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MNHQ

£800 'hidden cost' of sending a child to a state school - your experiences?

191 replies

TheLateKateMumsnet · 29/10/2014 12:50

According to the Children's Commission on Poverty, many families in the UK are struggling to meet the 'hidden costs' of sending a child to school. They estimate that families need to find roughly £800 per child to pay for things such as school uniforms, lunches, and extra-curricular trips and activities - often more, once their child reaches secondary school.

What's your experience? Does this figure sound about right, when you add up all the extras - and are your family finances suffering because of it? Do let us know in the thread below.

P.S If you're looking for ways to manage school costs, take a look at our tips here

OP posts:
Spooklingbrook · 29/10/2014 16:36

I can quite believe that amount. I have two at Secondary. I don't begrudge any of it either.

I avoid buying school photos though. They are such a swizz.

Badvoc123 · 29/10/2014 16:48

I wish I could buy I have sets of GPS that expect them :(

Spooklingbrook · 29/10/2014 16:51

My issue with them Badvoc is the packs. Angry I would only ever want two desk size ones. One for us to bung in the loft and one for my parents. But no, you can't because they are 'Add Ons' and you need to buy a ££££ pack to get the two desk ones. Angry Angry

At DS1's school we even got offered a whole school one. That's over 1000 children. Grin

Badvoc123 · 29/10/2014 16:52

whole school!!
Why?
:)
The packs aren't too bad here...I can usually get what I need for £18. It it's £18 I don't really want to spend...

2cats2many · 29/10/2014 16:54

£800? And the rest! My children are at a Catholic primary and they are constantly asking us for dosh.

Spooklingbrook · 29/10/2014 16:55

I don't know why they did the whole school, I wonder how many bought it? So we had DS1 on his own, DS1's tutor Group, and the whole school. Grin

Except we didn't because I bought none of them.

I weakened with DS2 as his first year at Secondary, got the pack i didn't want to get the ones I did. i didn't get keyrings/mugs/bookmarks mind.

Badvoc123 · 29/10/2014 16:55

I reckon on £80 per term not inc uniform, dinners or books/text books.

kilmuir · 29/10/2014 16:56

No way, but i would not count feeding and clothing them as you would need to do that anyway.
Be thankful they are getting an education!

CalamitouslyWrong · 29/10/2014 17:03

I wouldn't count school uniform as part of normal clothing. It's always in addition to that. You don't actually need less clothing because they're in school, because they're on holiday so often that you always need a full week's worth of normal clothes. And you can never get any non-school wear out of the uniform.

So uniform is always a purely going to school expense. Food not so much.

Sophieelmer · 29/10/2014 17:21

School u inform does lessen the amount of other clothes you need. Children who wear uniform 9-3, 39 weeks a year surely have less wear and tear on their usual clothes than children that don't need uniform!?

theposterformallyknownas · 29/10/2014 17:34

I find it amazing that we will be able to send dd to a top specialist boarding school for less than it would cost to send her to the local secondary.
Even the uniform is a fraction of the cost, most trips are funded by the school and there are no extra curricular activities to fund as these are the education.
Having said that some state schools are more expensive than others with the extras you are expected to pay for.
You don't have to go on the expensive residential if you don't want to and ime children aren't singled out for not contributing to the many charity none school uniform days.
I know you have to feed and dress them anyway, but having been H.ed for the past 3 years, we found we saved a lot as can do cheaper lunches and no uniform required.
Hanging around at home and generally out and about Primani is cheap and cheerful and no worries for playing and ruining expensive clothes.

joanofarchitrave · 29/10/2014 17:35

it's true ds hasn't yet been to a school with a uniform but I simply don't believe that having two sets of clothes (three sets if you count PE) costs less. I do mend and patch ds's clothes a fair bit, especially as I buy almost all of them second hand so they come with a bit of wear already, but for most of them he grows out of them before they wear out. He also doesn't need school shoes, he can just wear trainers for home/school/PE, so that's less cost as well IMO.

