Schools requesting money - what is 'reasonable'

[Northernlurkerisbackatwork]

Dd1 is now in Yr 10 and dd2 has started in Yr 7. They have been back at school since last Wednesday. So far we have had requests for:

£3 for sketchbook (dd1)
£5 for food tech ingredients - only some of what's needed. The rest (the expensive bit - fruit, meat etc) we will need to send in. (dd2)
£6.75 for fabric and a zip for dd1's first textiles project.
£5 for other textiles equipment
£2 per revision guide for science for dd1 - 3 guides = £6

So that's £25.75 all in.

When both girls started in Yr 7 we were asked for a voluntary contribution of £5 to the school fund and were told that was the only time they would ask for money. Ha!
We are happy to pay whatever is needed of course and fortunately have the resources to do so. It does seem to me though that this is pushing it a bit. Or is this typical?

DS1 just gone into Year 8 and have so far paid £14 for his locker. I await letters home with interest for the next week or so.

Oh yes I forgot about the locker! That was something too.

It was a bit of a bargain Northern. £14 for the whole of his time at the school, and I get it back when he leaves.

i think it is about par for the course tbh.

Mind you dd has just started 6th form and been asked to contribute - so far - nothing.

HOWEVER

She is studying photography so had to fork out for a SLR camera. She paid half but my share was still 70 quid.

And she has come home with letters for a residential in London (200 quid) and a field trip to Iceland (a grand).

I am waiting for the 'big trip' letter for next summer wherever that may be with the 'pay in instalments' form.

Unfortunately school budgets have been cut, sometimes significantly. I imagine schools are looking at ways to ensure they can continue to provide the same level of education and support to kids as they have done in previous years.

I sometimes find it useful to reflect that if I sent one child to private school it would cost me something like £70 a day. In that context, the occasional demands for voluntary contributions seem like excellent value for 190 days of education over a school year.

See I think the bigger costs are fine - you can either pay it or you can't. It's the small drip drip demands for £5 here and there that get on my nerves. For parents living on very limited incomes it's surely a bit of a nightmare.

It's another reason that I am grateful that dd is an only child.

In my skint days it was manageable, however I know it would have been a lot harder to fork out for trips and sundries if I had had more than one chikld.

Going by last night's experience -- the whole chequebook full.

Honestly, I sat there and wrote cheques/filled in forms for an hour. School trip, lunch money, sketchbook, coursebook, drama show, dance thongs (don't ask!), random 'materials'...

Neolara, good point about the £70 a day. Mind you, on that principle I'd be better off until this time next week!

I don't get paying for sketch books, you don't pay for exercise books in any other subject.

At secondary there were a few GCSE revision guides in year 10 but not much else. DS1 just started 6th form though and that's another story. All his books, stationery, folders etc. Lab coat, some text books and apparently a calculator which costs £60 .

Not for exercise books, true, but we pay for files, file paper, revision guides, photocopying-the-year's-maths-notes (forgot that one!), cookery aprons, food for food tech...

DD has just started S1 I feel as though I have just been handing out money since she started!

In the past few weeks she has had to buy
a scrapbook, a specific maths set, a scientific calculator, a sketch book, 2 rolls of wrapping paper.

And i've had to pay:
£18 for a locker
£17.50 for thread!!!

School photos were taken today, so I'll feel obliged to buy them too!

I always forget to buy the school photos

There are some pricey lockers on here. My DD1 has taken in £3 for hers and it lasts throughout her time at the school.

DD2 has £10 for a basketball course and is awaiting letter requesting £50 deposit for Paris trip.

OOh I thought £14 was a bargain Secret. It really isn't.

Ours was £5 - so yes £14 is steep

I think all of that is fine. Much easier than each child having to buy these things themselves. I always said I'd prefer to pay a small amount for basic ingrediants rather than have to send salt in each week, only for the pot to go missing. Or try and work out how to send in a bit of olive oil.

I know it adds up but much of this you'd have to get yourself if school didn;t - so this way it costs much the same but a huge saving on your time.

what kind of textile project is it? That's quite expensive! You might imagine they could ask kids to bring in an old duvet or something and use the fabric from that!

Good grief Maryz.

What happens if you simply don't have the money?

My daughter has just started sixth form. I was really surprised (happily so) when each subject gave her a ring binder and her form tutor gave her a ream of paper.

That's just awful. It's bloody outrageous

Ahem, that in reponse to Maryz. Nothing outrageous about a ring binder and a ream of paper, clearly.

I've spent maybe £20 on sketch/notebooks, calculator, dictionary. Rather more on pens and pencils because I am a pushover. And I like pens and pencils.

I know there'll be more, but nothing like the ?380 Maryz is talking about just for the basics.