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'm a strategy director at a creative agency and my partner is a creative director. We're sending our DS to private school, but we're in a part of the country where fees aren't extortionate - far less monthly than our mortgage.

Just curious if anyone knows whether there are grants or scholarships for children who have disabled parents who can't do paid employment?

DC’s prep school has:
Pharmacists
Teachers (at the school, so reduced fees)
House parents (ditto)
Doctors
Consultants in their field
Lawyers
SAHP
Retired parents (DC’s friend’s father is retired)
Property developers

So a really mixed bag

It’s worth an ask, our school has means tested bursaries, but the whole thing is very competitive and kids have to be super bright to qualify ❤️

Doctor / Consultant
Accountant
Head of LA Department
Senior NHS Managemnet
Business Owner
Property Developer
Drug Dealer

That’s off the top of my head from my DC’s class.

A member of my family is a senior teacher at a top-end, very academically selective private school in the Home Counties. Some of the pupils’ parents are high profile celebrities, business people, CEOs etc, & they have many international students but the highest numbers of parents work in finance.

Lawyer and accountant

their friends parents include:
teachers
local business owners
doctors both GP and surgeon
various finance/insurance jobs
architect
various public sector roles
engineer
painter and decorator
graphic designer
opera singer

DH and I both went to private secondaries but back when there were assisted places. DD1 goes to private secondary (Y8) and it is paid for by grandparents. DD2 is at state primary but will hopefully join her sister. I am a teacher (state primary) and we wouldn't be able to afford it on our own salaries.

There are some very rich children at her school who have designer bags, expensive holidays etc. I just explain that we don't have the money for that but still have a very nice lifestyle. It will possibly become more of an issue as there are more school trips as they are expensive.

My friend's DS goes to a local primary. He's VP of an investment bank and says they're the poor family in the class.

A head of a private school told me once that their pupils range from families with 3/4 siblings all at the school (and only one parent working) - all who do every extra activity going and the parents don't bat an eyelid at price to parents who both have more than 1 job and only 1 child at the school and every one in between!

Not currently a parent but our local academically high achieving private mostly attracts hard working middle class types who prioritse school fees ahead of fancy cars, holidays and designer clothes. Or in many cases grandparents pay. Academics, lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, techy types. Some pretty wealthy Asian families (who seem to travel to the school from much further away) but they are in the minority.

Oh, we have a fair few children of Premiership footballers at our school as well.

I think the range of professions will skew to the number of children. Eg if you’ve got one child, fees are going to obtainable for a wider range of salaries and professions and a partial grandparent contribution could make a massive dent in one set of fees. if a family has managed nursery for one I can see how they might just carry on with school fees.

If you’ve got 3 kids paying £25k a year (and some fees are closer to £40k) for each in secondary you’ve got to have some serious money behind you. That is going to rule out so many people as you’d need £135k gross to cover just the fees. You’d need one hell of a contribution from grandparents on that basis as well.

It varies a lot in my experience. Some schools are full of very posh but not particularly rich families. Some are more popular with very rich and flashy parents. In a lot of cases the parents don't work at all. In the more down to earth schools the parents tend to work in professional jobs such as accountancy, law, medicine and professional services. Which also applies to a large proportion of parents at many state schools.

I have 3 friends that have DC that attend private school and grandparents are paying the fees for each of them;

Friend 1 is a self employed lash technician and her DH works in the financial industry in London. There is a lot of family money there and her husbands parents bought their house for them and pay school fees. I'm pretty sure she said there is a separate trust fund for their kids' education. Kids are 4 and 5

Friend 2 has two teens at private secondary school. Fees fully paid by my friend's mother. This friend works in an office as a receptionist and her husband is in the armed forces

Friend 3, also two teens at private secondary school. Fees paid half by her parents and half by her husbands parents. This friend works as a primary teacher and her husband works part time in an office.

