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.

8K a term is £24k a year which works out to £2k out of your net salary a month which is basically the entirety of your salary + £100. Work out the cost of uniforms, extracurriculars, lunch, trips — if your husband can afford that from his salary great. If not one of you will need to try and get a better paying job.

My daughter got offered 60% bursary so she is now starting in September

Have you tried putting the amount you would spend in fees aside for a couple of months to see how you manage on what’s left?

Bargain OP! Good luck to your daughter! More fool us paying full whack for our kids

Well done to your daughter. That is an excellent result!

I just wanted to add our experience for anyone else coming across this thread with the same question.

I would be very reticent to send my child to an independent school if I were only just able to afford it.

A few days after we accepted my daughter’s school place (and released her state school place), my husband was made redundant. He is struggling to find work again.

Our household income has halved. We are lucky that I can cover the fees and additional costs and the mortgage is paid off, and I am hopeful that this will not cause a significant change in lifestyle.

We had discussed this possibility of us both losing significant earning potential before we applied to the school, and had worked out that we could cover the fees from savings, but at the cost of a later retirement.

However, if we could have only just afforded it based on the income coming into the household when we were both earning, then we would have been sunk now.

To include trips is very good... have you double checked this? I have spent around £3,000 on school trips this year alone. Plus the other mandatory extras and uniform additions as required.

If she has sen and really needs this school you could try and get the ehcp to fund it

I now have supporting evidence to help with a ehcp application

That’s great news

Honestly, our joint income is about 95k, our son is in year 13, and fees are now 7.5k per term; he's been in private sicne the age of 3. Our mortgage is 1k less than yours, we've done it but it has been a struggle at times, but worse is the stress of it, worryign about the annual increase letter!

Are you sure all trips included - even overseas?

Ah, just read to the end - great news!

State doesn't necessarily mean worse. I say this as someone who taught in state schools for 30 years. I would visit local schools- u may be surprised. I have recently been working in a different school on a temporary basis. It is state. The pastoral system is fantastic and all pupils and staff are valued.

Great news

Sorry but bursaries and scholarships are a token and don’t cover much. I think you are going to have to face some hard truths.

DD1’s school fees went up from £36K to £48K in three years (boarding). We hadn’t budgeted for this and had to use savings.

When we were looking at secondary schools for DS we visited the local private school (a minor public school in fact) and toured the classrooms. I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the work being done or the school’s ethos, which seemed to be along the lines of ‘this is a Public School, so just suck it up.”
He went to a local single sex comprehensive and did very well there.
We did support him fully at university.

Be careful that you choose the right school. Some will say whatever you want to hear to get you to sign up. Small classes are undoubtably better educationally, and sometimes the resourcing is better in private schools. However, there are fewer opportunities for friendships and can therefore lead to a child being isolated if they don't get on with the few children in their class. There is also the teaching element- teachers in private schools do not have to have any qualifications. Many in private schools do have a degree but there are loads who are not qualified as teachers and have had no teacher training. They are clueless in SEND and how children learn. In a state school these teachers could only be employed as learning support assistants, yet in private schools they are Heads. Assuming the teaching is better is a big mistake many parents make. Also, look at the threads for OLA and Mount Kelly to see the type of problems that some private schools present with how they are managed and the morality of people they employ to lead these schools. Private schools are tightening their belts with the VAT so cutting staff and lots are closing.

Agree with @BenjiH - we are currently in a very small class of 10 and very hard when children really want a best friend or have squabbles. I wouldnt even say the teaching is much better because the teacher focuses on those who need extra help, so if you are doing well, then there is no stretch. However i agree, on the whole the children get a lot of attention/

double posted

Move somewhere with cheaper rent.

you can get those salaries all over the uk