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.

A lot of business owners at our school. We are however just back from being overseas and my husband is a banker.

I've one in private school, one in state. Much more wealth comparison/ display at the state school.

Lots of schools offer bursaries based on lack of income. Christs Hospital is by far the most generous (but you'd have to accept 3 weekly full boarding) If you have boys and live in south London Whitgift is not a bad shout - sadly now biys only as the b*tars on the Whitgift Foundation have closed their badly needed girls' school in the hope that the sale of the girls' prep premises will bail the boys out.

I'm in the south and lots of my friends have been nannies with kids in private schools (mainly due to the insane logistics of dropping off multiple kids different schools)

Jobs included -

Airline owner
Minor celebs
Property developer/rental income
Accountant/IT dual income
Directors in companies
Family generational wealth from business

@Baffledandalarmed
I'm curious which cultures/ nationalities this multi generational living is common among.. I think it could be a great idea!

I forgot to say in the groups they were in there was a lot of keeping up with the Jones more the parents than the children. Lots of bullying behaviour between mums etc. it sounded very hard work.

Income c.10k/month. Mortgage £3k, nanny £3.5k, bills, food, car etc £1k+, savings £2k, c.£1k left/month for fun, holidays etc.

Yes we could save less but even if we saved nothing that wouldn’t cover private school for 2 kids.

I think the demographic who can afford to go private is very different nowadays, compared to when I was at school in the 80s/90s. Back then, it was definitely doctors, dentists, small business owners. Aspirational but diverse.

Now, at my children’s pre prep, it’s all mostly City finance, many of whom have moved out of London post Covid.
I’m not sure this very homogenous environment is a good thing, and I am sure it will only get worse when the VAT comes in which will only polarise this further.

Selective prep in the SE here. We own our own consultancy business. Other parents are in a range of jobs - medical, legal and tech as well as academia and engineering. Complete mix of cars at drop off - not all flash.

Teacher- have taught at a variety of private schools. They vary- one school lots of lawyers, some barristers, a QC, another one was more media people- so some well known actors, journalists, also some bankers. Many of the mums’ stated occupations were along the lines of ‘interior designer’ ie ladies who shop and lunch. Another school had boarding and that was at the level of: a princess, a famous investor, a tech billionaire. Another one had a v good bursary scheme so more ‘normal’ kids and another was a church school with quite a lot of kids whose family grandparents etc were scraping the fees together as the school would look after them better than other local options.

DS is starting private school next year (P6, age 9) and DD will follow for S1 5 years later. We have a good joint income but not in MN terms. I'm in a middle manager role in a large bank and DH a more senior position in a retail company. Both work full time. The only reason we can afford it is because we're doing state primary (although DS moving in upper primary), kids will 'only' overlap for 3 years, and we released some equity from remortgaging to support those 3 years - money which is currently earning a nice interest rate and will do until we need it in 5 years. No grandparent help but they would step in if we were struggling.

Oh I forgot- two plastic surgeons in my current school

@SwordToFlamethrower There would be a reasonable chance at DS's old school "financial help up to the full value of tuition fees may be available dependent upon the child’s academic ability and an external assessment of the income and assets of the family". Full tuition is covered if all income is less than £20k...but it's up north.

At my DD’s london day school one year the parents’ professions for her class could be narrowed down to four broad areas: doctor/dentist, partner in a law or accountancy firm or banker.

my Ds’s private day school is much more diverse - some parents own property development firms! And also several cases of 6 adults (parents and 4 youngish grandparents) all pooling all income - all doctors- to pay school fees for one child (and I’ve been told by the parents they purposefully chose to have just one child so they could manage fees)

Mine are older now but most dads at their school were in property investment, accounting or law. Most mums worked part time in their own small businesses selling to friends or were SAHM. Lots of trusts set up by grandparents for fees.

Also I know families from both state and private sector and from my experience the 'displays of wealth' are much more at state. DC's current school has a lot of fancy cars, Disney holidays, Mrs Hinch type houses etc. The private school families seem to have older, less flash cars and do very normal European holidays. We will definitely be in this group when DS starts this year!

