on a house sale moving from London as Lancaster is really cheap area.
If you’re in Lancaster think secondaries when choosing where to live. Lancaster grammar is good as is Ripley St Thomas but people move to catchment for ripley - it’s really popular. Dallam also great school that offers the IB.
Slyne with hest and nether Kellet are good primaries.
Or move to the Kendal area where there are no bad schools.

Just read how that might sound - Lancaster is a lovely city, it’s just cheap in comparison to London, the south & 20 miles north into the lakes.

At four months anything could happen before they start school. A bit soon to,start worrying but why aren’t you looking at local primaries - some are much better than many private schools.