What’s the “normal” deposit

[jdr1234]

Hi- my son has been offered several private schools following the 11 plus exams. I am a little confused as to why the deposit amounts are so different- habs is half a terms fees, ucs is 4K and aldenham is £1500. Please could I hear from others what the “norm” is across most schools.

They are private schools so they can choose how to set their deposits.

I'd imagine they're set at an amount which makes it unlikely thst most parents will pay more than one.

We are in kent and locally, the deposit is usually £2-3 k plus a few hundred registration fee. All non refundable.

I'm a private 11 plus tutor, so regularly chat with parents about this type of thing.

@ahyeah thank you, I understand they can set it at what they want but looking to see what the average is across the London/north west London schools is. Half a term seems quite aggressive compared to £1500 at a school on the same road.

Yes, but the probably have their reasons.

I guess it's a matter of which school you really want.

We are in the South East - not London. Our second choice school was asking fir £1250 but our chosen school is £500. This is on top of registration fees.

Emanuel is asking for a full term ! paid in installments.

It’s also because some of these schools have parents realising they can’t pay around Easter / when state results are announced. I don’t blame them.

The state schools come out on 2nd and dont need to pay deposits till 4th so this shouldn’t be the reason. I understand paying half a term upfront but not as a deposit which doesn’t get returned for 7 years. Surely should come off first terms invoice and the deposit be a lower figure in addition.

You’re not comparing like with like. Habs will have a waiting list and will be very popular can charge what it likes. Aldenham much less academic and probably don’t have many people accepting and pulling out last minute. Deposit amounts set accordingly.

We paid deposit of 3k. Then a full term in advance at the beginning of the year. Get that back when leaving.

It'll be an insurance policy against parents not giving the full term's notice if they choose to withdraw - they won't have to pursue reluctant payers as they'll already have the cash in the bank.

I suspect all schools would want to charge that level of deposit if they could. Only those really in demand are able to get away with it

Berkhamsted is £2,500 with £1,000 offset against your first term fees.

Queenswood is £1,000.

St Albans High is £1,200.

St Margaret’s (Bushey) is £1,200

Merchant Taylor’s is £1,200

Like Aldenham, these are all considered “Hertfordshire” schools and are just not as oversubscribed as places like Habs and UCS. Both schools will have waiting lists and children with offers may well have offers from other “top schools”. They want parents to properly commit to the school by making it hard to back out financially.

The schools above are just not as popular (although the results of STAHs and MTs are exceptionally strong too). Outside London people are more inclined to opt for the “best closest” school than have a big commute for a school with one of those top reputations. If they had large deposits then it would put them at a huge disadvantage vs other local ones as it would put people off.

The reality is that if you get a Habs offer are you really going to go to Aldenham instead? Probably not. Habs can charge what they like because they can fill their places several times over and parents will pay whatever is asked.

I understand asking for this size deposit when accepting the offer so people don’t place multiple deposits down but surely a chunk of it should go towards your first terms fees and then a more “manageable” deposit like the ones stated above be kept for the duration.

@jdr1234 But why? Private schools can charge exactly what they want. They are businesses and will maximise revenues as much as they can. Parents are falling over themselves to pay it so they will.

Not quite the same analogy but why are Audi cars priced so much more than Volkswagens when they are essentially the same car? They can because people are paying for the name. If you buy into “the brand” then that’s what you have to pay.

You should also gain some reassurance that these schools are also less likely to close because of their reputation and how highly they are in demand. Another private school today announced suddenly it was closing at the end of the academic year.

But keeping it until final term protects them if people withdraw later down the line (eg people get two years in and realise they can’t afford it). The notice period is covered by the deposit, so now the school doesn’t have to pursue parents for fees after they’ve given notice

If you’re balking at the deposit, I suggest you re consider Habs because you will get an email from the governors annually confirming fee rises.

it’s a great school and we love it. But go in with your eyes wide open.

@KimchiLaLa the difference is the habs fees are inline with other private schools, there deposit is not! Raised alarm bells as to why they feel the need to take such a hefty whack upfront.
school fees rising year on year is something we are used to having 3 children in 3 different private settings!

Why they feel the need?

Because they are very popular so can get away with it.

Because it protects them financially against parents walking away without giving proper notice, which is becoming more and more common.

As someone who works in provate education, people are becoming increasingly flaky, inconsiderate and unreliable. Most people no longer 'do the right thing' and think nothing of walking away owing money.

If you don't want to pay the deposit, someone else will unfortunately.
Are you reluctant to pay it because you're unsure you'll be staying and might not get it back? Or are you just a bit shocked generally at the cost?

Why they feel the need?

Because they are very popular so can get away with it.

Because it protects them financially against parents walking away without giving proper notice, which is becoming more and more common.

As someone who works in provate education, people are becoming increasingly flaky, inconsiderate and unreliable. Most people no longer 'do the right thing' and think nothing of walking away owing money.

If you don't want to pay the deposit, someone else will unfortunately.
Are you reluctant to pay it because you're unsure you'll be staying and might not get it back? Or are you just a bit shocked generally at the cost?

@ahyeah just taken back by the amount. I completely understand schools needing to protect themselves would just be nice if it was as the fees generally are similar across the board. The point of this post was to establish if it was actually high or just the norm at popular schools

Im not worried about losing the deposit as if we did leave would give the required notice, am bothered by the fact its in the case of Habs over 5k of our money tied up for 7 years!

5k is small fry in this context.

@Thesnailonthewhale not when you have 3 children. At over 16k that’s a years fees at prep level.

It's completely normal at popular schools, especially ones where there is a large international contingent (it's impossible to recover unpaid fees if a family moves abroad).

Westminster, Eton, St Paul's, Latymer - they all keep a deposit of several thousand until the child finishes at the school (you can check this on their websites btw)

Completely normal and sensible. If parents baulk at the size of the deposit I would anticipate they are more likely to struggle with the fees. What used to be an issue was the acceptance deadlines which effectively forced parents to pay the non-refundable deposits before the grammar or other offers came out.

They can do what they want but it’s a bit unreasonable given the impact of inflation. Eg they want half a terms fees now but that money you get off the final balance after 7 years will be no-where near a half term of fees and they can potentially invest that so get double benefit.