What jobs do private school parents do?

[gormin]

If your DC go to a local private (non-boarding) school, what kind of job/salary do you have?

I'm mostly just being nosey. DS has just started (state) primary and we're happy with it but thinking for secondary we may go private. But I wouldn't want him to be the only kid who doesn't come from a mega-rich family.

On a related note, do kids at private schools feel a lot of pressure to wear designer clothes, go on expensive holidays, etc because their friends do?

DH and I are both state educated, as you can probably tell from my ignorance! We're doing ok, professional jobs with above average salaries, could definitely afford private with some sacrifices, but definitely not 'rich' or 'posh' in any way.

I know someone whose mother was a flight attendant and his dad is a civil engineer.

Definitely couldn’t have afforded it for 2 kids! There are families who have 2 or 3 kids in the school but they own their own successful businesses, they aren’t in public sector jobs!

In my dcs' school there are a lot of parents in the military. Mid size boarding school in the north.

No pressure between dc regarding designer clothes etc, nice mix of cars and holidays. Really pleasant community feel.

Massive mix here.

Firstly because there is a variety of independent schools with differing fees!

We have

Consultant
Private sector project manager
Teacher
Probation officer
Estate agent
Nurse
Interior designer
Marketing manager
Various tech
Police sergeants for various departments
Teaching assistant
Ex forces using pension
Health and safety officer
Mechanic
Proof reader
Oil rig worker
Forces

Some of these jobs are couples and joint incomes. Some also are using family money and endowment policies.

One of the schools is "very posh" and I've heard some of the pupils cans be funny about money but it's improved the last few years.

The others are "cheaper" (for our area!) and have larger class sizes 15-20 and generous number of scholarships (10-20-% of fees).

It seems that most of them holiday in Cornwall whatever school they go to!

I'm a teacher who now does online tutoring as a business and DH is an engineer. There's no pressure at all at DS's school to have the latest phone or labelled clothes - unlike the local state secondaries where these are status symbols. There's a mix of incomes and jobs. I'm sure lots of parents are very wealthy, but the ones I know are like us, making sacrifices to afford the school and just getting on with it.

My best friend's 2 kids both go to a private day school in south London - fees are eyewatering (£7.5k+ per term!) They're both accountants, she in the traditional way, he's now more of a finance bod, I would say. And they also get some help from grandparents. I don't know exactly how much, but it's no more than 50% of the fees. But they certainly couldn't afford to do it otherwise, even with their very healthy incomes!

Quite a few private school kids in our estate. Parents are army, solicitors and accountants.

Just take each other for what they unless they are nasty

I know plenty of people who are pretty dim and don't have good jobs and are not in the slightest bit intelligent or interesting but have been given the money to send their also not very bright or charming DC to local independent schools

The irony.

YOU sound nasty.

In our case, private school teacher.

We are at a public school and, as it is a full boarder, I have had next to no contact with the other parents, but what is notable is that they are all older. I'm mid 40s and I feel young on drop-off days.

@HarryOHayandBettyOBarley

You must be in the nice but dim brigade then

The school I work in has lots of doctors and lots of pilots. We also have a lot of families who run their own businesses.

We are mostly a two working parent school. Demand for after school care is high. The one day a week where there are no clubs (staff meeting day) the wrap around care has a waiting list a mile long and staff are now on a rota to cover another chunk of children to fit more in. Thankfully that’s basically once a year each!

Statistically, we were told on INSET that just over 50% are in school till 5:30pm all week, either clubs or wrap around. I know a lot of my class’s nannies / child minders / grandparents. Not saying that’s a bad thing, just saying that’s what my school is like demographic wise, lots of full time working families.

London schools are a v different social mix to regional school. At ours, in the South West, there are plenty of medics/solicitors/barristers, a very few with family money, but also lots of financial advisors, entrepreneurs, teachers. Quite a few in property and fintech. Most didn’t go to private school themselves.

Some have stacks of money, flash cars, multiple holidays abroad each year etc. But most are more ‘normal’ middle class families.

I went to a private school and my dad's a butcher own business.

I'm a SAHM and husband is a tech founder.
No GP help with fees or house deposits. I don't know anyone who has GP paying the fees.

