Could I afford private school?

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Hi mum's I'm hoping for some advice for those who are currently paying for private school fees.

I have 2 dd's eldest is starting reception this September. I have my heart set on a wonderful private school however I do not want to send one child if I cant afford the other.

As a a rough idea my husband and I have monthly income of 9k. I work part time so I could potentially bring in more income. We have quite a high mortgage as we just bought our first house last year so paying 1.5k a month atm. We have one car no monthly payments but regular bills associated with that, we will probably have one annual long haul holiday as DH's parents live abroad . We don't shop lavishly or spend lavishly so I don't know where we could cut back if we had to.

So far the fees are around 5k per term but I know from what other people have mentioned there are loads of extras which can amount to quite a bit more on top of fees. I guess we would be able to afford it for one child but I'm really more concerned about how tough it would be when my youngest goes into reception too. Does it sound possible? Anyone in a similar financial position to me and able to educate 2 kids privately?

It sounds very possible to me! Are you planning to do private all the way through? The best option would be private from year 3 or just for secondary. You can start saving now to give you a bit of breathing space knowing you’ve got fees saved in advance.

Also worth considering whether you’ve got enough in your pensions, because if not, you need to go prioritise that.

Thanks Chihuahacat, the plan is to be able to do private all the way through unless private doesn't suit them and will consider alternatives. I don't want to have the uncertainty of getting a grammar place and I quite like the idea of staying in one place and keeping the same friends (ideally)
I did initially think to keep her in until year 3 so I have. Bit more time to save however the school she is in now although very convenient just isn't right for multiple reasons that would require another post! I think waiting until year would be a waste of her time here.

Neither of us have pensions as such but we do have assets and other funds/inheritance that we could use in the future but were not factoring that into our finances and trying to base it solely on income if poss at all!

All 3 of my boys went to the small village primary where they We live and then on to an all boys public school (private).

Didn't find it necessary to send them to a prep, the village school was good enough tbh and they had loads of friends. We did however do the local town rugby so that they could play before they went to senior and knew a lot of the other boys from that.

Perhaps I should mention that I live in South London. Primary schools in my Borough are dire and secondary even worse. We would be considering relocating to another Borough in the next few years if we couldn't afford private

Personally, I think private school that young is a waste of money. State til 8 is better.

I would also wait and perhaps save the money so you feel more financially comfortable.
Extras will be food, travel, uniforms, games kits, games equipment, trips, extra curricular activities and wrap around care if you need it. And don’t forget fee increases year on year.
With both at school you’re looking at about 2.5/3 k a month. That’s a good chunk or your income but doable if that’s your priority.

It's not so much the extras but fees can go up a lot as they move up the school, plus there are incremental price increases of say 5% a year. I would have a look at what the fees are at the moment for Year 6.

On your income, I think it's manageable but will mean some sacrifices in terms of holidays, upgrading your home, etc. Two children x £5K per term x 3 terms = £30K per year. You say you and your DH have a combined income of £9K per month (I assume that's net take home pay, not Pre-tax), so £108K per year. So you are left with £78K per year. Obviously the vast majority of the country lives on less than that, so in one sense, no problem.

But - a few questions you should consider - how much do the fees go up each year, and what are they at senior school (£5K per term sounds cheap for a London private school but I'm in North London so maybe it's worse here)? School days and terms are much shorter than nursery - will you need an after school nanny and fees for lots of holiday clubs, especially if you do decide to work more hours? Do you have enough readily accessible savings that if one of you lost your job you could still pay the fees for a year or so to give yourself time to find a new job? Do you have income protection insurance of a high enough value to cover the fees (and mortgage) if one of you could not work due to illness or injury? Do you have extra money for expensive uniform, individual music lessons, expensive school trips? How secure are your jobs? Will you a still be able to put some money into pension and savings?

My advice would be to do a proper budget which lists everything, including how much you'll allocate for holidays, family days out and leisure activities, Christmas/birthday presents, etc. Everything. See now the number work, and decide for you whether you would be happy with the balance.

For what it's worth, we have 2 DC at a great private primary school and they get so much out of it that for us it's the right call and we don't mind that we have a smaller house than many of our DC's school friends or take cheaper holidays. The school fees and associated costs are by far our biggest expenditure. Quite a few families at the school live in smallish flats because the parents regard paying school fees as much more important than the size of their house.

