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Original poster

Paying Prep fees monthly

30 replies

southbanklounger · 16/07/2022 13:35

As a lot of us feel the pinch with the rotten state of affairs with gas bills, petrol bills, salary stagnation ( for me anyway) etc..We asked our prep if we could pay monthly rather than paying termly.

The school said yes and will send details. Can anyone be so kind to explain how it all works, I don't want to piss the school off asking a thousand questions and they said they are sending all info soon anyway.

What I wanted to know is it a case of term fees for year divided by 10 and I pay that each month with nothing due July / August ??

Thanks in advance for any help !!

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AppleKatie · 16/07/2022 13:38

This will depend entirely on the school, they may offer it to you over 9/10/12 months as per their policy (which, if no one has ever asked before they are probably writing right now!)

Galliano · 16/07/2022 13:46

At my DCs school it was divided into instalments but you still had to have paid the full terms fees before the start of the relevant term so the instalments for may, june, july, august would cover the autumn term, then pay sept, oct, nov, dec for spring and Jan, feb, March, April for summer. This works fine once you get into the rhythm and in final year you are done by April, but you would need to catch up if you started it for sept now as three instalments would have been missed.

Original poster
southbanklounger · 16/07/2022 14:36

Thank you both!

The best for us would be how you described @Galliano , thanks also @AppleKatie

We can cover a term - cash, but it works out more manageable to pay from our salaries monthly over the year for sure. Especially as everything in the world feels so unpredictable at the moment.

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 16/07/2022 17:51

10 months of the year starting august, so they have June and July off. Extras paid August, January and April.

LillyDeValley · 16/07/2022 17:57

Ours is over 9 months. You effectively pay a term in advance as we pay beginning of each month and start in July (so you don’t pay April, may and june). School offers a discount (£50 pcm if you pay by DD).

2reefsin30knots · 16/07/2022 18:00

We just put away a set amount per month by direct debit (a bit more than the fees to cover extras) and then ping it to school before the start of each term.

If they decide to charge you an admin fee for monthly, maybe that would be an easier system.

eyeoresancerre · 16/07/2022 18:05

Most of the parents at our school use this company to pay monthly over 12 months of the year. Direct debit on payday makes budgeting easier. There is an admin charge but we found it worthwhile.

Paying Prep fees monthly
Original poster
southbanklounger · 16/07/2022 19:01

Thanks so much all!

The school may just be referring us that company. @eyeoresancerre , keeping this 'anonymous' I got the impression this was an unusual request for them(at least admissions made me feel it was. It was probably my own paranoia !!!

It's silly to feel embarrassed asking for more manageable ways to pay fees. I grew up poor, without much and feel very intimidated by the prep school and their staff, if I'm being honest. It's in a very affluent area. My partner and I definitely don't match the profile of the average wealthy London parents. Prep school is only do-able with making sacrifices and the fact we have only one child.

The school has an excellent rep, so I shouldn't let my own insecurities stand in the way for my DD.

At least we're prepared for whatever they propose now.

Thanks again for your replies, very useful !! x

OP posts:
eyeoresancerre · 17/07/2022 19:28

@southbanklounger - If it's of any comfort, I now work in a prep school and the amount of parents who are so far behind in paying their termly fees is substantial. Please don't think your in any way different. Many of the parents maintain a certain lifestyle but it could be a bit of smoke and mirrors sometimes. Paying monthly is definitely the way forward.
You can apply to the scheme directly yourself, don't wait for the school. The scheme pays it to the school termly so the school won't care if you use the scheme. We did it ourselves!

eyeoresancerre · 17/07/2022 19:29

Sorry I wasn't inferring you were behind on payments - just lots of people are and would probably prefer a monthly solution like you are seeking.

DaddyPhD · 17/07/2022 19:51

One of the first things we asked our prep before we paid our deposit and handed over signed forms, when our DD was offered a place , was can we pay fees monthly!

AndSoFinally · 17/07/2022 19:58

I imagine it is a slightly unusual request.

If you have to pay all the fees monthly in advance, then you're not really benefiting in any way. The only reason to do it would be if you were really crap with money and unable to budget, and not many people want to admit that! Otherwise why not just save it yourself in June, July and August and pay it in a lump sum in September (or whatever months it would apply to)?

Holidaydreamingagain · 17/07/2022 20:02

We have always paid monthly, they always say they prefer it. We don’t pay in advance. If the child starts in September you pay the first instalment that month. Paid over 12 months.

OrlandointheWilderness · 17/07/2022 20:15

Ours was over 12 months.

Original poster
southbanklounger · 17/07/2022 20:18

eyeoresancerre · 17/07/2022 19:29

Sorry I wasn't inferring you were behind on payments - just lots of people are and would probably prefer a monthly solution like you are seeking.

@eyeoresancerre

I didn't imply that, don't worry!

Thanks for your reply! Knowing its 'normal' is a comfort! x

OP posts:
Plinkton · 17/07/2022 21:07

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Galliano · 17/07/2022 21:36

AndSoFinally · 17/07/2022 19:58

I imagine it is a slightly unusual request.

If you have to pay all the fees monthly in advance, then you're not really benefiting in any way. The only reason to do it would be if you were really crap with money and unable to budget, and not many people want to admit that! Otherwise why not just save it yourself in June, July and August and pay it in a lump sum in September (or whatever months it would apply to)?

Not sure it can be that unusual - the schools my DC attended sent loads of bumph out for it as a default offering, doubt it was just for me. It doesn’t feel significantly different to paying by direct debit for electricity (spread across the year with a build up of credit in the summer) or council tax. We paid school fees from salary income for 3 DC simultaneously. Whilst we could have shifted fees into a savings account to shift back at the start of term why would we incur all that hassle and the risk of paying late when it could be simplified and just go out as soon as it was earned.

Digimoor · 17/07/2022 21:43

Our local prep offers this but there is an additional fee - not sure how much maybe 3%?

Londonderry34 · 17/07/2022 21:48

Bet you have a great state school nearby? This angst is so unnecessary

tillyandmilly · 17/07/2022 21:51

Private education - Definitely worth the sacrifice !

Original poster
southbanklounger · 17/07/2022 21:53

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@Plinkton

I remind you as I posted earlier, 'I grew up poor, without much'.

If you grew up in abject poverty in a council flat with a drug using mother, and left school at 15 - lets see how complex your sentence structures are you utter and complete knob, snob.

Don't worry, her Daddy is Middle classed ( Russell group uni, and Masters Degree) so at least half the household aren't illiterate scum.

OP posts:
ProseccoStorm · 17/07/2022 21:58

Safe to say that @Plinkton wins the award for twatiest comment of the evening.

eyeoresancerre · 17/07/2022 22:13

@Plinkton - Wow- you should brush up on your manners - how rude and undignified.

Bunnycat101 · 18/07/2022 07:52

The charge feels quite steep if it is 3% via the external company. If you’d be paying 600 odd pounds in admin fees each year that will add up over time.

CountessOfSponheim · 18/07/2022 08:20

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If you're patronising other posters over their incorrect usage of "imply" you really need to brush up on the correct usage of "infer". If you don't then you look like an ignorant smug git when you probably intended to come across as an erudite smug git.