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??

I'm so sorry OP. I really feel for you. I'm sure you're one of many, many parents in this situation. Unfortunately private school parents get eaten alive on here if they complain about fees so I suspect that's why you've not heard much from others in your boat. I hope it won't come down to your children having to move, but i appreciate that's not much consolation in what's probably a very stressful situation.

This is the benchmark.

Smart money says that the independent sector has ridden the upside by accumulating capital for two decades. Capital reserves are there.

Time to ride the downside by using those funds to invest and claim the 20% back on costs.

Double digit increase is a swan song type risky move in an environment where their relative value added vs state/day schools is questioned at every turn, see Oxbridge rates.

Back to the Q of the level of fee increases. We have been told 7%. Fortunately our last child is going into their last year at school.

When we projected forward we did calculations based on 5% compounding over time. Those figures meant our day fees would rise from about £16k to £24k in 7 years.
Luckily, in most years, the fee increase was around 3.5%. We will be finishing at £23k so a bit less than we’d expected.

However big increases of perhaps 12% in the early years of paying fees hit much harder than if they occur later, due to the compounding effect.

I think we will have been quite lucky. As we entered the school, fee increases in the 4/5 years before had been nearer the 10% mark. But then they dropped back and ours have been above inflation usually, but steady.

I don’t think anyone paying fees expects sympathy from those not paying fees. However, increases in the cost of living hit everyone and create different difficulties for people across the financial spectrum. People with large mortgages on variable rates get hit hard by interest rate rises, and people paying for expensive school fees see big increases. Yes, it’s not the same as finding you’re struggling to pay for heat or food. No-one is saying it’s comparable. But it’s still a reality that significant inflation hits everyone. Most fee paying parents won’t be looking to remove their kids, although some will. Most will be belt tightening in other areas. It probably won’t mean going to food banks like many will be, and it might not be going without a holiday, but it could well be choosing cheaper holidays or deciding not to move house. Yes, these are luxuries many couldn’t afford anyway before. However, they are still changes for the people facing them. No-one is suggesting they are comparable to having to choose between food and heat or that people should feel sympathy for those already well-off enough to pay fees. But at the same time it should be possible to acknowledge that all types are hit by inflation. Both things can be true at the same time.

For many years there have been waiting lists for many London private schools, I suspect that may change.

@WombatChocolate I agree with you. People underestimate the domino effect tightening belts cause on the economy.

OP, if they were state through primary, and you have 5 years still to go, then you’re anticipating going to 18 with both, is that right? Because state sixth form is usually much better options, so you could consider A-levels at a sixth form college etc.

12% is a big hike. I'd speak to the bursar. You won't be the only ones especially if you're on the edge of affordability. Other than that can you move to be closer cheaper housing and private schools?

That's a bit simplistic. You don't have any idea why she chose the school she did for her children.

It's not always a choice between Good State Vs Good Private.

In my view the past few years would have been really tough on independents even without the additional burden of inflation. The attitude of the politicians, the approach of Oxbridge, the approach of the general public, the convictions of the middle classes who were priced out, and the attitudes of the next generation who were overlooked are a significant burden. Allowing for school fees to run away with inflation may just be the final nail in the coffin for those indys that cannot differentiate somehow- which means most of them.

This. If you choose to pay for private schools, you're paying for the education + everything else, plus your share of taxes (which go towards state schools "everything else"). Whereas those of us with kids in state schools are only paying our share of taxes, the education + everything else for our kids is free at the point of use.

Therefore when prices go up it makes sense the private school parents pick up the majority of that tab; they're already proven they have much more more than the vast majority of the population and are seen to more able afford it.

I don’t think the OP started this thread asking people to pass judgement on her decisions. She simply asked for experiences from other parents in the same boat.

OP, we haven’t had the info yet but I’m nervous, especially as we’re at the very beginning of the journey. Will update when the letter hits the doormat.

Same, expect the letter next week. 10th year for us, 4 more to go. Hope we can hang on. Stormer will be in half way through GCSEs. Really feel sorry for DC that are going to be affected by the inevitable school closures.

I think the Harper Trust (assume it’s a Harper Trust school) is having a laugh. My son is in Upper Six at one of the schools. Thank goodness we’re getting out before the huge hike. The increase is out of step with at-least one of the feeder Prep Schools, they announced their fee increase yesterday, it’s 5.9%.

I get that it's a hard choice to move your children's school- but depending on the years they are in, better now than part way through GCSEs, perhaps. I understand if you're unwilling to share, but how old are your children?

Unfortunately, I don't think you can assume this will be a one off. Assuming you're in England, then I do think it's likely that English teachers will get some kind of increased pay offer for next year. My perception (from friends who're teaching in private) is that private schools have to match or exceed the teacher pay scales to attract and keep staff now. Staffing is usually the biggest cost for a school.

There's also other potential big costs coming to schools- e.g. when Windows stop updating Windows 10 (2025), some schools are going to have to upgrade large parts of their IT systems, as they won't support Windows 11. They can't continue to use something that's not getting security updates. So some schools will have to spend significant amounts on new IT hardware in the next two academic years. Unless they have significant reserves, and a 12% fee hike suggests they don't, then private schools will have to pass some of this cost on.

There's also the issue that energy bills could go up again next winter- schools aren't protected by the price caps. Some have agreed fixed deals, but these will eventually run out. Again, utilities are a large part of school costs- possibly even more so for private schools with flashy facilities!

We heard last week - 15% increase.

We heard yesterday - 8%, boys school in SW London.

Could you please name the schools or at least a short description like location, years, selectivity, etc. Thx

Wow, that's an awful lot! And of course as fee increases are cumulative, even if there's only a small increase next year, it'll still be a relatively large price hike compared to what people have budgeted for.

There must be some parents who won't be able to absorb that?

Yes, if people were at their limit. It’s just over £2k, so £200 a month more, roughly.

Has anyone on this thread had notice from a boarding school yet regarding fees for 23/24? We have a place at Winchester for 2024 but are unsure if DS will go, he is at a grammar school now and I think we may be unwise to give it up. The school has exceeded our expectations so far.

Yes, that's a lot- and obviously if you've got a child going into e.g. Y10, there's the worry of a similar fee rise the year after that you'd then pretty much have to absorb?

I would imagine a school like Winchester has significant reserves, so they don't have to pass all their cost rises on to parents (if they don't want to).

However, I think it would be sensible to budget for 10% increases each year as a minimum?

If you have a school he is really happy at, and may not be able to return to if it's oversubscribed in the future, I do think giving it up is a risk?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl I think the risk is probably to big for us to take, DS‘s school is more oversubscribed than Winchester so he wouldn’t be about to go back. We should count ourselves lucky in the current climate.

Ours is in the first year of senior 🫣. For that school. We’ve two other children and schools.