Would you pay for private school if you could 'just about' afford it?

[user7654321]

And the local state schools weren’t too great.

We could probably just about afford for DS based on the fact that we can easily afford £1500 a month nursery fees at the moment and we still have some spare cash each month (£1000), but obviously it would be nice to have that spare cash to save/spend on other things.

We are just thinking is it worth considering, and looking into private options, if we aren’t mega rich. Would you make sacrifices elsewhere to afford private education?

[Fekko]

I think it depends on where you are. There are good and bad state schools - in London the house prices close to 'good' ones can be out of reach for most people.

[Iwantawhippet]

We went for state, though we could have afforded private easily. We like a short walk to school, local friends, strong community, gentle academics- certainly in the infants, the fact that everyone is welcome. We have good state schools - no idea how you’d judge private schools on things like value added.

I think your question was about affordability. If it is a stretch I think the value for money is not good.

[Kokeshi123]

"Don't get wowed by small class sizes or "facilities"--the data suggests pretty strongly that these things have very little impact on children's attainment."
What if they are valued in their own right

It's a reasonable question in a way. If someone has money to burn, then yes, you can make a case for paying a lot of money for "nice" things that don't actually improve educational outcomes but are nevertheless nice in and of themselves--in much the same way that you can make a case for a very rich person choosing to spend their income on any other kind of enjoyable luxury good.

If you don't have especially large amounts of money, then I think the cost of private education has to be justified in terms of producing measurably better outcomes. Because that money you are spending on school fees is money that could have done into an ISA for a kid, your own pension plan, a chunk of money to give your child to buy their own property later on, paying for uni fees so your child does not end up in debt...

[MentholBreeze]

I'd visit all the schools and see what you think.

DS1 went to state primary that we loved, then we moved and he went to a private primary which was terrible, then we moved again, and he's in another private which is excellent.

This last move was the first time we've had proper choice, and I have to say that our instincts on each occasion have been bang on (our hand was forced for the second school - there weren't any other choices). I think that when you walk into a school and talk to the teachers/head you can feel when it's a good place to be - the whole air of a school is different. Also consider your child - for our eldest, it was much more important that the school was a warm and friendly place than strictly academic in order for him to achieve, whereas our youngest does better with a task master cracking the whip and high expectations!

Don't get wowed by small class sizes or "facilities"--the data suggests pretty strongly that these things have very little impact on children's attainment.

I would be interested in this because I've also seen research the other way - and it's counter intuitive - all of DS's schools have had small class sizes (even the state - just outside the M25! Had less than 20 in his reception/year one class, with teacher plus assistant)

I agree about the facilities though. If I'm proudly shown one more language or IT lab that the kids'll barely use anywhere I'll scream. Much more important to have a nice playground and a good atmosphere for primary.

[StealthPolarBear]

"
Don't get wowed by small class sizes or "facilities"--the data suggests pretty strongly that these things have very little impact on children's attainment."
What if they are valued in their own right

[LifeIsNeverFair]

@Bubblesbuddy I assume you're talking to me. Your conclusion is strange and incorrect. What I want for my child from primary is very different from secondary education. For me primary education is about the basics but more importantly about social skills and interaction, learning about the world we live in and a foundation for learning. Secondary education is much more about academics.

In an ideal world, I wouldn't consider private at all. However, the system here is so messed up I have to look at the best option for DC for secondary. Considering a private education is financially viable for us without having to risk our finances and therefore I will consider that if the school is right.

A good state system with equal access for all is what I really believe in but I would have to move back to Scandinavia for that.

[why12345]

Not for primary but after year 6 definitely.

[blackbird41]

I think you should easily be able to afford fees for one child in prep school as long as you are careful. It would be tight if you had 2 children. I pay £1300 a month for my child in secondary. That will rise to about £1800 per month by the end of school assuming fees go up by 4% a year.
I suggest you try a save the extra £1000 you have a month now so you have a pot to dip into if you have a change in circumstances. If you want another child then you will need to save more.
We did state primary and have moved into private for secondary. I gave my DS practice papers to help him get through the exam for secondary (no tutor). He has settled into the private school very well and loves it. He is very able and did use to complain that he was bored at primary school (ofsted rated good). We did consider private for primary but couldn't afford it.

[BubblesBuddy]

I can honestly say it was never priceless for my DC to be in a class with all abilities. They never actually worked with children who were struggling. It didn’t matter to the children at all. There wasn’t huge variety in the backgrounds either. You can only have the school that is on offer and you cannot make it varied if it isn’t. I am far more concerned about the education offered rather than the people there.

If variety is priceless, Life, then you really cannot even remotely consider a Private secondary school, can you? You truly cannot have your cake and eat it.

[Paddington68]

No

[LifeIsNeverFair]

Personally I would never do it under those circumstances. I really don't believe in funding education paycheck by paycheck. Too risky IMHO. I have seen too many kids being pulled out of private schools as soon as one parents lose their job.

We have the finances to pay all fees upfront but have opted for the state system (at the moment it's Primary education but I hope to stay state also in Secondary). To have the school and friends within walking distance, to meet children of all abilities and backgrounds is to me priceless. To not have to spend money on school fees also means that we can enjoy fantastic experiences travelling. This year DC has had the luck to visit 3 continents outside Europe and that's still not as much as private schooling would be. What DC has learnt during these trips is invaluable.

