Unsure how to use inheritance

[Moonshine76]

Hi wise Finance Forum followers,
I’ve named changed due to amounts involved but I am a semi regular poster.
My dear aunt sadly passed about 6 months ago, after a long and happy life. She was unmarried and did not have any children and has left me circa £300k, her entire estate. I am gobsmacked to be in possession of such a large sum and am unsure of how best to use it.
I have 2 DC at (state) primary and I was planning on keeping the amount as substantial house deposit money for them when they grow up. My husband thinks we should use the money for private education for secondary as we live near a great private school, which costs £20k a year. His reasoning is that at some point his parents will pass and the children can have his inheritance for a house deposit. The amount is unlikely to be as high as 300k though. We are aware that there are ‘extras’ associated with private school and would make minor cut backs to our lifestyle to accommodate these.
We have middle of the road jobs and live a fairly simple (happy!) life so don’t need the money for ourselves, we have final salary pension schemes so won’t need it for our retirement.
I wondered what others views would be on the best use (we were both state educated so have no experience of the private system) and what you would do in our situation ? Thanks for reading to the end!

Pay off your own mortgage first though

Pay off your mortgage, if you have one.
Keep some aside for house deposits & university for DC.
I would keep them state.

You don’t know what will happen within your relationship so don’t assume that he will do what he says.
Do what YOU want with it.

Use the money to buy a better, maybe bigger, house. Then consider downsizing to release house deposits for the kids in years to come.

One of my mates has put her child through private school his whole education and now he is soon to finish she has admitted its been a waste of money! But she said the bullying in the private secondary schools has been horrendous. He has attended 3 different secondary schools and one boarding (yes they have been exceptionally bad) and the bullying he endured in all of them was horrible. He stands up for himself so was regularly suspended, but please don't think bullying doesn't happen in private schools because it does.
As you have said the state school is good near you I would personally send my son there if I were you.

There is bullying in every school. What do you think your aunt would have most wanted you to do with the money?

A tangent, but it does depress me to see all this advice about buying multiple investment properties.

There are other ways to invest money for your own children that don't deprive other people's offspring of the chance to by their own home.

There is a lot of money, can't it be used for everything?

Private school and small deposit for uni?

And house deposit?
If you invest it now in steady index funds and maybe one or two gamble funds it will continue to grow for them?

Private school sounds like a a good idea to me along with the other ideas.

Roak

Bullying is a strange beast and actually some people places handle it amazingly well but the will to handle it has to be there.

I can't believe the school fees would eat up 300 grand?

Only you know what value it would give
,and what the local state school is like, it's about so much more than lessons, smaller class sizes, are your dc shy, what do they need?

I'd have sent dc private no question, I've been let down on two fronts by two outstanding schools and in different ways and the communication in each one is rubbish, just simply things like where is dd music lesson! She could never find it, missed the lessons... I've moved her and before she's started the new place I already know a comprehensive stragety and list of how to get to her new lessons.
Sorry I'm rambling and probably projecting.

I'd aim to do all the things you want to do, pay off mortgage or pay it down, have savings bolstered, private school and all the rest.

We have junior Isas and they are doing very well, average ish 20%. I don't think with that amount it's an either or situation... You can split it and do everything.
The only problem is inflation is supposed to be coming our way so factor that in