Who can afford private schools in the UK?

[wjchoihk]

Hi. I am not sure if this is an appropriate question to ask here. But I have always wondered how rich you should be to send children to private schools in UK. Fees are anywhere from 3000 up to 10000 per term. Even allowing for wide gaps in income, thinking of 'avearge' UK wage of 26,000 pound, math simply don't add up for a normal life with such high fees. I also know only 7% of children go private though.

How much of private parents live on "inherited" wealth and how much on simply superior current earnings? I have my kids at SW London privates but I wouldn't be able to afford this without current int'l expat package. Some parents at my kids' schools LOOK and ARE very very rich but most of them LOOK quite down to earth. But I can't ask....

Pugs - I agree but standby to be flamed for being insensitive to those for whom £60 a week is a lot of mmoney :)

Seeker, rise above it. I am a closet fan of yours. Keep up the good work.

BS - I dont think even oxbridge grads will get 60k start salary in the city. If they are fresh off undergraduate degree. You need to be a top-tier MBA to get 60-70K start salary which means you would have needed at least 3 yrs career and 1-2 yrs back at mba that also costs. Potential to reach 100k, yes i agree not uncommon in the city...

wjchoihk - there is a two tier system graduate recruitment system in place at a number of City firms that I am familiar with - the 'ordinary' graduates for HR, IT, Settlements for example and then there is high flyer graduate stream. These graduates have a choice of job offers in international centres like New York, Hong Kong and Singapore so the starting salaries being offered reflect this.

Anyway, we both agree that £100k salaries aren't uncommon which was my main point.

BS, she said £6o a day, not a week. Your skim reading at work there again?

On the thread about teachers giving class positions, you misread what Seeker said, and made a factually incorrect and ill-mannered post to her. Several other posters pointed it out to you, but at that point you coincidentally left the thread rather than having the good grace to apologise for your error and your rudeness.

And on the subject of getting out more: yes, how is that going for both of you mrs pots?

BS does not do sums.

Replying to a (funny) post about grandparents above I pointed out the cost of educating 3 children at boarding school. BS said £90k gross would do. £90k net would not be enough. You would have minus loads to live on.

Nit - is this the best put down you can come up with?

£60 per day = £300 per week = £3000 per term= typical prep school fees.

grovel - Unlike a lot of people posting to this thread, I actually do have DCs at private school not to mention friends who.have three+ DCs going private all the way. But feel free to tell me that my maths is off and that you know better

...and I know she said £60 a day Nit. I was merely making the point that for some people £60 is their disposable income for the week. It's ok. I'll try to use smaller words in future

Pushydad/totallybs just can't seem to leave seeker alone. Why is that?

Total, we know your kids are at a selective independent. We know all the crap you spout. Can't you ever come on to a thread without derailing it?

I hope your kids learn better social skills than you.

.. also grovel .. It was an absolute bare bones minimum income as opposed to a comfortable income for supporting 3 DCs at boarding

I have three kids in private education too, I just object to the small minded, patronising attitude that insists 'anyone' can do it if they have the 'right' priorities.

I also dislike the nasty side of meritocracy which asserts that what one archives is entirely down to personal virtues and is deserved, therefore those who haven't achieved the same clearly have personal failings and deserve their lot in life. That attitude informs a lot of the presumptions demonstrated in these threads.

Hester - I can't speak for others but I'm not suggesting that a single mom on a low income can go private if only she cuts down on the cigs and make up.

However.... a Filipino workmake is a PA, her DH works at the front desk at some 3 star hotel and her mother cleans rooms. I suspect that my lone income tops their joint income (perspective info rather than stealth boast) They use their collective income to send the DD.to private school.

'Anyone' with a joint income above £40k can afford to send a DC to at least a modest price indie. Whether they feel that they can afford it is another matter.

Oh you know that do you? You just thought it would make the point a bit better if you said week rather than day? Yeah, that's much more resonant

And no, that's not the only thing I 'came up with' or to put it another way, 'said'. But you're ignoring the rest, of course.

You're just absolutely incapable of admitting it when you make a mistake, aren't you? You half read everything, reply in a big hurry without engaging your brain first, and then pretend that's what you meant all along.

Anyway, I will not let you wreck this thread as so many others.

wjchoihk any graduate at all, not just Oxbridge grads, start on £40k+ at a MC firm in the City (after a 6 month LPC) which goes up to £60k+ after two years. So, not long after they take Finals tbh.

Looking at the stats...

You have to look at total household income, not average wages to work out whether a family can afford a private school.

Also, some private schools promote themselves as being able to provide better wrap around care, hence attracting 2 income families and enabling them to continue to be 2 income families.

Some families send their children to private schools and then live in a cheaper area. Some families live in a really expensive area to enable them to live in a particular school catchment area.

Also, the cost of fees and extras in the 7% will vary quite a bit. Some schools require you to shell out £100's on uniform and sports kit. Others won't have a uniform and have far more modest fees. (Some schools seem to attract children of working parents into their nursery and then gradually increase their fees, bit like the frog in hot water).

Clearly some grandparents are prepared to support their children and grandchildren, in many ways including paying for school fees.

Also, if a parent honestly believes that (for whatever reason) their only option is to send their child to a private school, they will just do whatever it takes to get them there, including going into debt.

And that is how I think parents manage to pay school fees.

starts on etc.

Nit - you skim read a one sentence post and managed to get the wrong end of the stick (it's one sentence for fecks sake!). Now you are going to virtual ignore my response.

Don't let this stop you from accusing me of doing the same

I meant in general, but do explain how I got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
And if I did, why you went to the trouble of showing your working about how £60 a day works out at £3k a term, before you realised your mistake two posts later? I don't see why you'd do that if you we intent on making the powerful rhetorical point about £60 a week not being a lot of money?

I think it's fairly clear what's gone one, here and in general. Like when you were told repeatedly by lots of posters that you had misunderstood Seeker's point and were wrong: they could all see exactly what had happened.

Private schools offer free places to students on scholarships or bursarys. My best friend and her sister both attended a top private school on bursary places. Their mother was widowed when they were both under 5, and was a SAHM on benefits. She did not pay a penny in school fees. My sister won an academic scholarship to the same school, and my parents did not pay either.

As for graduates starting on 40k in the City.... bllcks. You need professional qualifications in addition to a degree, and several years experience as well to attain that. That's if you can find a job..... Most places are laying off staff and there are many many qualified people chasing every job.

Sorry Worcestershire but since DD1 and a significant number of her friends have already started on £40k+ or are on the eve of starting, and since I've seen the offer letter and the terms of the contract, I can say that as fact. All you need to do is check out the websites of the MC firms in any event.

DD and her friends have first degrees only (albeit good ones); very few (none that I can think of) stayed on to do a second degree. Many took a year off after uni though, just to travel.

Sorry, worsestershire, misspelt your name.