Realistically how much on top of fees yr3 onwards?

[daisydoodoo]

My daughter will be starting a new school in september and the fees are covered. DD will be 7 and going into yr 3, she has previously been attending a state C of E school but now moving to a fee paying school. I was just wondering realistically how much should i budget for the extras. I have already included music, and after school club in the fees budget.

They were very vague on how many trips etc per year, and i'm guessing that a junior child is unlikely to be going away overnight with school?

Day trips were included in fees for DDs school, however the 5 day residential trips were extra. They went on these from Y4 onward, once a year and were in excess of £300.

Oh and clubs. These were mostly extra. £50/60 a term for dance, sports club, design club- whatever you choose.

Music lessons (individual) £220 a term. Recorder (group) £50. Examinations/grades can really add up. About £40+ for singing, piano, lamda etc.

Lunches were charged on top of fees, about £220 per term. There was no provision for packed lunches.

Have you taken into account uniform and sports kits?

They also need different footwear depending on the sports and mouthguards etc. Our school have lots of table tennis tables out for the children to play before school so most children have a bat and lots of balls.

Look out for the second hand clothing room - most prep schools have them and they are a godsend. Our school recently changed a bit of uniform and added a wooley hat as regulation wear so feature some spare cash as add ons are the norm it seems.

We have residentials from Yr3 up to Yr6 so expect that too. Day trips are covered by fees luckily.

Some DC have a specialist teacher help with particular subjects which again are extra so if your DC is behind a bit expect to pay extra for that. Elocution is very popular but pricey and you don't have to do it - we did it until Yr3 then stopped. Don't be bullied into doing music grades either as they are expensive. My DH started at grade 4 for piano and has grade8 distinction and no one asks whether he has grade 1-3, they are only interested in the top grade. My DD learns the grade pieces with her teacher but doesn't do the actual exam but we know she is competent as we have heard her play.

I have included lunches and uniform in the fees (allowing for full new uniform and sports kit each year) i have also included the music lessons and afterschool club, which appears to be compulsory rather than optional.

I'm pretty sure finances will be ok, the fees until after university are covered via an inheritance and i earn a good salary as does my xh who will also be paying. September will be our first experience of fee paying school and the culture that surrounds it as parents. As both ds2 and dd1 will be starting. ds2 lightly different scenario though as some of the fees covered via scholarship, so even though theoretically senior school should cost more than junior school, his fees re significantly less.

I attended a fee paying school myself so its not completley new to me. I'm just hoping that they settle in well and as both are at point where school changes are normal (going into junior from primary and senior from junior) that there will be other new starters and they won;t stand out as the new children.

both dc play a fair bit of sports outside of school o we already have mouthguards, shin pads etc (dd1 plays hockey and tennis and ds2 plays football, hockey and lacrosse). they both have music lessons too, dd1 plays the piano and ds2 piano and guitar. dd1 would lik to play violin as well, but i don't think my ears could cope with the practice

I'm excited for them, with 4 dc its not something that i had considered feasible realistically but the money has been made avalible with the proviso that it must be used on education.

thank you for your replies.

You seem to be going into it with your eyes wide open and so there probably won't be any surprises.

All the best

Year 3 and 4 around £1000 extra per year for music lessons, clubs, extra books, trips and music exams. Year 5 and 6 this rises to £1500 as the 5 days residentials cost around £500.
Lunches are included.

Oh yes and stationary too. From Yr3 DD needed a bible, dictionary, thesaurus, fountain pens, felt tips, colouring pencils, ruler, pencils, rubber, sharpener, clip board, gel pens, highlighters and much more I have probably forgotten. The lists grows each year...

ladyInPink thank you. I hadnt thought about stationary so will check with the school regarding that issue.

I've just re read my replies and no idea why i said ds2 plays football, he doesnt, he plays rugby. Ds1 plays football. The reason we have decided to take up the offer of the inheritance is largely due to the fact that ds1 has not acheived his potential at the state school that he attends. A pupil who started the school with potential for a's and a* will be leaving this summer barely scraping c's. I can't help but feel that this wouldnt have happened at a different school hopefully he can claw his way back up to a decent level at college in september.

Our KS2 children probably go on 3 or 4 trips a year, day trips, no residentials, so about £5 to £20 a time, depends on whether a coach is needed or if minibuses are needed. Mathletics subscription per year is £5. Children expected to have their own basic equipment, so pencils, pen, calculator, colouring pencils.

Things like individual music lessons, music exams, lamda, mtech, golf, judo, tennis are paid for separately, direct to the teacher concerned, but they are all optional.

All paper type stationery provided by school, so books, exercise books, folders etc...

Uniform is probably the biggest cost, but we have a 2nd hand shop for everything except mouth guards.

We have 2 residentials in yr 7 and 8, a week long each time, but all done as cheaply as possible. Quite a lot of trips in the weeks after common entrance for yr 8, e.g. Tickets and coach to the globe to watch a bit of Shakespeare, tickets and transport to the oval to watch an ODI, minibus to the beach for a day of fun etc...

We have hardly any trips and residential from yr 5 onwards, just a local couple of days. I pay extra for music lessons, specialist drama (lamda) exams and all the sports kit - fitted mouth guard (actually not bothering next year, the opro boil ones are fine), hockey stick and dd1 is a sports scholar and has five pairs of trainers :-/

Best to check with the individual school regarding clubs. DD does 4 clubs a week after school (3 sports and 1 cookery) all at no extra cost. They don't charge for days out either. However from Yr 3 she did go on 3 day (2 night) outward bound course and this was about 150 quid extra for accommodation, events.

All the various uniforms/sports gear are the biggest expense as food is also included in fees.

Thank you for the replies it all sounds doable. If I use the schools music lessons they will be cheaper than the current arrangements termly.

at dd's school all day trips out are covered as are lunches and most after/before school clubs (there are a few provided by external teachers for which a small charge is made)

there's a residential trip from Y3 onwards which is extra but it's not much (£350 I think this year)

afterschool childcare is £3.50 a day, music lessons £210 per term - exams etc do cost extra and can add up

you really don't need to buy new uniform every year - there will be second-hand uniform sales and the children at dd's school who are in brand new uniform head to toe are definitely in the minority

Sports kit is the most expensive item, in my experience, plus PGL trips, which started in year 4 in DDs school. I bought a lot of uniform second-hand, until they decided to redesign the uniform, so everything has to be new for the next couple of years. You can often get away with buying cheaper shirts from supermarkets or M&S rather than the official supplier.

I also refused to get the horrendously expensive made-to-measure mouth guards after the first year, because DD was still losing/growing teeth and they never seemed to fit. Now I get the £1.99 boil-your-own ones from Sports Direct (which is also good for all the hockey sticks, shin pads etc you will need).

I know some uniform won't need replacing annually but thought if i budget for the whole kit/ sports kit as well, should leave money in the kitty annually for anything else.

dd1 has the boil mouth guards for hockey and ds2 has made to meausre one to fit over braces.