Move or private school?

[MizzyDazzy]

As the above says, I'm torn on whether we should move or send the children to private school.

We are in a tricky area for schools, being just out of catchments of semi decent (although not great) state schools and other state options are grammar. I've decided no to grammar as my eldest (year 4) is dyslexic and more in to art and sport. It's too early to tell for my youngest (year 1), but I don't want to do hardcore tutoring for the 11+ in any case.

We want to move house, but we want a more rural location and a bigger house. We spent all of autumn going around 20+ open days in our area and areas we would like to move to.

We found one state school we liked, but not where we live or where we would like to move to - v small catchment. I don't mind the area to move to, but it's even less rural than we are now and we could only afford a very similar house - which my husband doesn't want to do and feels is a bit pointless as he thinks we would then move again spending twice as much on stamp duty, estate agent fees and legal fees.

Another option is to stay put and send the children to a private school (we found two we really liked for my daughter as they would support her dyslexia and the facilities for art and sport are great). They are where we would like to live, but our daughter could get to them from where we live now as there is a school bus and journey not troo bad. We could therefore hope that we can move near the private school at some point, although I'm worried the level of fees will prohibit us doing that financially.

So wondering what others would do:

1. stay put and go private
2. move for the state school we like but for a very similar house and area we currently live in
3. move to an area we like now and send them to a state school we didn't particulalry like

How comfortably can you afford school fees for two with annual increases, bus fares etc for the next seven - ten years?

It makes much more financial sense to buy in catchment for a school you like, the money you spend on the house will (hopefully) also be a decent investment and hold its value, whereas fees are just gone and you’ve lost that money forever.

Fees also do rise every year, so if it’s a stretch now it’s likely to get much harder.

I’d go for the state, and remind your husband that you can move somewhere rural in 12/13 years when the kids have got through school

We have priced it all out in a spreadsheet and fairly comfortably. We've been paying for a nanny for nearly 8 years and wouldn't have that expense anymore, which covers one set of fees easily, we also have a sizeable savings pot to draw from for the 2-4 years that we would have 2 kids there (depending on if my daughter stayed for sixth form). We could definitely still move and do private, but then things would be tight / I'm not sure we'd get our dream home. But staying put and doing private is something we have comfortably costed.

Staying put it isn't a stretch, we've factored fee rises in - but it might be a stretch to move AND do private.

I'm not sure the moving twice can be considered a straightforward investment as we'd be looking at about £60k in stamp duty each time, plus legal fees and estate agency costs. Plus no doubt we would spend money on both properties to make them how we would want.

We were happy in our rural home but the local state school was terrible so we went for an independent school, but I only have one ds.

Expect fees to rise by at least 5% a year, every year. Allow for interruptions to income - I was made redundant during covid which was a bit of a challenge. Always have at least a year's fees for both, in hand.

Yes the investment angle is much harder now taxes and renovations are so expensive, but you are still more likely to make money on property than by spending it on fees ….

Yes my spreadsheet works a 5% yearly increase in, plus bus, lunch and a pot for trips. We will have 3 years worth of fees saved before my daughter starts, so this will do cross over of kids for two years. Once she starts we will pay fees and keep saving until my son starts so we will have a contingency pot for income drops / in case we have 4 years cross over if she stays for sixth form.

Yes, think I lean towards this but my husband leans the other way because it’s not just a financial decision - what would be best environment / outcomes for kids, living where we want vs moving further away from that.