School fee hike - freaking out slightly

[wingingthings]

I'm under no illusion that we haven’t been very lucky to be able to send our 2 children privately. However, we've done this without foreign holidays, new cars and making sacrifices- we shop at Aldi etc. Choices we've made happily and it's been fine. We also worked on the basis of 5% inflation each year. We just got the fees increase letter of 12.5%. I'm freaking out as this pushes us very close and will still have another 5 years to go. Curious as to others experiences this year??

Definitely don't stay wedded to the idea of private at the cost of everything else.

My dps sent us all to independent schools despite not having high incomes - the grandparents chipped in and paid for uniforms etc. I genuinely can't work out why they all felt it was so important. We never went abroad, had anxiety inducingly unreliable cars, wore hand me downs and they never bought anything for themselves. None of us has achieved anything that we couldn't have done going to the local state schools - as our peers and friends from childhood quite ably demonstrate. I would have much rather had more diverse experiences - travel, days out, theatre trips etc, and parents who weren't working all the time to cover the fees.

There is no way I would want my DC to go without family fun and experiences and foreign travel for the duration of their education. I would much rather we shared that money to enjoy time together and for a fraction of fees we can pay for any tutoring they require and they get to go to workshops and activities to follow all their interests without me committing to years of fees.

Where are you OP? I’m sorry you’re going through this but I’m asking because I am very nervous about our local secondaries in south west London / Kingston way

Bedford....

Back of the envelope calculation is that school fees will double between reception and upper sixth.

OP said they’d been state through primary I think.

To be fair to the school, their energy bills will have gone up by way more than this. That's usually the school's second biggest expense after staffing. If they don't have very large reserves, they'll have no choice.

And staffing costs may well have gone up too.

A family friend had 3 kids in private school. They gave notice to remove 2 kids back to state. 1 child remains in private as they have started GCSEs.

Not sure yet what our % increase will be but if it’s 12% it will be a hefty extra to pay.

I don’t think independent schools will struggle. I went to an open day at Epsom College and claim to be oversubscribed. Everyone is making sacrifices in their own way. I believe independent schools won’t lose large numbers of kids.

Then don’t. Why even post such a pointless reply? It doesn’t help anyone

I get what you are saying, and price increases on some things may come down, but for most schools the big costs are energy bills and staffing.

Energy seems to be going up and up even though oil prices etc are coming down.

Staffing- an average 5% pay rise in state schools this year, and potentially a better offer than the current 3% for next year may come out of current pay negotiations. My experience locally (admittedly nowhere near OP) is that private schools have to at least match state pay to recruit decent staff...

Plus, the cumulative impact of the pay rises means that 5% on the previous pay rises may well push people over the edge.

@wingingthings What year are your children in? If things are getting tight I would give serious consideration to moving before exam years.

@CurlewKate Hi. I was a high earner where I could get called out at 3am and not get back till 11pm. My DP was a 9-5 but working an hour away from dc'S state primary school. This was a rural area. There was no breakfast club or after school care ("We are teachers with our own kids", totally agree but no idea about the gathering cloud of both couples working) - now that school has a breakfast club and after school activities organised by a company that does just that. In the mean time I sent my child to a private school.

But I do agree that the more people ignore the private school route the better the state schools will be. However, they are thinking of their children and if a local state school ignores bullying, and county lines and can hardly staff the teaching programme what are they to do? It truly is a vicious circle.

I went private too (but in NZ). My parents are more affluent and can truly afford it. However same as you, I didn’t achieve anything amazing from it. I don’t earn anything more than DH who went state.

Back to the OP. 12% isn’t unusual give the inflation we have currently.

I also agree with the poster who says private won’t suffer a drop in numbers. The funding shortage in state schools mean more parents are unhappy with them. More will make the type of sacrifice the OP made to afford private.

Bedford doesn't have bad schools. Have you looked at Biddenham or St Thomas More? Your kids will be in year admissions so your catchment shouldn't matter.

I am diverging slightly but I always find these post fascinating. I didn’t feel that I could comfortably afford school fees doubling so for me it was simply off the table as an option. Must be an attitude to risk but just needed to feel I had huge wriggle room - I live a relatively frugal life through choice anyhow but glad not to worry about fees.

@oatmilk4breakfast why are you so worried, there’s loads of excellent schools in SW London. Save the school fees and buy a house in catchment!

It is a huge increase, but I doubt it's a step the school have taken lightly. I am sure there are some businesses, mainly big ones, who are taking advantage of the current situation and using it as an excuse to hike prices up more than they really need to, but not many. Everyone I know who runs their own business is trying to minimise how much of their additional costs they pass on to customers for fear of losing so much trade that they go under. Yet they have to get the extra money from somewhere or they are doomed anyway. So it's a fine line between losing money because you lose customers and losing money because you're not charging enough. I don't imagine independent schools are any different to many other businesses really. They are selling what is effectively a luxury item that some people will cease to purchase if they need the money for other, more essential things. Lots of businesses are, and will continue to close because of this reason unfortunately.
I would explore alternatives if I were you OP, even if you don't act on them immediately. Not just because of your own finances but because of potential effects on the school's viability. An independent school in my area closed with very little notice fairly recently and the parents were left struggling to find new schools at very short notice. Friends who had children there told me that with hindsight there were warning signs about the school's finances but they didn't really pick up on them at the time, with the result that it was a bolt from the blue and they'd given absolutely no consideration to what other options there might be.

