WWYD - taking 25% tax free lump sum earlier than originally planned to pay school fees...

QrizB

tanoshii said:

  We live rurally and only have one state option, currently in Special Measures. 

My local comp went into Special Measures and it improved it immensely. That year and for 3-4 years following it was a much better school.

Sadly when it dropped out of Special Measures the quality began to slide again.

tanoshii

Hoenir said:

tanoshii said:

 I can't decide whether the whole idea is too risky, given that we want to retire when hubby gets to 60 and that our income can be so variable month to month... Unfortunately, it is not an option to put the children in state schools now.  

Withdrawing £90k from your pensions now appears neither here or there in the bigger scheme of things.  As with all matters financial on paper looks so easy. The reality is that it's the unexpected curved balls in life that blow the best laid plans off course. When financal stress hits everything can unravel very quickly. Particularly if one is leveraged to the hilt with no zero ability to absorb shocks. 

Thanks for replying. Yes - you're right re. the unexpected curve balls.
We have taken risky decisions in the past which have definitely paid off for us, but we might not be so lucky going forward. I guess we do have the option for one of us or both of us to secure permanent work and more regular secure income, especially if we have property 3 (located in a city). This might be the wisest course of action to de-risk what we're about to do.  

tanoshii

DRS1 said:

tanoshii said:

DRS1 said:

You couldn't find a cheaper/closer school?

Why are you buying property 3?

Is the school a boarding school?  I am sure some people could tell by the level of the fees if they are boarders or day pupils.

If they are day pupils and you need to be closer to them why not rent somewhere if it is only for 2 or 3 years?

The local private school (where they have been since year 7) is not great (behaviour wise and academically) and expensive, whilst the local state is in Special Measures and experiencing lots of issues. Our kids went to a state primary which was ok (though requires improvement) and we had intended for them to go to the state comprehensive, but decided against it at the last minute when we heard horror stories from neighbours.

The private school further away (1.5 hours away) is a day school, cheaper and significantly more academic than their current private. I have looked into renting but there is not much supply unfortunately and it would feel like we'd be throwing money away compared to buying and doing holiday letting to cover our costs. 

All makes sense.  Is that an hour and a half there and back or each way?  6 hours a day travelling would certainly take it out of you if you are driving them there and back.  Presumably you can't get a job in or near the school to save on some of the trips?

Or does the school have a bus which could take them in and bring them back?

Unfortunately, each way - there could be a new school bus service starting from September, but its 40 mins drive from our house one way! I think it would be utterly miserable for the kids to commute that far each day anyway. 

tanoshii

DRS1 said:

Marcon said:

DRS1 said:

Marcon said:

DRS1 said:

You couldn't find a cheaper/closer school?

Why are you buying property 3?

Is the school a boarding school?  I am sure some people could tell by the level of the fees if they are boarders or day pupils.

If they are day pupils and you need to be closer to them why not rent somewhere if it is only for 2 or 3 years?

They are clearly day pupils - otherwise travel distance wouldn't be an issue: 'buying property 3 near our kids' school (too far to commute from property 1)'.

The fees quoted are going to be a 'top up' to other available parental funds - they wouldn't cover 3 children at private schools.

I am (fortunately) unfamiliar with the cost of private schools these days but what is the additional cost of making the children boarders instead of day pupils?  If they boarded then commuting would only come into it about 6 times a year (Oh and maybe half term so 12 times).  No need for property 3 at all then.

After all if the OP wants them to have the full public school experience they really are not going to get it just being day pupils

Very few of the UK's public schools are full boarding, some offer some sort of boarding, others none at all - eg St Paul's and Merchant Taylors' are both public schools which don't offer boarding - but there's no evidence that's what OP wants. They just seem keen to avoid the state system!

But as with all these 'what would you do...' posts, most of the important personal information is (happily) missing. 'Why would you enrol 3 children at a day school which isn't within commuting distance?' would be top of my list. Doubtless the family had their reasons, but they seem to have ended up in a right pickle as a result.

Yes my school was a day pupils only school - then again it was also in London and only 40 minutes away on the bus so my parents did not need to move.  There is of course absolutely nothing wrong with the OP wanting the best possible education for their children and hopefully when they read this thread they will see people are trying to suggest ways they might achieve that without going overboard financially.

A 40 mins commute each way is indeed very feasible. Thanks for your post - ultimately it is about wanting the best education and experience for our children. I appreciate we are very lucky to have choices. 
This thread has made me realise that I should maybe just try to find a permanent job with a more secure income source. At least there will be more employment options for me near property 3.  

tanoshii

QrizB said:

tanoshii said:

  We live rurally and only have one state option, currently in Special Measures. 

My local comp went into Special Measures and it improved it immensely. That year and for 3-4 years following it was a much better school.

Sadly when it dropped out of Special Measures the quality began to slide again.

I agree that improvements can happen quickly, but it feels like a gamble given that the kids will be going into years 9 and 10 - we don't have a lot of time to wait for changes to happen.  

QrizB

My school bus was almost an hour each way. A great opportunity to do homework, read books and socialise. We had a roleplaying game group that would play during the bus journey (rolling dice wasn't impossible) and there was a card school too. Well before my seven years were up I could tell where on the route we were from the potholes and road noises, without looking out of the window!

Sorry, I'm reminiscing again.

Cobbler_tone

I can’t read this anymore, it’s making me more and more stressed. 

BrilliantButScary

Is there not another comprehensive, less than 90 minutes away, that is not in special measures, that your children could attend?

Will it just be you and the children, at the new house
during term time, with your husband remaining at the family home? 

Who will be running/working in the family business, while the children attend private school?

Have you asked the children what they want to do? Are they aware of the consequences of choices that are being made?

You do seem to be property rich and cash poor, with complications attached to downsizing and releasing equity.

QrizB

tanoshii said:

QrizB said:

tanoshii said:

  We live rurally and only have one state option, currently in Special Measures. 

My local comp went into Special Measures and it improved it immensely. That year and for 3-4 years following it was a much better school.

Sadly when it dropped out of Special Measures the quality began to slide again.

I agree that improvements can happen quickly, but it feels like a gamble given that the kids will be going into years 9 and 10 - we don't have a lot of time to wait for changes to happen.  

If they're joining in years 9 and 10, and presumably leaving at the end of Year 11,  I would expect that they'll get all the benefits of whatever additional funding (and parachuted head teacher) the school gets while in SM and won't be there long enough for it all to go to pieces again afterwards.

Edit to add: is there a different MSE forum section where schooling gets discussed? The Pension board isn't a natural home for this sort of thing!

DRS1

Before this get whisked away to another board I should mention that some schools have scholarships or bursaries which can help with the fees.