Will private schools reduce their annual fee increases, to stop children leaving ??

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, I just wondered how the currunt financial situation will affect private schools annual fee increases?
The nursery my daughter attends is part of a private school and the fees tend to increase by 8% each year, well above inflation.
Do you think they might try to keep the increases smaller to stop children from leaving?

No, sadly, only been here since 2005. I just came across that thread once when searching MN for something.

Clearly no one could answer Camellia's terribly indiscreet question... but if someone coincidentally directs her attention to a thread on a similar topic to this one, I'm sure no one could object...

Thanks PortandDemon, I just knew I'd be on the thread if es and batters were

Didn't Ruth Kelly (in)famously send one of her children to private school because he had SN? Not a great advert for state education if the woman in charge of it doesn't trust it for SN at least.

And to answer the OP. Private schools have 2 easy options if they're frightened of losing students:

1.) Decrease the academic barrier accepting all applications if necessary.

2.) More marketing to foreign students. Already a significant number of students at private schools are from other countries and come without their parents.

fivecandles, option 1 only works if they are oversubscribed (I guess a lot are, but not all).

I think schools are more likley to increase the number of bursaries for existing students that are thinking of leaving than reduce the fees for all - more targetted that way.

Do you think they would give a bursery to a child just about to go in to junior school, or is it only secondery ?

I think in exceptional cases there may be bursaries at junior age but majority are senior age. It would be worth finding out how many the school are proposing to fund as you may find it is relatively few running at any one time among the younger age groups and therefore keenly competed for and not always open to those currently at the school, although that may be reviewed at the secondary application stage. Separate funds for "hardship" due to sudden changes in circumstances (ie loss of breadwinners's job) for those already at the school are sometimes available.