Private educaiton - is everyone really rich that sends their kids?

[Clare123]

We are fairly wealthy, but I still think education 2 kids privately is so much money! I was wondering how most families do it?!

No boarding is 26K. The school to which dd was going to attend was a similar price, we were offered money to help pay the fees though.

MollieO - It is £9000 for you for one child at primary level per year. Imagine if you had 2 children £18,000 or 3 children £27,000 a year. Then multiply it by 15 yrs (add a lot more for secondary) add university fees and it becomes in the 100,000s.

If we had one child it would be just affordable but would be a big expense for 2.

You mistake my tone and my position. I have repeatedly said that there are huge numbers of people who are not and never will be in a position to pay for private education. I have made it repeatedly clear that I am talking about people who are in a position to pay and may or may not be aware of it but make other choices. I have also said that I am not criticising their choices either way.

I'm not suggesting for a second that all SAHMs and SAHDs should go back to work so that their kids can go to private school. I'm just saying that some families choose to support a SAHM or SAHD with their family income while other families make different choices like private schooling or whatever.

Likewise other families really value having a nice house in a nice area and the majority of their family income therefore goes towards paying for that.

In my case we live in what many would consider a very undesirable area and therefore have a small mortgage, we started saving early and we don't go on expensive holidays etc. That's our choice which is not to say it should be everyones.

Up to other people how they spend their money.

Don't really see how that's smug. It's purely factual.

I think it is sad where people would like their kids to go to private school but assume that it's not an option for them.

DD is in year 3, day fees for her at the local school are £13K. I imagine the other 3 -4 schools locally will all charge thhe same.

I agree it is not an easy undertaking if you have more than one dc. Ds's school friends are a mix of onlys up to one of 5. There are definitely more households where both parents work than is the case in the older years. I think the school has been quite surprised tbh - lots of complaints when there is insufficient notice of events requiring parental attendance.

Sorry, that was directed to Starlight.

Who also assumes that you wouldn't buy a box of £5 crayons from Woolies for a children's party if you went to private schools. You make a lot of assumptions don't you? As it happens I never spend more than a fiver for children's parties and asked for donation to a children's charity when my kids had their parties instead of a present. And I queue up with lots of other mums and dads who may be students or nurses or unemployed (with kids on bursaries) just as much as they may be GPs or accountatns or teachers to get my kids' 2nd hand uniform at the 2nd hand sales which independnt schools have regularly..

I have typed another reply, it has gone, must have posted on a wrong thread

We have 2 children at independent schools and do think it's an investment. We don't have an extravagant lifestyle, we live within our means and yet lead comfortable, happy lives. It's fairly basic financial reasoning.

I'm still struggling with the thought of paying £20k pa for a day school!

Its fairly basic financial reasoning if you have the means. It may make more financial sense to send them to a good state ( if you have one) and spend the £15-25K on life enriching activities or saving for their future which is what we do. Or to use state grammar, if you have themm which a lot of people here do which may be why there does not seem to be cheaper independent alternatives.

For us it was only ever an option as we live a very simple life, were offered some money and have one child

Morosky so did you decline the independent school place even though you were offered a bursary?

"life enriching activities" That is education.

My parents managed to send me to private school on my Mum's part time salary as a school matron. I was on a 50% scholarship but it was still a lot. My Dad's salary paid for everything else - but we went without a lot to afford the fees and Dad worked a lot of overtime to afford our 1 annual holiday and things like Christmas.

It can be done but you have to be extremely careful with money. We will be sending DD to private school and I will sacrifice whatever is necessary to ensure she gets a decent education as the secondary schools here are appalling. I will be doing everything I can to prepare her for a scholarship or exhibition so I hope she's going to either be clever or very good at sport/dance/drama.art ! We may send her to the one decent primary as we are in the catchment area which would mean saving about £30k.

School fees will be paid out of my salary, DH will pay for everything else.

And there are various schemes to help with fees - payment schemes etc.

All private schools offer bursaries and scholarships as well which can mean anything from 10% off to 100% off.

£30k for the whole of primary? That's cheap.

And finally, as we intend to privately educate we will not be having another baby as we could not afford to educate 2 privately.

Our household income is around £75k so certainly not low but not massive either and we have a £185k mortgage.

i pay for me 2 children at indie school, we are certainly not rich and i queue at 2nd hand shop every term i assure you! dd is £18k and ds £12 at prep. Dh pays for everything else at home.

Astonishingly - and this may come as news to some people - there are a great many parents in the state sector who find that they have in common this idea of "valuing education".

That is, they know the value of it, rather than the price.

It does not seem to be that unusual around here, lots of the people in our community think we are positively Bohemian because our dd is educated in the state sector.

I live near the following schools.
Clayesmore £20K for senior day pupils
Bryanston is about £21K I think
Canford is again about £21K
Milton Abbas again 21K
ST Mary's is a positive bargain at £15K

Not sure what point you are making UQD. I would think there are an equal number of parents in state and private who value education and an equal number who don't.

"£30k for the whole of primary? That's cheap."

That's about 4 years fees at the prep schools here.

The money came from family, we took the place but then declined it as I was never very happy about it all. She was at a very good state school and was achieving and happy.

We then moved, again dd is at a very good state school and is happy and achiebing. The school is not perfect but I doubt that shelling out £20K a year will make me easier to please. Dp still rumbles on about local independent schools which is how i know how much they all cost.

I didn't investigate bursaries as I think they mainly kick in at secondary level.

Going private does bring obvious benefits (better facilities, broader experiences, a very accountable teaching body...). People opting for private education also pay tax which funds state education. So we do value education from both ends of the spectrum.

Sorry Mollie, it's more like 40k. I'm a bit distracted this morning and forgot that it would be 5 - 11 not 7 - 11.

I thought Bryanston was boarding only.