Do private schools give bursaries/scholarships to parents with decent salaries?

[Alyosha]

I feel certain that the answer to this will be "no" but wanted to check.

We have two DS, 3 and 3 months. We both have good jobs, joint salary is over £100k, very comfortable and we have no complaints about our standard of living. We live in London, where private school fees seem to have gone absolutely nuts. I went to SHHS which was £9k pa by time I left in 2007; so very expensive but would be just about affordable for me & DH for 2 DCs. Occasionally they send me a begging letter asking me to donate for their fund to build a world class music centre...can't say I'm too motivated to donate now their fees are pushing £20k pa.

I can't see any way that we could afford school fees for both boys in 2- 3 year's time even with our good incomes. But looking at the support available it's only if you're earning under £80k. But there's no way I would have thought a family jointly earning £80k could afford £20k in school fees for 2 children (£40k net a year!) with mortgage, council tax, utilities, groceries etc.

So our only option would be a scholarship, but most scholarships seem to be 20% max off fees, which doesn't make them affordable, especially not long term. Is there anywhere that has substantial fee remission for a scholarship in commuting distance of North London, either primary or secondary?

This is of course assuming the DCs would even get scholarships, which I realise is a tall order!

You seem to have overlooked the option of using state education.

If you are earning 100K+ between you then even paying 40K on school fees leaves you with more disposable income than many people (even those living in London). What you mean is you can't afford a certain type of lifestyle and school fees on 100K.

I don't think pre-preps generally offer scholarships. Save your money to afford secondary school if it's important to you?

A friend once was involved in accounting for various private schools and did say that generally for most schools very few kids indeed pay the headline fees, but it does sound like you can’t afford it without serious sacrifice elsewhere.

Leave the bursaries for families not earning over 100k!

If you've got a family income of £100k it's not a case of not being able to afford private school, it's more about prioritising how you spend it.

Many people will earn the same as you but will live in the cheaper area, drive older cars, not go skiing etc so they can pay for private school.

wtaf

Well, it's a lot, but your household income is a lot. You say yourself you're very comfortable and have no complaints about your standard of living. I don't see any reason why you can't pay out the fees and adjust your standard of living as a result. It's what most parents who send their kids to private school have to do. A lot of had to leave their private schools due to pandemic-related income changes. If your household income is not likely to reduce then I don't see what the issue is. Just cut your cloth accordingly if you value a private education at that particular school enough.

Actually the more I think about it, the more I think you must be a goady troll, OP. No-one can be that obtuse.

@RedskyThisNight We are very much looking at state education! We both went to state primary schools and we are fortunate to live in London with good state secondary schools nearby. However, we would prefer to send our kids to private secondary school as we both had the benefit of this ourselves. Our net income after school fees, mortgage, groceries, council tax etc. would be pretty low and not at the level that we could sustain 5-7% fee rises every year; and of course fees are ~£20k for senior school now so in 8 years' time will be even higher and definitively unaffordable then.

I think I find it galling that private schools themselves seem unable to admit that their education is unaffordable even to those who are very well off, which surely isn't any good for their long term health!

@Level75 Obviously people earning less than us need it more - but it still doesn't make it affordable for those earning more than £80k.

Well you can either adjust your standard of living or send them to state school

You earn over £100k are are complaining that fees would cost £40k? You'd still have a joint income of £60k! That's waaaaay more than we earn. You can afford the fees.

@CurlyhairedAssassin Not a goady troll. Lol. You can check my post history!

And no, we can't adjust our net income to afford £40k net on school fees (will be higher of course when the kids actually start) given our relatively high mortgage, groceries & other expenses. DH is 33 and I am 32 we also have ~£300 off our salaries for student loan repayments every month which may not have factored in to your calculations. And I've had 2 maternity leaves which has also eaten into our savings.

Our take home is much less than yours would be and we send one child to a private school at 20k a year. Started off less but ramped up at senior.

We have one old car and a shabby house.