Definitely don't see any kids wearing designer clothes I wear £10 shoes.

We do go on skiing holidays though and 2-3 other long hauls a year.

Most of my friends fees were supplemented by grandparents. In some cases the grandparents sold their homes and together with their children they bought a house (so 3 generations under one roof) with an Annex for the grandparents to live in. Then the money from the sale of the grandparents house that was left paid off the fees for the kids.

Tbh incredibly convenient for all - multigenerational living meant that grandparents could do pick ups/drop offs, parents could work longer hours, grandparents had company as they got older, grandchildren got to spend time with grandparents etc.

Lawyer and architect here.

DC are at different well known boarding schools as day pupils. Lots of lawyers, lots of business owners, some minor aristocracy - a handful of drs mostly working privately as cosmetic surgeons or in industry and a smattering of “celebs” and big name CEOs.

There is some very lavish spending, but very little high end designer, although certainly the kids are all wearing whatever is current weather that’s Jordans, Uggs, Montcler or Ralph Lauren. There are a lot of mums hand me down handbags for senior school girls and branded jewellery features prominently at Christmas.

the second hand uniform sale remains popular as does handing on of kit/uniform into its decidedly shabby but that’s a trend with school stuff only. I don’t observe much shabbiness generally and the battered Volvo which is so oft quoted on MN has definitely been upgraded to an electric Range Rover

Most people I know that send their kids to private school have it paid for by the grandparents.

The only couple I know that fund it themselves own a construction company and the mother owns a beauty salon that's always booked up and does extremely well.

business owners (often 2nd gen, i.e. grandparents set up the business 30+ years ago)
medical (lots, but all with dual income - 2 doctors / GP + pharmacist / GP + practice manager)
high earner in hedge fund + SAHM
teachers x 2 (children at school parents teach at, with associated fee reduction).
city/IT workers, often with child on a scholarship.
project manager + pharmacist with multigenerational living and grandparents effectively chipping in.
Solicitor + project manager
civil servant + financial services worker with main residence "gifted" from family money.

Not many have actually said that grandparents are contributing but in the cases that the parents have taken on the family business established by the grandparents or received enough family money to buy their main residence (outright), then clearly the family finances would be very different if that family money hadn't been passed on.

We are in an old Market town and defo country not urban. Our 'entry level' private school has many trades people, builders, scaffolder. Estate Agents and farmers and proprietor of a garden centre. They are doing what they can or what they think is right to give the next generation a start.

They are conscious of having that in common.

No grandparent help here. Not saying which of the below we are though.

Amongst those I know:
Several small/family business owners
Financial advisors
Vets
Medical consultants
Private school teachers
Management consultants
Army officers
SAHMs
Accountants
Civil servants
Bankers
Dentists

My late husband was a corporate lawyer and put four kids (one boarding) through private school. Only two at a time (big gap between kids as I was second wife). But there were all sorts: nurse, builder, IT specialist, landscape gardener, music producer...and quite a few teachers (guess they got a staff discount).

My ds is at a local independent. The other parents are a mix of army, farming families and local business people.

I run marketing for a small IT company. I'm a single mum and ds has a scholarship so we're probably the lower end of the income scale. But the school is calm and quietly academic, with good pastoral care and ds is much happier than he was at primary, so it's worth the money. We're waiting for his mock results now.

Different private schools attract different types of parents - make sure you look around a few to get an idea of your vibe.

DS8 is at a private school. I work in Marketing, DH is a software engineer, joint c. £300k/ year salary (but with a big mortgage, too, because I fell in love with a wreck of a house etc.).

Other parents in the school range from entrepreneurs/ business owners to doctors, pharmacists, tech workers, a few academics, a few lawyers. All sorts really. In our year group almost all of the mums work and have their own careers, which is great - that wasn't the case in the first school that DS attended, where there were way too many "ladies who lunch" for me to feel comfortable. I felt that they were judging me for being fairly career focused, and they all seemed terribly dependent on their DHs for £££.

Finance, bankers lawyer etc
lots and lots of doctors / medics
nobody I know has grandparents paying ( I know this because we’ve had this discussion )
actors
a lottery winner
lots and lots of doctors / medics

My friend is a volunteer and her 2 boys got in with a scholarship