The Hall School Hampstead - what is the total fees (school fees+extras) per year?

[camtranquil]

Hi everyone,

My DS has got an offer of a place at The Hall (fabulous news!). As we only earn better-than average income, from affordability perspective, I'd like to find out the approximate total cost per year for sending DS to this school.
I see the current fee is around £5800 per term (reception and year 1 are slightly cheaper). How about extras, like music tuition or trips etc? Could any mums with DS in the school let me know the approximate total cost per year? I appreciate that the fees will vary based on school years and the clubs you choose etc, but generally could anyone give me a clue please?

Another concern I have is I heard most students come from extremely wealthy families. Will my DS be looked down if he can't afford the same luxuries that his classmates do, e.g. a few thousands £ of birthday party? I heard rumours about some posh schools in the area that students are mocked because of living in a flat (versus house/mansion) around Hampstead, or not living around Hampstead. Is this true? If this is the case, I would rather not send DS there.

Any response would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

My kids go to nearby schools

I don't know about the hall itself but the kids at most preps round there come from varying backgrounds - some live in small flats, some standard sized homes and some mansions - given location even professionals earning well struggle to buy a house

birthday parties aren't thousands of pounds either

regarding extra costs - you can normally buy some bits of uniform from cheaper places (trousers etc) although I think the Hall's uniform is quite prescriptive. As they get older they need more specialist sports kit but you can normally get generic. Take full advantage of second hand uniform sales.

Our school trips are £20 a term - will get more as trips get longer. lunch is included in fees. Music around £150 a term. After school clubs are £20 a term.

I think £6k could be a bit excessive on top of fees (I think I know the school you are talking of mrbrown) in the early years in particular - unless you mean for the full 9 years!

mrbrown and Buildyourownsnowman - thank you both for replying to my post. £24k per annum is affordable. But as both DH and I are working, I suppose we need to find ways to look after DS after school day ends - the afternoon school clubs offered by TH normally end at 5pm or earlier, but we will not be home until 6 - that would cost extra. I suppose we may need to find a child minder or a nearly nursery that do afternoon clubs. Any clues as how much this would cost in the area? Many thanks.

We sorted the child care issue by using an au pair. Because we only needed three hours max each day a friend's au pair was able to find us a lovely graduate who was keen to study English, and when she moved on, her cousin took over.

Holidays were more difficult. They are longer at private schools. Local authorities have good schemes, and there are plenty of private providers, though some are expensive. As they got older we found sports camps worked well. Our children always went on school ski trips, their richer peers went to family chalets instead. And they did quite a lot of staying with grandparents over half terms and in the holidays.

Their uniform supplier is uniform4kids - the prices are on their website

It is by reputation quite a pushy school that isn't a place for the faint-hearted and I gather that those who aren't Westminster material get less attention in the later years. Be aware that they won't want you to leave at 11 so there will be no preparation for the 11+, so you're committing to common entrance or tutoring if you want to do the 11+.

Agree that in transition year they can be tired. I don't know where you lie but we take public transport to school and never had a problem with it. The school bus was worse as we would have to be at the bus stop ten mins before we would normally leave home for the public bus!

The first year is play based and eases them in slowly.

I think if you are including after school childcare and summer camps mr brown is definitely closer to the mark! A few of the kids spend the summer with grandparents. Don't know if that's an option for you. Others the parents stagger their holiday which means no holiday for the family as a whole.

Thank you all for replying. The big dilemma I have here is DS has also got a place at one of top state primary schools (4 to 11). He currently attends its nursery class and enjoys himself. He has made very good friends and we fit nicely into the local community. So there is always the concern about uprooting him (and the whole family).

On the other hand, TH is a top private prep school which clearly has a very good record for sending its pupils to top senior schools. Ultimately we want our son to go on to Westminster/St. Pauls etc., so TH dose look attractive. Also I suppose there will be more extra-curriculum offered at TH and arguably DS will benefit from.

