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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Salary to consider private

202 replies

Duckyneedsaclean · 31/03/2023 15:10

Just wondering at what take home salary you would consider/be able to pay for a private school place?

We were hoping for a bursary but not been granted one - trying to figure out if we can afford full fees.

OP posts:
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MintJulia · 31/03/2023 15:15

I'm a single mum on mid £50s and I pay half fees (about £10k a year including extras) for DS14. It's tight but doable. Only three years to go 🙂

twistyizzy · 31/03/2023 15:16

We are joint income 130K and have saved up 2 years worth of fees in case of redundancy etc. Without bursary I couldn't see it being affordable on a household income under 80K and not sure that would be comfortable with current rising costs of everything.

FfeminyddCymraeg · 31/03/2023 15:17

I’d say a monthly household income after tax of at least £10k a month for one DC and probably £12k for two. And only if I was sure of regular pay rises that would be equal to or greater than the yearly fee hikes.

This is based on what we would need to consider it on our current household income of £7.5k a month with a £1k monthly mortgage payment.

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 15:37

Depends mainly on current housing costs you have. I know a couple on 200k who have 2 in private that's £7.5k per term but their mortgage is 3k a month plus bills and extras. They're not going hungry but they're not loving the lifestyle you'd imagine based on their salary.

Hoppinggreen · 31/03/2023 15:41

Depends on how much the school is, what extras are involved and what the increases are likely to be each year.
We are in Yorkshire and pay around £15k a year all in. Small mortgage and no other debts
Joint salary of around £120k

Mushroo · 31/03/2023 15:44

We are toying with the idea on a joint salary of c.£125k per annum, but we’re in the NW and it’s about £15k per year, and we could only do it for 1 child.

I will also only do it if we have the fees mostly saved up before they go - i wouldn’t feel comfortable paying it out of income each month in case of a job loss.

Breadcrumbsforall · 31/03/2023 15:57

£100k plus

Mushroo · 31/03/2023 16:00

My advice would probably be stop looking at it from a ‘what salary do I need’ perspective.

Look up the fees, work out the total cost and figure out if you can afford that based on how much you can save.

for example, if we go private, we will stick with a cheaper mortgage to allow us to save up the £100k needed. If you start saving when the child is born, it’s about £800pcm, and you have the full fees saved by the time they start. If you spread that £100k over 18 years, it’s about £500pcm. (That doesn’t factor in interest or inflation, but you get the gist).

Most people don’t just pay out the fees from salary, it’s a lifetime strategic saving decision.

User534 · 31/03/2023 16:04

It's hard to understand where those enormous incomes go, even taking mortgages into account? People are obviously not living ordinary lifestyles.

Original poster
Duckyneedsaclean · 31/03/2023 16:06

For context, our mortgage is about a third of our net income, the fees would be equivalent to a sixth of net income. Leaving half - but we're a family of 7.

We don't have any savings as just bought our first home.

Child is the eldest, but second will go to a special school and the next is in year 1 so a long time till they'd go to secondary.

OP posts:
CloudPop · 31/03/2023 16:06

You need to look at it the other way round. How much are the fees - double that to give you a rough estimate of the gross income you would need

Moopyhereagain · 31/03/2023 16:08

It’s not just in relation to salary- remember fees likely double during education and most salaries don’t! We did it all with my eldest, youngest just junior school then grammar. It’s a Very big commitment for not necessarily a big return ( depending on local school options) and it locks you in in a way that’s hard when life throws curve balls in the way it inevitably does. I wouldn’t do it again tbh.

twistyizzy · 31/03/2023 16:12

Duckyneedsaclean · 31/03/2023 16:06

For context, our mortgage is about a third of our net income, the fees would be equivalent to a sixth of net income. Leaving half - but we're a family of 7.

We don't have any savings as just bought our first home.

Child is the eldest, but second will go to a special school and the next is in year 1 so a long time till they'd go to secondary.

I would personally spend 1 Yr putting the monthly fees into a savings account and see how much impact it has. At the very least if you decide it isn't affordable you will then have a nice lump sum to spend.

aegg · 31/03/2023 16:14

Our joint income is around 450k at the moment. But DH says still doesn't want to straddle himself with fees for two kids and would rather invest the money. It would feel like a lot to us to pay for two kids. Schools around here are around 20k per year. It's a lot.

Remember it's not about what you make, but how you spend that creates wealth. We aren't sure if we are going to do it.

twistyizzy · 31/03/2023 16:16

User534 · 31/03/2023 16:04

It's hard to understand where those enormous incomes go, even taking mortgages into account? People are obviously not living ordinary lifestyles.

Very ordinary lifestyle. Mortgage is 800 p month on modest house, general bills, savings every month for school fees + our own ISA. No foreign holiday this year but most years is 1 foreign holiday + 1 holiday in UK per year. We don't splash the cash but also don't need to penny pinch. We spend less than DSiL per month as don't buy expensive clothes etc.
My husband is puming a decent amount into his pension so that reduces the amount of take home pay he gets.

