What’s your household income if you are sending 2+ kids to private schools?

[Anon22224]

Just as the title really, we are considering number 3, 1st child currently attends a small private primary due to SEN, we’d like to be able to send DC2 aswell if it would suit her.

This particular school is fairly reasonable but the secondary schools are much more expensive and I was just wondering what a household income looks like where this is a comfortable option.

Gross DH is £180k
net (cos I’m a director of my own business) £60k
fees for both £37k
it feels tight. Life is bloody expensive
don’t start it.

Better off moving to an area with good schools - at least you will see a ROI by the time you sell the next house.

230K combined 2 full time salaries. 2 kids at private school. South coast. High mortgage. We are not flush after all the bills are paid , save to do one item of home improvement for a few thousand pounds per year.

The very wealthy will have trusts, Grandparents having companies and giving dividends to children or paid in advance.

You would need approx 110k to fund 3 sets. And then it depends on mortgage costs & lifestyle wants, another 100k may be enough or you may need more.

We have 2 at private school, both work full time household earnings 400k. Still feels tight financially but our childcare and mortgage costs are high.

How big is your mortgage?!

Good for you - wish I'd have had your foresight when mind were little.

Great state sixth form provision is the dream.

Both mine are done now, but we had two in private school, primary and secondary, on one income. Income averaged £130K throughout that time. Fees averaged £12K. We have a six year gap though, so some flex between the total costs across the year groups. Our friends all on similar salaries. South East. The figures of pp are well in excess of what you need, but of course it does depend on mortgage and lifestyle.

Isn’t is hard to move for 6th form re friendships?

Most people I know do state primary then private secondary and local really good college for A levels depending on if they have done well in GCSEs

State primary and private secondary would be what I would choose. State primaries are actually more geared up for SEN students than private.

I'm surprised at some of these comments. Some of the private schools in our area aren't the big posh places, they are small non boarding independents where the fee are significantly less, just under £5k per term. A director level friend sent her dc, and I reckon their income to be under £100k. (We live up t'North, where prices are a bit more realistic). As a personal choice I would rather put that money in savings and help them pay for a house deposit, or save for uni, which has to be supplemented to the tune of £10k a year.

I think most kids have to anyway. Different schools have different subjects choices. Both of my dc have had to move for 6th Form because the subjects they wanted weren't offered at their high schools.

We are coming to the end of 2 DC in private. One is now a student and that’s costing us a bit less.

Honestly? Most of our friends from kids state primary went on to local state schools and are doing well. They are at a range of good unis. As is our eldest. We’ve paid £1000s and although they both enjoyed the school you’ve got to question that financial commitment. We would be mortgage free with more exotic holidays etc. We are on just over 300 but if I was making the decision again I’d prob stick with state. There is also - rightly - focus on social mobility and the cachet of a private education does not exist in the same way.

good luck!

@Timeforaglassofwine ok, I only knew a very small few who moved when I was that age & it just strikes me as a hard time to establish new friendship groups as the vast majority of dc at my school stayed for 6th form.

7 figures now - 3 going through. DD started at state primary. Didn’t consider PS at all until income after tax, bills and school fees still allowed a v good standard of living and investment (so once at c140k). I don’t understand people who scrimp and borrow to send a kid to PS. Send to state and pay for some tutoring, extra courses and out of school educational nourishment if it’s a problem

Round here there are no school sixth forms in the state sector. So they have to move!

It’s very area dependent- I live in a county where most of the schools don’t have sixth forms- they consolidate into a few that do which expand significantly to accommodate- there’s also people who leave the grammars as they want a more collegiate 6 th form and those places are taken by dc from comps who do well at gcse and want a selective environment. Some dc also go to a massive 6th form college in the next county so lots of movement.

It’s very area dependent True, I’m a Londoner.

Round here there are no school sixth forms in the state sector. So they have to move!

Didn’t even know that was a thing so obviously very area dependent.

All the secondaries in the county where I live have sixth form attached so lots of them work really hard to secure a place whee they already are. Students have to secure a number of points across their best subjects and have at least a grade six in the subject chosen. Some also ask for grade five in maths and English minimum. It can be tough!

I decided I couldn’t afford it for one child on household earnings of 170k. Not without downsizing and scrimping anyway which I didn’t want to do.

@mrsnjw yes that was true for my 6th form & lots of others I know. I had to get certain grades to stay on.

@curious79 that's what we are doing. Both at state school but have tutors, have the time to play sports and have holidays. You can enrich their education in other ways. My worry was fitting in! Ok you might be able to scrape together enough money for them to go to private but do you have the car, holiday three time a year, ski, Maldives?? I just thought it would make me more miserable 😞

Our fees are currently 34k PA, will be 40k with the vat increase. Two kids.
We paid in advance from selling an investment and grandparents help.
Our income is 25k in a bad year 250k in a good one…no mortgage.
Our state options are very poor.
I can only think of two families at our school with three kids all going private. I’d say the majority of parents that I know well enough to discuss such things have significant grandparent contributions.