What is your school fees increase for Sept 2024?

[Digimoor]

We have had notification from one school - nothing yet from the other
7.5%

8.3% - less than last year; rise kept down during Covid alongside outstanding virtual provision. They mention uncertainty around VAT, I think they'll have to withdraw bursaries first - the VAT will hit those who need the help most, well done Labour.

7.5 for the secondary, not heard from the prep yet 🤦‍♀️

4%.

It hasn't been announced yet (I'm a governor) but it is expected to be 3.5%. We are planning salary freezes this year though. Some of these are huge but assume some of this relates to anticipated VAT.

@Sass53271 no, we expect VAT on top!

0%

Are you new to MN?

(Or the UK??)

9%! This is because of cost of teachers' pensions increase and also fixed-rate with a number of suppliers expired so cost of living has really kicked in.

Just received our letter... 5% increase to begin with, with a long explanation about how they are unable to absorb any of the VAT increase and that if labour get in then it will likely be 16% - 17% on top.
This is following a 10% increase last year.
Assessing our options currently. This policy really does the opposite of what Labour promise they are doing it for.
It simply makes private education available to an even smaller section of society. Schools will surely have no option but to reduce bursaries and fee support alongside any other community work (ours is very active with the community and works with lots of local schools and charity groups).
We moved to an independent following a nightmare experience at our local state primary and having very limited alternatives, due to being rural. Not sure what our options would be at this point - just sit tight and hope everything will be fine, hope that our local primary has completely changed in 2 years, or move house...

7% and the 'extras' have also gone up.

5% but a long email about anticipating VAT, business rates changes and charitable relief changes and what can and can't be absorbed which I can share if anyone is interested. Short version is expecting a 17% additional increase at some point during 2024-2025 academic year, so potentially a mid-year fee increase. We put our company up for sale a few weeks ago when it started to look like we'd need to find a way to cushion a £12k a year increase on fees for multiple children, this is what angers me more than anything, we've created a business, nearly 20 jobs (which will be significantly reduced by any buyer who would take our businesses into a larger group) but I'm not disrupting the education of my autistic child who is finally finally happy and settled after years of struggle for anything. Nearly 70% of our income currently goes on fees but it's completely worth it for us but we don't have an extra grand a month without having to make a major change to how we work.

I get that VAT is an issue and I can understand 15%+ increases being unexpected, but equally on any thread on mumsnet about private school the advice is always to budget for 5-10% fee increases each year. I'm surprised people are shocked by increases in that ball park?

Most schools have had their costs increase massively in the last few years, so I'm not sure what else they are supposed to do?

Still awaiting ours which probably means it is going to be another large rise 🙄

6.6%, a North London prep.

7% NE so less than the 11% last year but I'm not happy that it is consistently higher than many southern schools

I have budgeted fees to double at some point during DS’ education. So there is a buffer before we need to start reviewing savings and investments. But it’s not an unlimited one. By itself the VAT increase isn’t a lot - an additional 2-3k a year. But if the school also maintain the 5-12% rises they’ve been doing for the past few years then it could mean I reach that limit sooner than I anticipated.

In any case we will not be sending DS to State. Even if I need to homeschool or buy private tutors for him. He has ADHD and isn’t white - I have no faith that state schools will give any kind of toss about him.

7.5% increase for a South London GDST.

It'll be interesting to see the increase for the other nearby GDST's.

Exactly the same!

fees in DC's school and its direct competitors in surrounding area have gone up 9-10% this year, and averaging close to 20% combined over the previous year and this one.
Speaking to someone who is senior in one of the feeder preps and talks to staff in the schools they feed to, they say the schools are deliberately increasing by more than necessary, so that when the VAT change comes in, they can "buffer" it slightly, and increase by significantly less than 15%.
So in a nutshell, the strategy is to boil the frogs slowly, so they don't realise they are being boiled.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog

I bet our school will still add 20% VAT despite a 6% increase every single year without fail.

Around 5.5%, in London. But its at the expensive end of day school fees already. Nothing definite on VAT (understandably) but a warning that they will need to respond to inflationary pressures.

Thankfully just paying our last bill but I know from September £39,000.

I asked about that being a possibility earlier in the thread but got shot down! It's not what our school is doing but I expect some might.

5.5% here.

5% but we’ve had two years of 10% and are now the most expensive comparable school in the area. I know some are leaving for cheaper alternatives