Have you asked your school about a bursary or assistance of some kind. You may be eligible.
Also, private school is an option and if it suits your child and you can afford it - why not? I believe that Labour will shoot itself in the foot if they take away the charity status from all private schools. Some private schools share their facilities with local schools - not just swimming pools or sports fields but also provide additional support to state schools.

I am old and I remember when schools had to start paying local authorities for their sports fields all state schools in my area and some private schools with any additional space sold it off - generally to housing. This lead to a lack of sporting facilities and subsequent rises in obesity in children. My old state school had to sell much of its rugby / football and hockey pitches. Fewer teams, less access and a feeling of elitism in sport rather than it being there for all.
There is a stupid resentment of all private schools .. most were set up as charitable institutions to help with the poor or deserving and still have that in their charter. If you resent a private school it is because you have bought into the Eton/Harrow ideaology of elitism. Most are not about that. Especially in country areas and outside the South East. Widows in Scotland have access to private education for their children through the Merchant schools. Military children - whose parents are often moved every 2 or 3 years need stability and private schools can offer this - same with the children of diplomatic employees.
Those who work shifts - you can provide your children with the stability of education by using a private school with its extended days and support.

My children do go private and yes, there are wealthy parents however there are also local shopkeepers, a couple of nurses, single parents (not wealthy on benefits) as well as bog standard parents. My children go because of the support they receive - they get the opportunity to do things I could never have time or the finance to do with them.
Your children are paramount. Check out the state boarding schools unless the fees you currently are paying are less than you would pay for state boarding school (they also have day pupils ie it is a state school and you only pay for the boarding element).
Education should not be a battleground and our children should all have access to an education system that is rich, diverse and inclusive. My children's schools, though private, do fulfil those criteria - all walks of life and different cultures (and yes, I did try state schools - I never intended my children to go private).

@SafelySoftly i think it’s easy to dismiss state if you are in the catchment of good state schools. They might lack funding but the children there are usually nice. Do you live in a leafy area with good state schools? I have a friend who moved with her husband for work. Her children were at state schools here but moved to private soon after the move. She didn’t feel safe after seeing parents brawling outside the school gate. I can totally relate.

Do you mind if I ask, what were the warning signs?

State schools are fine. I never get this angst about private schooling. If you can afford the fees and still have a very lovely life, then good for you - go for it. But if you are giving up all the joy in life to plug away at paying for school fees, honestly - what is the point? I know that in order to send my kids to private school I would have had to give up the ponies, the music lessons, the ski holidays and scuba diving summer holidays, the long weekends to wherever in the world we fancy, the theatre trips, the place on the sports team going abroad to compete, and so much more. I would have to work more and spend less time with them. My kids gain from all these things, and the state school has good provision for able, gifted and talented kids. I feel very privileged to be able to give my children this lifestyle, and I know not everyone can. But if I had to give it all up in order to be able to pay private school fees I know it would be a pointless exercise. My children are getting a more balanced view of the world too - they mix with children from different backgrounds. Not just those who can afford to mix with them. The snootiness surrounding private schooling, the fear of missing out, is probably depriving both parents and children of a much more enjoyable life if money is a bit tight.

Private schools have seen their costs sky rocket and there a number of new increases coming down the line:

independent schools will loose their business rates exemption (even under Conservative gov)

schools contribution rates to the Teachers Pension Scheme are sky rocketing - the government sets this rate of contribution but it has a huge impact on independent schools to be told they need to find 5% more to contribute etc

energy costs etc are going up (though some will have fixed price deals that will stave off the worst)

supplies, resources etc are going up hugely

if Labour win they add the 20% VAT on bills - a lot of school are forecasting this and adding part of it on now to soften the blow later

In the independent school I work in we have been told that costs will increase about 20% and that the hope is fees will increase about 10% and the other 10% will be found by cutting costs and making savings.

Do you mind if I ask, what were the warning signs?
Well my children weren't there, so I can't guarantee accuracy of what I was told, but I recall my friend saying things like the lunch quality went down, the grounds were not being quite as well kept, pianos in the music dept not being tuned, refreshments no longer being served at parents evening - small things that in isolation would probably mean absolutely nothing, but when viewed together - especially with hindsight- might suggest that money was getting tight.
Then more significantly, increased staff turnover. Ancillary staff like admin staff leaving and not being replaced or being replaced with less experienced and/or part time people. People doing more than one job. And then towards the end, experienced teaching staff leaving. My friend commented that she should really have smelled a rat when one of the longest serving teachers left and the reason given was that she wanted a new challenge - like you do, at the age of 60...Plus pupil numbers dropping of course, but my friend said there always seemed to be a logical reason why pupils had left so it wasn't until the bombshell dropped that it all fitted together.

Fees doubling would have been okay in in
Solution but Inflation, mortgage hikes. Energy doubling has made the wiggle room none existent. I think your attitude to risk is the right one!!!!

I'm not personally a fan of private schools. I look to Denmark that banned most private education and standards in the public sector rose. Having said that, if parents choose to pay for their child's education on top of their taxes, they should expect big rises if costs increase. Unfortunately as state schools have found, inflation is biting the heels of budgets, so I assume that these costs (like energy, food etc) are being passed onto the consumer. The difference is state schools are having to find the money in different ways.

What was it last year?

Hoe long have your dc got left? You might be in for a tricky time as the fees increase more