Sandiacre · 29/10/2014 17:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TalkinPeace · 29/10/2014 17:41

Bus fare £200 per term per child
Lunch £250 per term per child
Uniform £100 per year per child (incl shoes)
Sports kit £100 per year per child (incl footwear)
Day trips £100 per year per child (curriculum linked)

Music tuition £300 per year per child (optional, just)
Residential trips £500 per year per child (optional)

KristinaM · 29/10/2014 17:49

If you are on FSM here you get a clothing grant for school uniform and you don't pay for school trips or music tuition .

If you live more than a certain distance from the school you get free transport to and from school , regardless of income .

TalkinPeace · 29/10/2014 17:54

If you live more than a certain distance from the school you get free transport to and from school , regardless of income .

Not any more see the Oxfordshire cases
not if you live "out of catchment"
not if your kids are in 6th form college

If you are on FSM here you get a clothing grant for school uniform and you don't pay for school trips or music tuition

Maybe in your school but not in the ones in this county

Spooklingbrook · 29/10/2014 17:56

We live 12 miles from DS1's school, it's not his catchment school, but is in the same County. Bus fare is £547 a year.

Abra1d · 29/10/2014 17:58

You'd have to pay for food and clothes and some of the activities, even if you were home-educating. Unless you didn't want to do any kind of curriculum enrichment.

teddygirlonce · 29/10/2014 17:59

Secondary school uniform first kitting out cost well over £300 (with replacement and different blazer/jumpers and trousers next year which will be another £150), on top of replacing outgrown and lost items on a yearly basis (circa £25)!

Additional contributions for Art, DT etc....which may amount to another £25 - £40 a year...

Annual (at least) school trips from £400 but more likely £750+ and even the activities week for boys not going costs an extra £60+.

Annual 'voluntary contributions' add another £300....

HOWEVER, would say in some ways primary schools operate more of a constant 'drip, drip...' in terms of monies wanted. Virtually every week there's a call for payment, whether its the 'house' charity, mufti day, contributions for a school trip or school activity, contributions for PTA events, payment for raffle tickets....And there never seems to be any regard for the fact that families are stretched and may not be able to afford even small amounts (X ? number of children). The lead-up to Christmas and the half-term before the summer hols seem to be the worst time...

We have always paid our dues as a family but sometimes I'm tempted to say 'no' - we can't afford it.

Really dislike the way that there's always a caveat to payments for trips etc...which usually reads "if you can't afford to pay please have a word with the Head...". So if you appear to be a middle-class family would they even believe you if you said 'I cannot pay this time.'

TalkinPeace · 29/10/2014 18:00

football boots, shin guards, football socks
rugby boots, gumshields
trainers, sports bras

even if you HE, kids are an expensive hobby

NancyJones · 29/10/2014 18:03

Regardless of whether uniform means you need less non uniform or not, it still isn't a hidden cost. Likewise, school meals. Neither are something that parents had no idea were coming.

Lancelottie · 29/10/2014 18:11

One in 6th form, one at secondary here.
£170 uniform for the younger one (pretty good; her older brother was more like £250)
£650 bus pass for the older one plus £250 'initial contribution to essential curriculum trips'.
Music lessons on top, but let's not count those.
At least he's mostly too busy to eat lunch.

StarlightMcKenzie · 29/10/2014 18:28

You need 4 times the amount in order to go on holiday, even camping in the UK, than you would if you could go out of state term time.

StarlightMcKenzie · 29/10/2014 18:29

DD lost her school cardigan on the first day back this year, and her spare, the second day.

Now she has no cardigan. I don't know what anyone expects me to do about it other than buy one daily which obviously I can't.

sallyst123 · 29/10/2014 18:39

I was having this discussion over fb the other day. Every other day it seems there is a letter raising money for something or other for the school, school dinners, uniforms, shoes p.e kits all add up (I have 3 children primary school age) it's been a real hard struggle & this is before the trips. I'm dreading next September when the costs dbl again as my eldest starts secondary school. we are already at breaking point & there are times I'm actually jealous & begrudge the parents that don't work & don't have to pay for these things. (At this school the parents on benefits don't pay for after school activities & trip, they also get access to 2nd hand uniform shop which isn't available if you work) I'm already having to say no to clubs the kids want to do now.