Season0fTheWitch · 31/03/2023 16:18

By the end of this year our total joint salary will be about £275-300k. We're on around £170k now and manage fine with one child in private primary, 3 in private nursery. We have investments to cover the cost of all 4 children going to private primary and secondary. The lowest income to cover one child would probably be £100k, but really tight and not the life we have now.

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 16:20

User534 · 31/03/2023 16:04

It's hard to understand where those enormous incomes go, even taking mortgages into account? People are obviously not living ordinary lifestyles.

100k after tax is £5.5k a month. Let say two people are earning that, that's £10k per month. Mortgage roughly £3k leaving you with £7k. If you have two kids in a private school in London, that's min £7.5k per term. For two kids that's monthly £3,750. This does not include lunches or school coach. You've now got £3,250 left for:
Food
Utility Bills
Clothing
Entertainment
Cars
Pets
Holidays
Increases in school fees that for a lot of people will be 7-8%

As I said, it's not exactly going hungry, but £200k joint income in London is not the depths of luxury people would imagine if you're choosing to go private. I've also made the mortgage payment one where the assumption is the mortgage is on a good rate for a 1m mortgage. A lot of people have bigger mortgages and worse rates.

aegg · 31/03/2023 16:25

The question is, is it worth it? Hard to say!

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 16:27

@aegg Unless your kids have additional needs, I genuinely don't think so. Not with the fees the way they are now and the teacher crisis in both sectors.

aegg · 31/03/2023 16:31

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 16:27

@aegg Unless your kids have additional needs, I genuinely don't think so. Not with the fees the way they are now and the teacher crisis in both sectors.

I spend a lot of time daily on this question.

I just don't know what to do. You speak to some people and state school isn't even a consideration. Private gets the best out of each child, apparently/

You look at the fees and it's extortionate. We all want the best for our kids, but I'm finding it very difficult to work out what that looks like.

I don't want to straddle ourselves with these fees, which are set to increase if labour comes in. I'm really not sure what to do !

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 16:36

@aegg I've worked in both sectors, still do as a visiting dyslexia teacher. I'm not going to slate either sector, both have their pros and cons. I'm of the unpopular view that private is more worth it than secondary for independent. Little kids are a lot less independent and need far more 1:1 time. A small prep can quickly see and address issues. I'm not a fan of the big ones attached to senior schools as their classes are easily 22-24 which is just too big for that kind of money. There are social issues in both sectors that you can't pay to escape from and imo state school kids come out the other side far more balanced.
There's awful things happening in both sectors and if you have the money, you have the privilege of true choice. Whatever your child needs, you can get it. Be that the perfect school that so happens to be private, tutors, or an investment portfolio for when they reach adulthood.

Dodgeitornot · 31/03/2023 16:37

Sorry that's meant to say that private primary is more worth it than private secondary.

GnomeDePlume · 31/03/2023 17:07

Where I am school fees start at around £16.5k per year for secondary school years. There is a jump up from year 9 to around £17.5k. This includes lunches but not additional wraparound care or transport.

Compulsory uniform costs around £500 excluding shoes and trainers etc. There are lots of optional extras to this and I don't know if unbranded equivalents would be permitted.

Add everything up and you are probably looking at around £18-20k per year with a few not very optional 'extras' thrown in.

Assume that inflation is above normal RPI. If you can afford it comfortably in year one with plenty to spare then you should be alright (so long as no one gets made redundant or gets sick).

If things will be tight from the get go with no contingency for unexpected costs (car/boiler repairs, appliance replacement etc) then you can't afford it. Trying to will be stressful and build resentment.

jobadoo · 31/03/2023 17:14

Duckyneedsaclean · 31/03/2023 16:06

For context, our mortgage is about a third of our net income, the fees would be equivalent to a sixth of net income. Leaving half - but we're a family of 7.

We don't have any savings as just bought our first home.

Child is the eldest, but second will go to a special school and the next is in year 1 so a long time till they'd go to secondary.

assuming you have 5 children (as a family of 7) and a mortgage that takes up a third of your net income then it would be a real struggle.

forgotmyusername1 · 31/03/2023 17:22

I am considering it for my son currently in year 5
In our case it is less about academics but the pastoral care I am interested in. He has asd (high functioning) and with that has come vocal and physical tics. He has done well in primary and is very bright (solves a rubix cube in 30 seconds type bright), he is also a national judo player who competes all over the country and abroad - he has a lot going for him but socially he struggles and my worry is more around him being lost among the crowd in our very large catchment school with 12 form entry as he needs to be guided to get the best out of him. I am also concerned about bullying although he has made some nice friends at primary who would likely go to the same school - kids though can be cruel.

income wise we are on 100k between us so not mega money - am going to look into scollarship and see if it is an option