Bursary accepted - then fee increase of nearly 10%!!!

[Motherduck9]

We have been accepted to a school on a bursary. Not a huge one. We have paid the deposit and completed all the admission forms and on receipt of the deposit etc we were sent a second email telling us the fees are going up when we start in September by nearly 10%!!!! I understand legally they have given a terms notice but I am shocked at the lack of consideration towards a family that needs financial assistance and also found out existing parents found out week or so before! I feel like I have been played a little bit! What’s everyone’s thoughts? I think I am going to ask to have a chat with them and explain how I feel?

You do realise Rachel Reeves is determined to add VAT to independent school fees once Labour wins the GE?

We’re having a similar dilemma with worries about future fee increases. DD has a good scholarship offer at independent school but found out this week that she’s been allocated a place at the state grammar (in second round of local school allocations). Now wondering if we should just save our money, but feeling guilty that we’ll be depriving her of opportunities 😥

Inflation has averaged 8% over the last year. Other costs - heating & other utilities for businesses especially - have shot up by more. So 10% was to be expected. Fees will do this every year. That's normal.

You'll need to save some extra to cover increases in other costs too. field trips, uniforms etc.

Go careful. VAT will change the game if added.

@Motherduck9 the issue here is what you are going to decide to do next. Are you holding a state school place? Schools are shut right now so I very much doubt you are going to be able to get hold of the bursar to get any further assistance but you should focus on the fact that you do have to give a term’s notice in order to not be liable for fees even if you have not started at the school. Term starts next Monday for most schools so you only have until Sunday to give that notice in writing or you will be liable for the September term’s fees even if you don’t send your child. It isn’t what you want to hear, but I very much doubt the Bursar is going to increase their offer and as pps have said, the fees will only be on an upward trajectory from here on in - especially if there is a Labour govt.

Your choices are to pull your child out now before y7 starts so they can start another school at the same time as everyone else or to suck up the 10% and every other % increase moving forward. It’s shit, but in your shoes I can’t see there is another choice. Focus now on getting a state school place. Waiting until school reopens would be unwise, better to write now stating you feel somewhat blindsided by the size of the fee increase but you cannot find the difference so you will have to relinquish the place and you’d like your deposit returned. If they come back with another offer you can make your decision then but at least you are not liable for the September’s fees and have not thrown money away.

On a final note, remember Private schools have an agreement between them not to accept a pupil who has outstanding fees with another school. If you end up being liable for the September fees but do not pay them you will find it difficult to place your child back into the independent system until those fees are paid.

What educational opportunities do you think she’s going to miss out on? Extracurricular stuff you can choose to supplement but I think with a labour govt looming available grammar places are going to be as rare as hen’s teeth. It will be easier to join the private system than it will to regain the grammar place. And I say this as a parent who has now finished with private schooling. Given my time again with the benefit of hindsight and the threat of an extra 20% on top of fees I’m honestly not sure I’d want do it all again.

Were you not expecting annual fee increases? 10% is a bit steep but 5-8% is fairly standard - basically the fees will more than double between reception and upper sixth.

Is the state grammar considered a good school? A lot of grammars do provide good opportunities. What is it that you significantly like about the private school which you don’t think the state school wilL offer?

Use the money saved to provide those extra opportunities.

@Choices24 I think you’d be crazy to turn down a grammar place if you need a bursary to even attend the independent school. Fees will go up each year and I very much doubt the bursary will go up by the same amount. Then there are all the extras. Madness to put yourself in such a vulnerable position.

@Riverlee Thanks for your message. The classes are smaller and it’s a very nurturing school, with a slightly broader curriculum and lots of extracurricular activities. The grammar has bigger classes, more competition for the popular clubs, but with a much more selective academic cohort (DD is confident and would be fine with the pace, I think).

@Jennaveeve thanks for your messages. It’s a scholarship (30% off fees), not a bursary - applicable until the end of sixth form. We’re not super wealthy but it’s affordable - it’s more a question of whether it’s worth it.

Private school fees will be going up by far more than 10% when and if Labour get in

Ours have always gone up by 4-7.5% each and every year.

I would see if they can reassess the bursary OP.

I don't think there is anything dodgy. Admissions and bursary will handle your fee remission etc but the governors usually make the fee increase decision.

I think all private schools are doing big increases eg nearly 10% this year to try and absorb if VAT comes in. There is some reasoning behind it and most private schools seem to be doing it so clearly something they've been discussing in their section meetings

If you are already worries about fees then you can’t afford it OP. Better to know it now and cut your losses than continue on and spend the next six or so years stressed to ill health.

kids at South-East private schools for 10 years. Fee increases have been 5 - 8% every single year. Schools that are in demand don't put the fees up by only 1-2%.

True.

Go to the grammar, of course!

Which grammar? I am a maths teacher at a grammar.

Who cares about small classes? I have 33 in my Year 8 and we get through the material! Also, who really cares about “nurturing” in a school? Your home is presumably naturing. I am a kind person, but my pupils are not made of glass, so I don’t wrap them up in cotton wool. One of my Year 7s cried the other day because the algebra test was too hard. I told him “toughen up little soldier” and I offered him a fist bump. Ok, maybe that wasn’t very naturing of me…. But his mum can be more nice to him later and I believe my approach will equip him well later on. Have I persuaded you?!