Private school on a £85k

[Rebmolellmar]

Hi I am looking at sending my daughter to a private secondary school as I feel this would best suit her needs etc to her to blossom and hopefully enjoy her time at school,
We don’t earn massive amounts the school we are looking at is £8000 a term,we rent and it’s £1750,I am looking at any ways to reduce our other bills,
hopefully I can do a business in the evenings to get extra money.

We have almost the same income. We also have £800k equity and a mortgage of £900 per month. No way would we be able to afford private school. I think you'd be mad to consider it

I would ask yourself if you can save 16k by September in order to have a bit of a buffer. If you can’t that’s a clear no as the fees won’t be affordable.

If you’re serious about doing this and are on 56k and 28k respectively, I think that increasing your income would be the obvious first step. Is the person on 28k full time? If not, can they go full time? If so, can they apply for the next step up. Can the person on 56k negotiate a pay rise? Or look for the next step up?

Well done on the bursary.

Nonsense, many private schools have kids from normal families who don’t have massive houses but invest in education instead or get the money from relatives.

also her child shouldn’t have a good education because some of her friends might be wealthier?

Has no one read the OP's update, that she got a 40% bursary?

I thinking buying a house comes first.

If you don't go the private school route, just chase great grades with tutors, and all the super exciting clubs, horse riding, hockey, dance etc. A first class education really is still possible.

Even with a 40% bursery I still wouldn’t do it. It’s just too tight, especially with all the extras and trying to keep up with others in the school.

At my DC school all the extras (including optional trips) are massively discounted or free for anyone on a bursary - and this also includes extra money for sporting equipment, uniform etc so I would talk this through with bursar. That’s a great bursary and seems feasible now with careful planning.

No it will be a massive financial struggle. You need to look into moving to an area with a good state secondary school.

@Rebmolellmarmy daughter goes to a private school on a similar basis. It doesn’t seem to bother her (or her friends!) that we don’t have as much money as most of them. It might depend on personalities of the children, but her friends are pretty down to earth. She says there are some girls who are very flashy but they’re not the ones she’s particularly drawn to as friends! We chose this route for Sen reasons and definitely was the right decision.

That's fantastic news OP!

How about saving and aiming for a top private at sixth form?

We have been given more of a bursary now so it’s definitely something we can do now

We send 2 on 160k (20k fees). We pay for it monthly so it’s easier to budget (works out to be under 3k a month). About to send the third next year & it’ll be approx 4.5k a month.

We budget this by keeping our mortgage (and other expenses) as low as possible, saving / investing, and choosing jobs that pay bonuses. We still go on holidays but maybe 1-2x a year.

Is this particular school the only one you can do? 8K a term seems like a lot — are there cheaper schools? Can you get a bursery? Is there a discount for working there & could one of you apply?

Good news @Rebmolellmar

Speak to the school and be honest about your financial situation. Some schools will offer payment plans, bursaries etc. There are also several companies that pay the fees upfront. They charge a fee but you would be able to pay back on a monthly basis spread over a longer period. The school could advise.
Good luck!

We’ve got 1 child. Combined income of about 150k and whilst I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle as such, we definitely feel it (how can you not!)

I don’t think 85k is enough I’m afraid

*oh I have just seen your update, that’s good! How much of a bursary did you get?

I think it sounds just about do-able. That being said, have you thought about a bursary? No harm in asking.

You’d probably be eligible for a bursary

I got a 60% bursary and can pay by direct debit so have excepted her place and she starts in September

Wonderful news and I hope she thrives there

OP congrats this is super news for your DC! Can I ask but on what basis did they increase the bursary from 40% to 60%?

It would be unusual for school trips to be compulsory. I think people imagine fee-paying school children spend half their time in St Moritz but they really don't. Our dc are at expensive schools and we are always asked if we consent. You could say no! Lots of people do as there can be lots of reasons they don't want their children to take part, and not all financial.

And no, they don't ostracise anyone who doesn't go - or who doesn't ski for that matter. Yes, they might have to get used to their friends going but children are generally not as affected by these issues as adults tbh.

If you really think it is the right school op, I wouldn't back out for fear of school trip costs.

I went back and said that it wasn’t enough and because they really wanted my daughter and also agreed she would thrive at there school they increased the bursary

I agree. My dc goes to an expensive school and whilst we always ask do you want to do this trip or that trip….they never want to go as they would rather spend their holidays with their family. There is no pressure to do do anything….its a choice. That said everything is charged as an extra such as socials etc….on top of the fees the extras bill ranges from £400 - £700 a term but again it’s a choice and not compulsory. The only thing I would say is that it’s tough for DC that never go on holidays at all….I do think DC can feel different if they don’t go on at least one holiday a year because some kids do go away every school holiday and with social media such as snap chat they are more than aware of who does what etc. So what I would warn is that if your child is influenced by this etc. and aren’t able to have the extras/holidays I think they could feel like the poor relation.