We own our own property business and rent out properties (we have 3 in private school).
Other parents:
Dentist
Teachers at the school (so get reduced fees)
Cosmetic surgeon
Own big insurance company

Architect
few in medicine (consultant level)
definitely 2 drug dealers ( no judgement)
lots of smallish business owners
finance in London
few teachers ( half price fees I believe)
lots of grandparents paying for fees!

nursery -11 are the only ones I know of currently

I've taught at many private schools, where parents have ranged from filmstars and CEOs to families who own/ live above a corner shop and put every penny they earn into their kids' education. It might depend on whether you're thinking of a boarding/public school or a common or garden girls' day school, for example.

We’re a mid-level doctor and management consultant. Grandparents are paying ours - haven’t contributed to anything else (house deposits etc) but this was what they decided they wanted their contribution to be. In our year group we have a really wide mix of professions, couple of others grandparents are paying towards too:

GP (several of)
IT professional
Tradespeople
Marketing (director of some sort)
Ex-hedge fund manager
Oil worker (offshore)
Commodities trader
Vet (again, several of)
Own food business
Property developer/landlord
Hospital Consultant
Several teachers at the school
Dietician
Farmers (lots of)
Other small-medium own business
Various other financial service types

In terms of pressure to keep up with the Joneses, even being what I imagine is amongst the lowest earners in the group, can’t say this is something I’ve been especially aware of… I agree with PPs that a lot of that pressure can be self-created. Holidays in the last couple of years amongst peers have varied from tiny cottage on the coast all the way up to Mauritius and similar. No judgement one way or the other. Some gentle ribbing the other way of the REALLY rich family, of which of there’s only one, but all pretty good humoured. Overall I think it’s safe to say there’s a huge variation in income and level of sacrifice, but no one really cares one way or the other about what anyone else earns/does/thinks…

(This is a highly regarded but low-mid level fees day and boarding school in the north)

We only have one.

I have a pretty standard office job (systems)

DH is a manager in a local distribution firm.

DC is academically very bright. The schools she interviewed at loved her so she got good offers plus high scores in her entrance exams.

More than one, and without a scholarship and bursary, then not a chance could we afford.

My DCs went to private prep school and then private boarding school. GPs paid 50% of boarding school fees - wanted to help - we could have done it without them but it would have been a real struggle. Both DCs got scholarships to boarding school which reduced the fees by 25%. DP hectic finance job, SAHP/charity work for me. Mix of v wealthy families, GPs paying and families working v hard and making big sacrifices to afford fees. No-one noticed what cars were driven/clothes worn etc - honestly couldn’t have cared less!!! Most of the kids v into vinted and buying second hand/vintage/charity shops… absolutely no pressure whatsoever for designer clothes or tech (most phones handed down etc). Would have run a mile if that was the case, can’t bear materialistic pressure…

DH job would pay 90% of fees. He's military but I don't suppose that counts.

DC went to GDST and Whitgift Foundation schools for years 7 -11. Parents were massive range - teachers (usually on school discounted places), doctors/nurses/physios/pharmacists, academics, music producers, accountants at all levels from local bookkeepers to Big 4 partners, Lawyers from KCs downwards, private secretaries, business owners of all sorts and sizes, bankers, dentists, actors....

The one common factor was that they all valued the educational opportunities their DC got and were prepared to invest both time and money in it. Most were very unshowy about money - labels were few and far between even for the fashion editor mother (who introduced me to a fledgling site called VInted) , holidays were not bragged about and the one family that turned up in a different supercar every other day was not admired for it. If you wanted kudos at the school gates it was usually for identifying a good inexpensive source of extra curricular/holiday activity. (I scored big time with a 50p a session supervised adventure playground and a £25 for 3 days orchestra course.)

If you find a school where achievement is valued (sport music art and drama as well as academic) you'll probably find a nice bunch of parents who don't flaunt their wealth.

My son goes to private school and we are in IT/Financial Services.
occupations range from lawyers, doctors, investment and at one point a billionaire author.