[BubblesBuddy]

I would look at the true costs and try and project them for 7 years at about 5% increase per year and see what you arrive at regarding a termly fee. You need to be aware of all the other costs because there really is little point in a Private education if you cannot join in with any extra curricular activity.

Personally I hate this idea of saving money for tutoring. Why do people think children need tutoring to get into the local state school? Plenty of state school children are well taught and make excellent progress. Many children do not like being pushed into all work and no play.

If your sums add up down the years, I would look at the “value added” at the prep and see if it makes sense for you. Do you get more bang for your buck? As you don’t want a selective senior school, you are choosing a prep based on what criteria exactly? Is it more sport, better music, art or drama? Does it have a very varied extra curricular programme and what about wrap around care? Does it have an ethos you like and are the facilities outstanding? If you value all of that and the prep provides everything a child could want, go for it if you can afford it.

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

I’d use the money for tuition and extra curricular activities (sporting/ music, etc depending what DC were into).

The thing with this is, if both parents work FT, the DC are picked up at 5.30... 6pm. When does the tutoring happen? 7pm? The weekend? If a DC has a couple of hours of tutoring a week + school homework and 3-4hrs of extra curricular stuff all after 6pm and at the weekend, that is starting to look like a very busy schedule.

My DS is at school 8am - 5pm everyday and 9-12 on Saturday, but in that time he does 10hrs of sport a week and 40mins of prep per day. I'd really struggle to get him that much exercise per week and do that much homework with him, never mind tutoring, and work full time (which I want to do) if it didn't get done in school time. It means the time we do have at home, bar the once extra curricular he wants to do out of school, is family time.

[SleepFreeZone]

Nope.

[catslife]

In most areas, it's easier to move from state to private at a later date than the other way round (since the best state options will be full).
You also need to factor in that independent schools have longer school holidays than in the state sector so what would you do about holiday child care? (They may run holiday clubs but this would cost extra as well).

[Karigan1]

Omg so what NewtsSuitcase just said. I took all 3 of us to France for a week for 560
But the school trip for 2 days to Spain for 1 kid alone is 330!! Then the piano, the 5 different pairs of trainers they apparently need, the fencing lessons, the school parents association asking for donations. It all adds up! But on the other hand the swimming lessons are cheaper than outside school ones.

[NewtsSuitcase]

You also have to keep in mind that even at independent schools lots of the extra curricular stuff comes at additional cost. Certainly at our school things like Speech and Drama, Music Lessons and horse riding club all cost extra. Then you still also have the cost of breakfast club and after school club. Lunches are generally more expensive (£4 -£4.50 a day for us) and there are endless charity days.

Uniform is ridiculously expensive when you factor in five different sets of branded sports kit - PE, rugby, hockey, cricket, swimming, different ties for different things, branded coats etc.

[Thegrandoldelf]

We're just about to for our DTD's. The local infant school to us is outstanding but it feeds into a separate junior school which is pretty dire. We were worried about getting stuck as to what they do when they turn 7 especially as it would be very difficult to get 2 places in any of the local prep schools and any other junior / primary schools in our wider area would give us significant logistical issues with work and commuting. Additionally we live in a county with excellent grammar schools with the closest one being super selective. The prep school our girls are going to has an excellent track record with the 11+ and we'd much rather they were prepared as part of the normal school day rather than having to have extra tuition on top of school. Financially it will be tight but manageable. DH has his typical position of it will work itself out but given I do our money management I'll make sure It does!

[Blankscreen]

Private schools generally have extra curricular speech and drama lessons, which are effectively elocution lessons.

[Kokeshi123]

If you love the area and the secondary is great but the primary is not fantastic (not terrible, but not exactly what you would want), I would probably just spend my money on tutoring instead. Cheaper, and you can add/reduce money and time spent on tutoring, whereas once you have chosen a private school you are locked in as you don't want to move them.

Don't get wowed by small class sizes or "facilities"--the data suggests pretty strongly that these things have very little impact on children's attainment.

Do any schools these days really have "elocution lessons"...?????

[Gunpowder]

We were considering this last year (our local state primaries are fine but we had fallen in love with a pre-prep). We worked out we could afford it for both our DC but would have to cut back on holidays etc. In the end we decided we would save our pennies for secondary as the state provision is much more hit and miss for that round here.

A year later we have had (unexpected) twins and have gone from 2-4 DC. Thank goodness we didn’t go for private. Not only would it be really tricky to fund all 4 DC the whole way through but we will need to extend/move house in a year or so. Luckily after we declined the place DD1 got into the outstanding primary that everyone said we had no hope of getting into.

Anyway, now I would say no unless the state option was poor. You never know what is around the corner!

[PinkAvocado]

Actually, I think primary ed is more important in many ways than seconadary or at least as important. A really solid foundation, small classes to develop all the basic skills...it will have a positive impact for years to come.

We sound like we are in a similar boat. We are also considering independent for pre prep/primary then state.

[restbiterepeat]

No. I would save that money to help with uni/ house deposit/ living costs while doing work experience/ whatever helps the most at the time.