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?

Worldwide there are plenty of children who miss out on education altogether because of costs. It is a terrible situation. In the UK state education is free and that's great - but it's still annoying to be stuck with additional extra drip drip demands.

The textiles project is a dress - so hopefully she'll be able to wear it. If that comes off, it will be cheap enough. I am wondering exactly how many more purchases like this we'll need to make though.

Er we've been asked to pay £25 a month to the school fund...this is for funding super bright 6th formers taking 5 A Levels type of thing.... There seemed to be no wriggle room (in terms of sliding scale of payment based on income of family) and I was quite tempted not to pay but felt duty bound to do so (we can afford it but only just really - we are not well-off). I guess it's the price paid for getting one's child into a super-selective - and can't help but feel that the Heads know that it's a small price to pay compared with sending one's DCs to indie schools....

Can't help but we are being fleeced though and all fine and dandy if our son turns out to be a heading-for-medical-school super brain but I intuitively think he's going to be pursuing humanities A Levels so unlikely that we are really investing in his future but rather that we are helping to fund someone else's child for mega, mega achievement!

A tale of two schools...

DD1's grammar - begging letter as soon as place was confirmed asking for £30 per month. Had to pay a contribution for art and DT materials and pay for a lot of materials/canvasses etc for GCSE. Pay for every school trip - threat that child cannot go unless paid for. Run a lot of expensive school trips, DofE, World Challenge etc.

DD2's comp - don't ask for anything - DD was given extra sketch books and art books as she is an art aptitude entrant. Voluntary contributions to a trust are occasionally asked for. The few trips they do are partly subsidised by the school or trust and only for the teachers' pets etc so far as I can tell - so DD2 never gets a look in. Recently had to fork out £250 for a brand new uniform to celebrate a brand new school building.

DS1 is in y7 and been there a week. So far we have had

£4 for sketch book
£9 for DT materials
£6 for locker (just for this year)
Ingredients for fruit salad (2 of which much be exotic)
£10 for History Textbook.

i have no idea about your circumstances, and not sure if youd want to make them public anyway! but if your struggling for money / even if your not classed as 'low income' (my family never were yet we only had 3 hot meals a week....) speak to the school and they have a fund to help people like me / us!

however, i dread to think how much il be paying out when my child starts school!!

£5 for DT materials and £1.50 for a sketchbook. Both DS2 (yr8)

Nothing yet for DS1 (yr11)

£5 for the years locker rent, £25 for a "let's all get to know each other" type of day trip (in 2 weeks time) and £10 per month for their instrument lessons, all this x2 as have twins. Plus £5 for textile DT (DS1) £8 for food tech(DS2). We know there will be a residential trip in yr 7, but that will be in the summer term, and we hope to pay this monthly as well as money tight here!

DS locker is £10 a year....thought it seemed expensive, and from other comments on here, it seems that it is! Not that he's been given his locker yet....anyone elses DC been given their locker yet? (I paid before the summer hols)

On 2nd day was given a letter about an overnight residential for £75 (the Y7 get-to-know-each-other trip). Thankfully, it's planned for day of DPs birthday so DS doesn't want to miss his Dads birthday! Hate to say I'm glad but the cost of the trip and then the 'hidden' cost of getting extra clothes/equipment he would need (one of these outdoor pursuit things) would have brought overall cost to £100+. After we've just forked out over £200 for uniform and equipment to start secondary school, I think it's a bit of a cheek tbh.

Anyway, my rant over

Our schools went back in August. Dd1 went to secondary for the first time.

We've had to send
£10 for Home Economics - we don't have to send any other things like you mention OP
£2 For Technology

That's it, but there is also an optional trip to the pantomime with Drama (£12)

school photos to be taken next week
£114 for 3 day 2 night outdoor pursuits

tip of the iceberg I'm sure, every week last year there seemed to something
DD year 5

DS started Y7 last week; we paid £25 for a "pack" consiting of art book, dictionary, lots of stationery including a calculator.
However I also paid £5 cash for a year's worth of locker, which he hasn't received and suspect he never will. School have so far ignored all contact.
They took photos, but they were not very good so I saved £14 on that.