So I guess this is more of a question of top state school vs top private school. If we choose the state school, I think we will do 11+ (as DH is strongly against 7+), but I reckon the chance of getting in top senior schools then would be less than going to TH, but the good side is we don’t have to move and uproot DS from where he is, and also be able to save c£20k per year (which can be put to other good use).

Would love to hear ppl's views. Thanks for reading !

If you want him to do the 11+, send him to a school that ends at 11. The Hall preps for Common Entrance, not he 11+ (unless it has changed in the very recent past).

Parking restrictions start at 9am so mornings you can park but most schools allow you to pull up an let the kids jump out

At pick up its more awkward but they stagger pick up by ten mins or so for the younger classes and bring them to the door so you can get them quickly

I don't mind the bus but it can be annoying in the rain!!

Tricky. If you're aiming for St Pauls and Westminster then his chances of going there will be much higher from the Hall than a state primary. However, he would still have a good chance of getting into Highgate/UCS etc at 11 from a state school, if he's bright enough and with the right preparation. But if it's important to you and you will be stressed for the next 7 years if you send him state, then it may be better to pay the fees.

In your position I would opt for top state school with the friends, and without the eye watering costs. You can then top up with private tuition, to prepare for the 11+. Schools like Highgate, UCS and city boys have lots of children at age 11 from state primaries (and are all excellent schools).

electionfatigue, thanks for taking the time to reply. If I send DS to TH I am happy for him to do CE at 13. It's only if I send him to the state school which ends at 11 that I have no choice but to do 11+. Thanks again for the reply.

Cam -- If your son is bright, he will have the same chance of getting into SPS or Westminster et al from an excellent state primary as from The Hall or any other private prep school. If he is happy at his current school and you think it is a good primary school, then I think you should keep him there.

State then a crack at Westminster Under and Colet Court at 7+. Then again at 10/11+ as well as Highgate etc. Spend your money on help with preparation. Or consider a switch to a prep at 7/8+. All school lose some then so have places.

You can't know how academic he is yet. Yes you want him to be able to go to a very academic school if that is where he would thrive. But you may be better off with more flexible approach which gives you scope to identify the right school. There can be quite a lot of 'Westminster or bust' at some preps and lots of tutoring behind the scenes. Fine if you are a natural but demoralising if a place at one of those schools get linked with a child's sense of self worth.

Hi Camtranquil,

I think the offer is an indication of your son's ability and that's unlikely to change, so in your situation I would definitely leave him where he is obviously thriving and has friends and not put yourself under a lot of unnecessary financial pressure. It seems like a great position to be in. Then, if you feel he's ready, at 7 plus you can prepare him. I know a great tutor, with a fabulous track record who gets lots of boys (and girls) into top schools. The boys often get into Westminster and Colet Court and if your son is clever and motivated he'll get through it easily.

Given my own experience of Hampstead prep schools, most, not all, families seem to be living in large houses and going on several expensive holidays a year on top of comfortably affording to educate more than one child privately. Perhaps, that is just the situation I've found myself in and it differs elsewhere.....

If you don't do 7 plus, as the other posters say, you can find a tutor to prep him at 11. Westminster has an 11 plus intake when it takes from the state sector if I'm not mistaken. City of London also as well as Highgate and UCS. I'm not sure about St Paul's and Habs but I guess it's the same.

The other issue with school fees, as I know all too well, is that they can rise year to year, way out of line with inflation. For example, at our prep school, we had a 7% rise in 2014 and are now facing another 3% one. I wish you lots of luck with your decision. PM me if you want the tutor details.

Thank you all for your insightful replies.

Needmoresleep, your point makes a lot sense to me. But if he goes to a state school, how can I tell if he is academic able? At least for now his nursery teachers refuse to disclose his position against peers. Will his primary school teachers give us indication of how well he does?