Me and DH work in IT / finance. Nothing too fancy but good income. I reckon about half of all parents at DC school are doctors of some sort (multi cultural school in a city next to large hospital).

Then a few teachers, dentists, just normal stuff really no one is particularly posh or rich. I'm not sure it's that common for grandparents to pay.

Will depend on school they vary so much.

I only know a few professions from our kid's school:

• private equity
• film production
• executive search partner
• engineer at a large company (ie Facebook/Google or similar).
• a few who didn't do much and are generational wealth.
• a couple who are both doctors (obgyn and urology surgeon)

I work for an investment bank (~£750k) and my other half is a mgmt consultant (~£275k).

No one honestly gaf who does what and what other parents to do.

IME the level to which the school is selective skews the parental dynamic to some extent. Also geography plays a part. Not too many City investment bankers in the north. In the more selective London day schools there tend to be more parents who are doctors, lawyers, finance professionals etc. whilst in the less selective ones in say Surrey there are more footballers' and minor celebrities' DC. I don't think it really matters what the parents do generally, although I wouldn't be too happy with the drug dealer contingent.

My children are going to a fairly affordable prep in the SW. Most parents seem to be professionals (accountants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, surveyors etc.). A major selling point of the school is the wraparound care and extra-curricular. The cost of the school + wraparound for two children is similar to what I would otherwise have to spend on a nanny and the school is probably more reliable. We are fairly rural and the state options seem to have very flaky or non-existent wraparound. This particular school is affordable on two professional incomes.

Partner - think magic circle/big4 - income £1m+
Other earner £100k
No grand parent support required financially but they do help with childcare so no nanny required which is a massive help.
2 DC in a Prep to well known public school in the South. DC have shown no pressure re competing re finances, their cohort seem socially aware and generally well rounded with a mixture of friends from different backgrounds but whilst there is diversity there is not a lot of economic diversity despite very generous bursaries.
Parents to Cohort are made up of wealthy foreigners (mainly - a few Russians remain, Hong Kong nationals, mainland Chinese) self made/employed, teachers children, farming/equestrian types and typical professionals lawyers, accountants Drs etc. Haven't noticed any celebs or drug dealers!
There is clearly a lot of wealth floating about but no one is boastful or talks about money in that way. Unaware as a result of any grand parents paying fees although I'm sure it exists.
The school is a great fit for our DC, what unites the parents is the fact that even if we were to earn a fraction of the salary we would save to send our DC there or somewhere similar if it was possible. We are all heavily invested in giving them the best possible opportunity to meet their needs in a nurturing environment.
Good luck with picking a school that fits your child and allows them to thrive.

On a similar income / circumstances (no family support or contribution from grandparents) we had no trouble paying for private school for 2 and a nanny (full time until younger one started pre-school, then after school). A third set of private school fees would have been doable though we'd have been saving far less.
The idea that you can't afford private schools on a household income of 300k is ridiculous. A choice has been made to spend the money on other things.

Private day schools in our area cost around or slightly above the national average. There are still plenty of families with normal jobs - teacher, pharmacist, solicitor, GP etc. Most of these families have dual incomes adding up to six figures but under 200k; most have only one or two kids in the school. The ones with 3 tend to either own a business or have one very higher earner (over 200k). Those paying 3 sets of fees from dual incomes from normal jobs find it tough.

Similar to other posters, doctors, accountants, nurses, some farmers, a few builders, police detectives, teachers, military, property developers, and quite a few who have GP making a contribution. I would say 90% have two parents working full time.

Flashy designer clothes etc aren’t really a thing, not obviously at least, range of holidays - some families use all their spare income on fees, others are closer to the extremely wealthy that you would expect.

I think it does just come down to the school and the area, I imagine it’s probably very different at places like Eton and Harrow, but the majority of private schools aren’t remotely similar to them!

Private schools near me are £8k per term plus extras, so for 2 kids you’re looking at £50k+ per year. Nanny is £40k per year so there’s not much change from £100k of post tax income.

Partner - think magic circle/big4 - income £1m+
Other earner £100k

😮