@Longdistance personally I think that fee paying schools at any stage is a waste of money, but the Op wasn’t asking that. She can afford it all the way through instead of just senior then she should go for it. It sounds like she can also afford a decent pension, house deposit and uni contributions too which is the thing that puts me off paying fees because I want to focus on getting those bits really right and I can’t do both.

Wait until year 3 or so. Tutor and push them at home, with paid tutoring a year before 7/8+. If convenient, look into GDST schools, which are more reasonable in price.

@Ericaequites we actually had Sutton high school in mind!

@SummerInSun
We could downsize and do fee paying schools but whilst I don’t mind the size of house we live in at all, I do mind not being able to pass the value of our house on to them in a house deposit and it feels a better investment to let our property grow in value and pass on the profit to them at age 25 for their own homes. I just feel fees is too much of a gamble if we can’t do the other things, a bit like putting our financial eggs in a basket now when they will still have needs after 18 - DH and I were privately educated and it didn’t equate to high paying jobs (we both love what we do but have the sort of jobs that are cool but relatively low paid!) I worry that if we downsize house and pay school fees we won’t be able to help them buy a house, and there is no guarantee they will be in high earning jobs, I have lots of friends whose children are now training to be teachers etc after private education and they are worried now that they can’t help them on ladder.
I guess there is no right answer as there is no way if predicting the future , and even within a family each child is going to turn out differently.

@SummerInSun I definitely agree that a private education doesn't mean a highly paid job with a huge salary. I was state educated but ended up in a profession where the majority are privately educated,the sort of career that tends to run in families! Although not the case for me either!

My main reason for looking into private education wasn't to do with hoping that she'll get a better job and earn more as such, I've had a bad experience of my daughters nursery. The demographics of means that most of the children don't speak English as a first language, she frequently tells me that other kids are speaking in "French" and she doesn't understand so she doesn't talk to them. Or that they don't talk properly. Lots of bad behaviour boys being disgusting in the toilet and one kid who finds it hilarious to put his hands down his pants and tell others to smell his bum bum hand. . I don't see it getting any better as she goes up in the years and one of the few secondary schools near us which is rated outstanding frequently has police supervising after school

She's a moderately smart girl but very keen to learn, on the rare occasion she gets homework she asks to complete the task over again and in different ways. I don't see that being nurtured where she is.

I would pay in your shoes. But £5k a term is too low. You need to save more for secondary.

We are just about to send out DD to Private from September. We have had a small bursary and will also be able to utilise the 30 free hours until she is 5 (January) so for us its doable. The fees hike up to £13k a year from 3-6 though....but I am saving!!

@lovemenomore hope your little one enjoys her new school!ive looked into the price hikes and have already started saving so hopefully can keep her through!

Can a 1.5k.a month mortgage on a 9k a month income really considered be high?! We pay 1k (which to be fair includes an overpayment) and earn less than £3k between us. I'm sure most Londoners paying rent will be in a similar position. It sounds like you have plenty now but as others say it can be difficult if prices rise.

Is the 9k net or gross? If net, then yes probably, especially since you say you don't live a very extravagant life-style. If it's 9k/month gross, I'd do the numbers very carefully.

The expense that's taken me by surprise is extra-curricular activities. It's not unusual to do say 5 extra-curricular clubs and 2 instruments (instrument hire as well as lesson costs!). That adds around £700 per term for us. Of course, you don't have to do so much/can avoid the more expensive extra-curriculars - and we would obviously prioritise school over activities - but it's worth bearing in mind.

@Raindropsonrosesand

Is the 9k net or gross? If net, then yes probably, especially since you say you don't live a very extravagant life-style. If it's 9k/month gross, I'd do the numbers very carefully.

The expense that's taken me by surprise is extra-curricular activities. It's not unusual to do say 5 extra-curricular clubs and 2 instruments (instrument hire as well as lesson costs!). That adds around £700 per term for us. Of course, you don't have to do so much/can avoid the more expensive extra-curriculars - and we would obviously prioritise school over activities - but it's worth bearing in mind.

And the £1500 a term for school bus if needed in secondary. Plus school trips to America for skiing!

I actually don’t think your mortgage is high for the income level. You do need to budget more though for school fees. The main thing to think about is paying two lots of secondary school fees (probably £40k). I don’t want to have the pressure of that so will only do private if I have savings to mean we’re only paying one lot of fees at once. For us that means prioritising secondary.

Private school fees increase at secondary level. We used to pay around £5k per term for prep but now pay £7k for secondary.
We also pay £300 for extracurricular, £500 for school coach, £400 for lunch every term as extra.
If you have good state primary around your house, I may send children there and save money for senior school.