SCheese, many thanks for the insights into Hampstead prep schools. I heard the same thing, i.e. majority of the kids are from very wealthy background. I am afraid the peer pressure would put me under a lot of financial pressure (school fees alone are not a stretch) and may also undermine DS' confidence &self-esteem. So from your experience, would students from a less-wealthy background feel inferior in these Hampstead prep schools? I will pm you for tutor information.

Thanks.

I don't see that at all at the preps my kids go to. Yes there are some very wealthy but most are 'normal' for the area. As I said above - the size of homes varies hugely and the scale of holidays. I haven't been to a single party that has cost four figures. A lot of parents make sacrifices to afford the fees. You really wouldn't be an anomaly

BuildYourOwnSnowma, many thanks for the reassurance.

My daughter goes to a private school on the outskirts of London and a relative goes to South Hampstead. There is a much more affluent feel to my relative's birthday parties whereas the affluence in my daughter's school is more mixed. Parents at The Hall are very well off.

One of DDs's friends went to the Hall. She didnt' live in Hampstead, but they are very well off. She went somewhere else for secondary,

Coming late to the thread - DS goes to The Hall and we all love it.

We don't pay much beyond the standard fees (which have been going up drastically since we joined a few years back). We don't pay for day trips, boys take pub transport or walk, school buses to sports ground are free and there is a second hand uniform sale every half term, you can get very good stuff cheaply. Chess/karate/fencing you pay but not a lot per term, and you don't have to do them if you don't want to. Starting Y4 there are more after school activities most of which are run by the teachers for free. You do pay for in-school music lessons but we do music at home. Y3 has choir each week and group recorder lessons, neither of which you pay. So you don't have to pay much extra if you choose not to do the activities. DS does other things outside which we would have done regardless of which school he went to.

We had serious concerns re parental ££ at TH but must say I've been very pleasantly surprised. There are rich people but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near 'most'. Many (upper?) middle class 2x working parents. Plenty of (mostly) discrete designer handbags/jackets but personally I'm fashion blind so don't really know or notice. :) DS has friends who live in flats and in multi-mil£ mansions. The richest kid in the class has the same slightly-bobbed jumper as those bought second-hand. I'd say if you don't pay attention to the rich/poor thing then your child won't either. DS's gone to a couple of 3-minibuses -to-laser-tag parties but also chocolate-making in Belsize Park (this weekend). The standard party is football at Haverstock School with home-made sandwiches/pizza takeaway or things like that. Nothing extravagant. Yes they do compare holidays but from what I hear from DS it's more a case of 'just how cool/funky is that?' than 'mine is better than yours'. I have my fingers crossed that as they get into the upper years they won't get more snobbish/money-oriented!

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Camtranquil - TH doesn't disclose where DS is in relation with his class except to say, if needed to demonstrate a point, e.g. I was told he was struggling a bit in math late in Y2 by the fact that he slipped from the top 1/3 to the bottom 1/3. I have found it occasionally frustrating as I would like to know if he's keeping up by knowing approximately (thirds will do) where he is, but I see where the school is coming from so I take the teachers' 'he's doing well' at face value. (Hmm I wonder I should be a bit more Tiger-Mother and work him harder just in case? :) ) I hear in Y4 they are a bit more open but not by much. Having said that the boys generally have an idea who is where in the pecking order anyway. Mine just happened not to care.

From what I see TH does choose its boys carefully and are right for the most part. If your son is offered a place then it should mean he's pretty bright and will do well regardless where he is. Then it comes down to stimulation and encouragement from within the school environment.

In our own case re state vs private, DD was at a very good state school and did very well, but they offered no extracurricular stuff so we did stuff outside - music and sport - but we've always felt the lack of 'well-rounded child' mentality. We feel it's there at TH, we see DS gets in terms of mental stimulation, academic and otherwise. It's an attitude, more than something more tangible, if you know what I mean. This is what prompted us to move DD private. Look at what the state school offer to DS beyond academics. If it meets your requirement, then very lucky boy!