Contributions for textbooks...

john_s_2

Sorry if this is a much discussed subject. I've had a little search and couldn't find anything that answers my question. And Google hasn't yielded anything obvious either.

My daughter has a conditional offer to a sixth-form college. She received a letter today that says she has to pay £75 for textbooks. Furthermore she has to pay a £50 deposit, which is returned when the books are returned when she leaves.

So I understand this to mean that they want her to hire the books for £75.

In short my question is, "Can they insist on this?" It's a regular state-funded FE college.

I'd be quite happy to buy the books myself - even if this comes to more than £75. In fact, until today, I was fully expecting to do so. (My elder daughter went to a different college and that was the arrangement.)

But the letter doesn't say anything about this possibility. I tried ringing them but after getting passed from pillar to post I was eventually told I needed to speak to the Principal - who of course wasn't in today. I just wanted to clarify with them whether there was a way my daughter could keep the books at the end.

I realise the obvious answer is to just not return them and lose the £50 deposit. But I'd feel 'wrong' doing so. I'd happily pay the going rate to buy them.

Hope this makes sense, and is posted on the correct board.

MrsManda

That seems odd, have never heard of a sixth form charging for lending books let alone also asking for an additional deposit. What is she studying?
I'd ask precisely what the £75 is for, I don't see how they can insist on you spending the money renting books off them if you get your own books though would necessarily recommend buying them unless your daughter is certain she'll use them again or buying them comes to considerably less than £75.

Do they not have a library?

A quick search did show that a couple of 6th forms do charge a deposit for textbooks which the student gets back when they return the textbooks at the end of the course, but couldn't find anywhere which involved a payment on top of the returnable deposit

john_s_2

Thanks for your reply. The applicable wording is "£75 as a contribution towards books and materials over both the lower and upper sixth years ... £50 is a book deposit which is returnable when your son/daughter leaves the college, provided all books are returned and all financial obligations have been met."

My suspicion is that this is a request for a voluntary donation, thinly veiled as an obligatory payment. Which is what I was trying to clarify on the phone today, without success. I've found some information via Google saying that schools can't insist on donations but I don't know if this extends to sixth form FE colleges. I couldn't find anything that said one way or the other.

She is taking four AS Levels, nothing particularly unusual.

As I said in my earlier post, I'm quite happy - and was expecting - to buy the books. I'd expect to pay about £20 each so £75 in total would be about right - to buy them, not hire them!

glider3560

Sounds very much voluntary - I would have thought the government covers all mandatory course fees.

My college asked for a £25 deposit and loaned us all the books we needed. One department even bought new books every year and allowed the students to keep them (for free). Subjects like art and the sciences used large amount of materials, which were also paid for by the government. We were even allowed to take part time courses for free and pay no fees or costs.

student_advisor

glider3560 wrote: »

Sounds very much voluntary - I would have thought the government covers all mandatory course fees.

They don't.

Our college charges a "materials fee" for some courses such as art & design, to cover consumables used on the course. It doesn't cover all equipment or even paper and it is not optional. (Although those in real financial hardship can apply for help.)

We don't charge all students on all courses, but I think colleges can levy such a fee if they want to.

If I were you, I would clarify whether or not it's mandatory and what exactly it is meant to cover.

Renya

I do Photography A2 and I was charged a materials fee of £90 for the whole year, yet we still have to pay for extra photographic paper, extra sketchbooks, paper above A4, card to mount work, and "mandatory" trips to galleries.

I'd agree that it sounds like a voluntary contribution, unless the books are exclusive to that college, you'd probably be able to find the same or similar ones cheaper elsewhere

john_s_2

Thanks for the replies. I spoke to the head on the phone today (I think*). I said that I'd expected to buy the books separately. He pointed out that if I were to do so it could easily cost £200 plus - four courses over two years @ £25 each (approx). OK, he was using upper-estimates (and assuming that all four courses would carry on in the second year) but £75 doesn't sound so bad as a hire fee after all ;-)

He said something about not getting the same funding per-pupil as a school (u/16 I guess) and how they'd shelled out £50k on books recently.

I've decided that I could be making more trouble than it's worth to make too much of a principle out of this. And it's my daughter that would suffer at the end of the day. Which I know is what schools milking contributions out of us are playing on, but hey ho. She's my youngest and at the end of her schooling so I got away quite lightly :-)

* He sounded like a head. I definitely felt 14 years old again, with my head bowed, mumbling, "Sorry sir, won't happen again sir."

glider3560

john s, do you mind me asking if this is Woodhouse College that you are referring to?

The reason I ask is that I was chatting to someone at uni today (who went to Woodhouse College). She mentioned that her college charged £75 for books, which reminded me of your post. I didn't ask all the details, but it sounded as though she thought it was a rip-off, as others colleges manage to fund books for their students with their funding alone.

RHB

I was going to suggest this was Woodhouse as well!

To be fair they have got a ridiculously large number of pupils given the size of their facilities, something like 1100 to juggle, although given the background of many of the pupils/schools they draw from I would be surprised if everyone could cobble together £125 before even starting.

john_s_2

At the risk of giving disclosive information, yes, it is Woodhouse!

Molly41

I bought all my DD books secondhand and it came to nothing like that amount!