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??

There are a few mentioned on the mumsnet thread below and the press article link as well @AnotherNewt

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/primary/4767778-redcliffe-garden-school-shut-down

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-sunday-telegraph/20221218/281822877854258

We got our fees letters yesterday - 7% rise for DS’ school and 7.5% for DD’s. Could have been worse! DS’ school in particular does well at trying to keep a lid on costs for parents by including clubs except externally provided ones like LAMDA, including food (lunches as well as snacks at morning break and afternoon prep/wraparound time) and subsidising coaches. Uniform is reasonable with a flexible multisport PE kit. The only extra we’ve paid for this year has been a 3-night residential.

DD’s isn’t too bad either, but food and materials and trips do add a chunk to her bill!

@Marisquita are you in London?

@MomFromSE Yes, North London.

@MomFromSE hi!
Mind if I Pm you? I have a question. Thank you 😊

7.5% fee rise here, too (not London). As a teacher at that school, I know this is funding a 7% pay-rise after years of freezes/below-inflation increases.

7% rise at our London prep. DD's school tries to keep other costs down too - lunches included, and many clubs included, comprehensive second hand uniform sales. Not a struggle for us but I have no idea about other parents - it's not something that's ever discussed.

Still waiting for ours. The Head is cutting it fine.

9.5% at ours

100% my experience too! My old state school mum crew deffo living a better life than my new pvte school crew!

Sani, Ikos, Skiing, South of France - big house- Model Y Tesla = State School Parent

vs Norfolk, Grandparents and Alton towers = Pvte school - oh an old Vauxhall too! 😂

Don’t fucking post then. You just look like a dick. 🤣

Just over 8.5% at ours. Understand totally why they’ve had to pass on costs but def belt tightening here - we’re stopping music lessons at the school and coach transport (which was great for convenience and reducing traffic flow for the school) which will go some way to bridging the gap!

If you need to cut music lessons, then maybe you are at your limits, and really need to consider state options

5.75% at ours. I am actually quite pleased with that considering our mortgage payments are going up by 25%!

i just checked and ours and it came out in May last year! That was late!! If people need to give notice it needs to come out now right?

@Rockhall not at limits, but I think carrying on spending as if they haven’t gone up is foolish. I’d prefer to trim now to give us more buffer for when fees
do go up again. We won’t be the only ones doing this - I think schools forget sometimes that is exactly the same way people choose to reduce costs where they can in other parts of their lives, they will also do so where they can with school extras - be it uniform, school trips, lunches etc (and i fully acknowledge that we are in a privileged position in the first place). Thankfully for us my child will still get to play in the orchestra so will continue enjoying the benefits of the music department in many ways.

If you’re not given a full term’s notice I believe you can insist on paying the Autumn term at the previous rate. You certainly don’t Have to give a full term’s notice should you wish to remove your child.

You have to pay a full terms notice if you remove your child from a private school. We had to pay over £15,000 when we removed our DS from boarding school, after which we had to send numerous emails to get our deposit back. It took months and the school showed themselves in a very poor light.

Yes, in normal circumstances you do need to give a full term’s written notice. However, if the school has not given a full term’s notice of the fees for the next academic year, this does not stand.

I would imagine all schools will be giving a full terms notice of the increase in fees in that case.

DD is Year 11 at private but not staying onto sixth form there.

Despite this we were sent the fees increase letter for next school year. The increase is 9.5% for fees, another £50 on the bus fee and another £60 on lunches.

I looked back at when she first started and the increase in the past 6 years has been an gradual fee increase totalling £1700. The cost of the bus has doubled and the increase in lunches is £100. This all per term!

They are also one of the few schools remaining who charge extra for exam fees - charging and extra £5 on each exam taken.

The fact that the provision from the school has decreased in most departments in that time has left a lot of parents p*ed off to say the least. Unfortunately the teachers and staff can't do anything about it as the school is owned by a private equity firm who are obviously only bothered about money for their investors.

80% of this years Year 11 are leaving for other sixth forms - with nearly all of those leaving going into state school.

My DD is one of 3 going to other privates for sixth form.

11% for us!!! Ouch. Especially as our local council has put council tax up by 15%

@Mumsafan We spend years putting years of financial strain on ourselves by spending DS to very expensive schools ( including boarding school). He left after GCSE’s and I can’t quite come to terms with how superior the teaching he is now experiencing is. I do now wonder what on earth we were thinking. We also had to pay for exams almost £700 on top of fees of nearly £16,000. The pastoral care was also non existent (for our DS ). Best of luck to your DD in the exams and with the move in September.

Thank you - we don't have a state school nearby that offered what she wanted although we did visit a couple.

The private she is moving to has significantly less fees than the one she is currently at, includes exam fees in that cost and has a significantly higher provision than where she's at and better results. We will be saving about £5k a year with the move.

Some of her friends are going to a very good state in the town her current school is in, its too far for us travel wise .

Think the percentage increase only makes sense when knowing the baseline or at least the type of school e.g. 10% carries an entirely different meaning when applied to a £45k full boarding school (ca £4500 hit) or to a £10k prep school (ca £1000 hit)