Is a Fee paying school worth it in the end?

[Rose1Thornton]

I'm a single mother who has spent the past seven years scrimping and saving to ensure that I could send my son to a wonderful school, I've recently found out that after all the interviews and exams and stress that my son has been accepted to attend Colet Court, in the 7 plus class, I was hoping for some assistance with the fees but have sadly been turned down, I have a little over 50 grand saved up, however the fees alone for a year are about 10 & a half grand and the extra activities will push up that price.

After crunching up the numbers, I've concluded that as long as I keep going at this rate, I'll be able to keep up with the fees until my son turns 18, however the dilemma I am having is that I'm not sure it's all worth it, the schools in my catchment area are quite horrendous, however I could use the money to provide tutoring and then try and get him into a Grammar School when he turns 11, although that's a risk I'm not too comfortable taking.

With mortgage payments, bills, bills & more bills, I'm living on a tight rope, Colet Court is a brilliant school and is associated with St Pauls, meaning that his secondary school placement is all but guaranteed, but is spending all that money, really, truly, worth it in the end?

Check this out ...
www.isbi.com/articles/article.asp?title=why-pay-to-send-your-child-to-school-&articleid=51

Such a subjective question OP. I can only answer for us. Ds13 started secondary school in September and it has been 100% worth it.

He is just flourishing in the environment and really, really loves his school. I would do without a lot to keep him there. We are both working however so it’s very manageable, (I have also budgeted an extra 20% on top of the fees for equipment, trips etc.)

I had a major panic a week before he started at the school, wondering if we could sustain him there, fretting about his classmates if he would feel out of place, questioning whether I wanted to work for another 5 years to keep him there. My dh went to public school and he had always wanted to send ds to private as a day boy, so I just always assumed that would happen.

When the time came I suddenly realised that actually it's a huge luxury to send a child to private school, and although we have a great income between us, we are not rolling in it. It was suddenly a case of "What the Hell are we signing up for here? And why?

To add to our dilemma we actually had a really good state option, but ds's school was a fantastic fit for him and we knew it, so we bit the bullet. Now he is making amazing strides in the classroom, He has a fantastic friendship group, his achievements on the rugby field (main reason he wanted to go there) have been outstanding and he just loves every single day. Last night he stayed on for prep and I had to crowbar him out at 7.00pm.

I will never regret prioritising this for him.

Sorry for the ramble, but wanted to give you my (very subjective) opinion.

PMed you.

I feel terrible for you in this situation. It's almost as if you would have been better off spending all your money and then pleading poverty to get a full bursary. Sensible prudence on your part seems to result in punishment.

I fear your finances may be short. As others have pointed out, CC fees are £5557 at the moment and are likely to go up by about 5.5% per annum (at least if you look at the last few years as a guide and based on the huge rebuilding costs currently underway).

CC
Age 7 - £16,671
Age 8 - £17,589
Age 9 - £18,555
Age 10 - £19,575
Age 11 - £20,652

Five years at Colet Court might cost £93,042 on that basis.

The following seven years at St P (also inflated at 5.5%) would require a further £200,253!

I do hope my maths is wrong and I have made a major over-calculation.

Perhaps the rate you can save money each year will increase or you can get family support. I wonder if there are any external bursaries available for you?

Of course I have got that a bit wrong as CC goes to 13, not 11, which lowers the overall cost a bit, but the annual figures, I think are right.

No

That isbi link is appalling and a crock.

Private school doesn't guarantee you anything,there are good,middling and dire private schools the same as state.The state sector is rapidly improving.

A privileged few having an unfair advantage is being thankfully being challenged.

Just to let you know that private schools can employ who they want as teachers. They do not have to be trained , qualified teachers.
However, for the money you are paying I would hope they would be.

story

Most private schools want their pupils to do really well, otherwise the school will not succeed, do you really think they are going to employ useless teachers. Useless teachers who don't get results?

Over the years teachers in top schools I have heard about here and there seem to be people who have been in industry and so on at the top of their game and wanted a change. Not all of them, but a fair few seem to end up teaching in top schools.

Rose1Thornton has been very specific about her situation. I don't think this thread benefits her by going over the well trodden "private/state" debate.

She has the choice to send her son to Colet Court and St Paul's. Whatever your political views on private/state, your point is only relevant if you think either:

a) CC/St Paul's is a bad choice outright, regardless of the money
b) CC/St Paul's is not worth the money compared to any other non-fee paying school in West London (and I suspect the question really relates to selective intake grammar schools in West London, of which there are only a few)
c) CC/St Paul's is bad value for money

If you think one of the above, you should clearly set out your case. I think that would be more helpful for Rose than trying to influence her politics.

I would do it for Colet Court, not for any other prep school. Definitely. However good the Barnes/Sheen primaries are, CC is amazing.

Agree, however, he can still sit exam for Tiffin or wherever at 11, CC should amply prepare him for that.

My daughter has never been to an officially "outstanding" school - although they have certainly been very good. She got mostly A* for GCSE and all As for her AS levels. Woops! Stealth boast - but what I'm saying is that a bright, motivated child who is well supported will do very well in state education. She also realises that we are fortunate (although we would have been "poor" in private school terms) and knows what the genuine day to day issues are for kids who live in chaotic families. I guess the pinko-lefty in me thinks that is important.

We had GPs offering money for school, and I'm glad we stuck with the state system and she now has that money for Uni/property deposit. We have also paid off our mortgage. The economy is always cyclical. House prices go up and down. People lose their jobs more regularly. Benefits are being cut. I would be terrified to make a commitment to paying for school unless I had all the money set aside and didn't need it for anything rise.

Else - that last word should be else! Flippin' iPad!

Have you actually been to see the local state schools on a normal working day?
If they really are terrible could you move?
My nephew has been educated privately from 3 yrs to 18yrs, he has done well but he hasn't come out any better than my DCs who have been educated for free.
The other thing to think of are the extras. Mine have been able to take advantage of them all. Had we scrimped for private they would have had to miss them all. Difficult if the rest are doing them.

Send him and keep scrimping. We put our 2 into prep school because they were so bored at the local school. They are interested in learning again and have come on so much since September that we will scrimp and save what we have to to keep them there. I know nothing about Colet Court as we are in the West Country but, for us, a decent Prep School is worth every penny. Good Luck!

I agree with the advice to put him in CC and then revise your plan when he gets to grammar age. I would pay for a very good secondary before I would pay for Uni to be honest - as an excellent secondary has them very well prepared for the next stage and great Unis in many nations. Also a great work ethic and excellent standard of general education by 18 is a good preparation for all decisions. I know so many very intelligent teens who lost their way and didn't do as well as they should have and never made it to a top Uni. It would be very difficult for this to happen to your son at the schools that CC would prepare him for.

If you can afford private, go for it! Your child will only benefit from working in a class which has a lower number of children, less noise, more resources and more of teacher's time individually. Tutoring is OK but if your child is traumatised in a state school everyday you might have other issues to deal with when he returns home from school. Good luck anyway.

"Traumatised in a state school everyday"? Honestly?