Can we afford private school?

[Minimalistmamaoftwo]

Hi,
I want to get a sense of whether we can afford to send our 2 (potentially 3) children to private school.
Ideally I would want to send them from 8-16. We currently have a household income of £100k, I am at home with the children. By the time my eldest is 8 this should be around £180k due to my husbands guaranteed promotion and me going back to work. This should rise to around £220k around five years later and probably peak there. We also have two properties worth around £450,000 with equity of £300k which currently net us £13,000 a year in rent. We also own our own (mortgaged) home. Fees for the schools in our area range from £10-17,000 per annum.
Is this manageable? Many thanks

Sorry this is a tricky situation and it’s hard to feel like you’re favouring one over the other. Not a nice situation to be in. Although, I believe it is possible to send just 1 child to private school. A few of my colleague have done the same as the other kid(s) was happier where they were in state school. Some tried all 3 kids in private but pulled 1-2 out and back to state as they weren’t taking to it as well. Some kids do better in state vs private and vice versa. I’d have a chat and give them the option but be sure they know it’s not about favouritism and it’s more about where they fit best. Let them be part of the decision but granted they may be a bit young to get it!
if I had one very smart kid and one very average kid I’d try to put the smart one into a grammar school and the average one into private

@luckycat888 this will probably be the reality, I think my youngest will be a good all rounder but nothing really out of the ordinary whilst my eldest has been flagged by pre-school as being very advanced. Perhaps one at grammar and one at private is the solution though I know it’s not guaranteed. We are in a grammar area and we could put aside the rental income every year from now and see where we are in a few years, thank you

Well if you can’t then who can!!?

I know people still full of resentment that one dc went to private & then didn't. I would never do that personally.

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This is a worry for me, I never want them to think I have a preference for one or the other. It’s difficult because they age very different children

Re school fees, just to double check that you have looked at the fees for the Y7+, no just primary? Assuming yes then I would say it is manageable. We budget fees + 7/8k per child per year but in London so maybe the extras will be cheaper for you (my calculation is 1.5k uniform/sports kit + 2k school coach + 1.5k music lessons + 2.5k trips)

@SinkToTheBottomWithYouwhere in London are you? My friend’s kid just started Y1 at JAGS and it’s over £8k per TERM 😱
The additional cost you quoted, is that per child per year? Thanks

I meant that I budget the 30k in yearly fees + 7/8k for extras per year.
Do you mean it should be 8k of extras per term??
DD is actually starting at JAGS next Sept, funny that you mentioned it!

And yes, per child.

No, I thought you were just talking about the tuition fees. £8.5k per term, so £25,500 per year for pre-prep! Then all the extras on top. So expensive!

Phew @luckycat888 I was panicking slightly haha

So you treat them as the very different individuals that they are, and you send them where they will each thrive. There is no rule that says if one goes, they all go.
You could always save the money as a gift for a leg-up elsewhere in life later on if you decide a leg-up in education is not what each individual child needs to thrive, if it makes you feel more at peace?

Of course you can only send one. I've never understood the argument that because one gets private school all the other DCs you have must go too. Treat them as the individuals that they are. As you've stated yourself, your second DC "would thrive anywhere" so why wouldn't you consider the local state school if it's a good one (or grammar if you're in a grammar area) for him? I went to the local comp and my two DBs went to private secondaries. Do I feel any resentment? Absolutely not because I knew why my parents chose each of those schools for us. Same with my own DCs - two at grammar, one at private. Because each child is different and if you're in the privileged position to be able to choose from a range of schools for your DCs, choose the one that suits them the best.

I would caution you about the suggestion from preschool that your child is very advanced. His personality certainly might mean that he would be more suited to a private school, but on the intelligence thing it's just too early to tell. I'm sure he is bright but how bright is impossible to tell yet. For reference first and only children tend to do things earlier like reading, walking, puzzles, writing etc. Just because of the amount of input a good family would give them. In the long run these things do even out and your second child who has a different family experience so far (not on purpose) may turn out to be as bright or brighter.

No . Fees are astronomical now.

It’s always risky committing to long term private school fees from a salary. I know quite a few people stuck in well paid jobs that they hate just to pay school fees. The ones with savings/investments/family money are considerably more relaxed about it all. However it sounds like you have a couple of potential back-up options so it sounds doable for you.
However don’t underestimate the cost of things like music lessons, school trips and other activities. For 3 children, this could be a lot on top.

Based on what you’ve said, unless you spend a lot on lifestyle and extravagant holidays then I’d say yes you can afford it.

i have one there now (also in the north) and one will be starting in 2 years…we have a household income of 120k and are managing it on. No rental properties etc. We’ve made sacrifices but can do it. We also have a similar sized mortgage. Our income won’t change much but we do have some savings (not a lot!) but that would cover us for a year if someone was out of work.

Wow. It’s much cheaper up north!

uniform - £500 (lasted us 2 years)
trips - £750 a year max (averaged our t what we’ve paid each year)
music lessons and drama - £1000 a year
bus - we don’t do this but it’s £1000 a year

so total extras approx £2000 for us a year, optional of course except the uniform.

You are very optimistic regarding your future earning power. Only you can decide whether or not you can afford it. And if things get difficult will you be happy cutting back.

@popsickle555 Hopefully I have over-estimated some of the costs but realistically it won’t be by much. The school coach is actually 3k but I’m only paying it for one child as a straightforward route using the free public bus.

How much are the school fees in your area, out of curiosity?

That’s a lot for a coach but of course it will depend on distance too! Ours is £18k including lunches and VAT but no extra (uniform, bus, trips), In the north west.

Based on what you've declared here, it sounds easily doable to me.

Yes, send them both. You can always take a second job once you are back at full time work if you need to do so. I am originally from the NE. I don't think people in London understand school fees are cheaper outside London by the way.

Be very careful if you do this that you understand what would happen if the school closed.
Would you get your money back?
If your children are still young then things may have stabilised following the impact of VAT.