So it's doable but you may have to sacrifice elsewhere.

Scholarships tend to be around 20 percent off.

Multiple children sometimes get a discount

Armed forces and clergy get a discount

You could choose a decent state school for younger years and move to private later.

There's always lots of intake and movement at various stages so they won't necessarily stand out.

Or you could do what my pompous sister in law did, buy a house in a 'nice' area which riff raff can't afford, send kids to a school made 'nice' by parental donations, that way you get money from the state too and a valuable property. All while sneering at private schools and pretending to be a good socialist.

Firstly, you say in 2- 3 years’ time - but sensible prep schools don’t offer bursaries until children are 9 or 10 - by which point they have some knowledge and skills to realistically test. So you’re talking at least five or six years until you’d have a good choice of this sort of school.

And even then … If you’re in London and looking at day schools it’s unlikely (assuming your salaries continue to grow) that you’d qualify for bursary assistance. And people not actually in need are generally encouraged to waive the money aspect of scholarships nowadays.

However - boarding fees at senior level are around £45k now. If those schools still exist in ten years time you may have more luck.

Essentially, financial awards (particularly means tested bursaries) exist to make entry possible for clever children from families who have no elasticity in their income or assets. They’re not meant to bolster the lifestyles of people who have the money but choose to spend it elsewhere.

@desperate4spring - that's our gross salary, not net.

My understanding is bursaries typically taper off to zero at circa 90k so look for schools with reasonable scholarships. I would do state primary

Surely you've been saving decent chunks for this moment OP. Sounds as if you could be saving lots if you make sacrifices now.

Depends on how important it is to you.

I only have knowledge of one school and this was about 9 years ago. Dulwich College gave no assistance to any couple earning £40,000 pa +.

Why don't you start saving from your large household income now, and then send the boys when they're either 11 or 13? If you send a child at 13 they have the time they need to do very well academically at 16 and 18.

given our relatively high mortgage, groceries & other expenses. DH is 33 and I am 32 we also have ~£300 off our salaries for student loan repayments every month which may not have factored in to your calculations.

You may need to move to a cheaper area, maybe further out of London, you may need to shop at Aldi or Lidl and be smarter with meal planning, batch cooking etc. Many of us have/ had student loans. Will you still be paying them all the way through their schooling?

CLS boys automatically offer academic scholarships based on exam/interview performance regardless of home salary. Of course there are always other scholarships you might try for.

@LiterallyKnowsBest thanks, that's very helpful.

Boarding definitely a no-no.

I apologise for the pity party tone here. I know that I am extremely fortunate and we are very well off.

However I still don't think we could afford private school sustainably for two kids.

Lucky to live in an area with good state schools! Long may it continue.

You could move out of London, there are plenty of excellent independent schools around the country in areas where you could have the same standard of living for a fraction of the cost of London. A lot of DS’s friends parents relocated from London for a better standard of living and private education. With post pandemic changes in working practice it may be a better option.

www.cityoflondonschool.org.uk/apply/13-entry

CLS boys’ scholarships appear to be worth £250 per year …

Most schools have reduced the value of scholarships - 20% is generous, 5-10% is typical, some are peppercorn or purely titular. This is so more money can be available for bursaries

Some older schools have specific bequests which fund a scholarship (sometimes named after the donor) to a higher level, and the terms under which it was left means they can't be diverted to other ipurposes.

You'll probably just have to look at any schools you are interested in and see what they have.

And yes, people really do get priced out. Especially if they do nit want to make (probably quite sweeping) changes to their pre-fees spending patterns

@gamerchick - we did have savings, currently completely obliterated by maternity leave.

Actually pretty good point that we can continue to save at a high level for the next 8+ years, very stupidly hadn't considered that. Although will be impacted by having 2 kids in full time nursery.

@NerrSnerr good point...no! Should be paid off in the next 10 years.

@KittenKong great info, thanks. Always liked CLS boys when I was younger :D