Loft conversion or future kids' school fees - which would you pick?

[themummyway]

Increase the resell value of your house or save your kids' future... really interested to hear your thoughts!

Loft conversion. There is no evidence of the educational benefit of private school when socioeconomic factors are removed.

Private school. There may not be a proven educational benefit, but the co-curricular offer of many private schools enhances the school experience.

Private school all the way. The first comment about it not having any benefit is ridiculous. I went and so did my siblings and it did us a world of good. There’s no way I would have flourished the way I did in a state school. Private education opens a number of doors for you. I also got to do things they don’t typically offer in state schools e.g wine tasting, work experience at the Bank of England

Hardly a comparison!

Loft. Loft. Loft.

You get to use the extra space for when you have DC, and it increases the value of your home. What are the schools like in your area? Consider moving to a good school area and save yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds in unnecessary school fees.

School fees, any time. The difference to state (especially in the moment) is massive, and not limited to grades. You are basically opting out of the lottery of getting a decent (or shit) education and putting yourself and your child in charge.
The only exception would be if your current house is a 1 bedroom and you need the space desperately.

Loft - more space day to day living improves everyone's lives now. No one knows what will happen in the future and the majority of the UK manage quite well in state schools.

Loft as I don't believe in private education.

Loft. Even if you spent £70k on it, that wouldn't match the amount you'd need to put one child through private secondary school

Also, you might be able to generate some income from the loft with something like Airbnb to put some money by for future uni fees or music lessons etc

Depends on the amount of £. Is there not a third option of move to better catchment or cheaper house?

Also depends on how bad your local school is and how short on space you are.

@cinnabunbun that would be about 1 child through private secondary?

Definitely a mixed response here! I would say it depends on what your local school options are like and when you'll need them.

If you need the schools soon and they're good, then loft conversion. If you don't need schools just yet (i.e. they may be good now, but who knows in 10 years time) or the local schools are terrible then private education would possibly win for me.

I didn't go to private school but I did go to a selective grammar school and the opportunities it opened up compared to other local state schools were vastly different. (I know the whole grammar school thing is another debate though!)

school fees - education is way more important than adding space/value to a house

Surely it depends where you live?
How good are the local state schools?
How much do local private schools cost?
How much is your house worth?
How much value would a loft extension bring?

I’ve done both (loft extension and private school) can’t ever imagine putting them together in an either/or situation

Depends how many kids you have and if you could afford to educate all of them pricately

How big is the house already? What are the local schools like? There are good state schools and terrible private schools

Depends on your kids re school. Bright and motivated kids with a supportive home-life are likely to thrive just as well in a decent state school as they would in a private school. In that case, loft conversion makes sense.

Yes, private schools can offer extra opportunities and the networks there can be valuable. But it really depends on the private school because they're not all equal. Some state schools rival private schools - but you're usually paying the fees indirectly via the cost of a more expensive house/area.

State school can give a child a greater awareness about the more general population (since its more likely to be a melting pot) and this could help offer your kids more social and emotional intelligence for the "real" world. Having some street smarts can be useful in industry and various careers too...

Loft conversion. I didn't want my children to be privately educated. I do, however, live somewhere with good state schools.

Neither really. Move house to an area with outstanding schools and pay for a tutor.

Completely depends on the state school choice available.

Btw, do you really think you can put your child through the private school system (a decent one) for the cost of a loft conversion? I doubt it.

It depends on your area and school offering. All I can say is my kids have had full schedule of online learning during lock down. They are now going back part time (y10). The local state school has done nothing except a few work sheets, though they are now having y10s back a couple mornings a week. GCSE results next year will be interesting.

Not enough info, Ie what are the state schools like what are the secondary schools like, how old are you kids, what are they like etc

On balance though I’d do education before I converted my loft.

It would depend how much we needed the extra space. And the standard of state schools in the area.