Private school fees (merged)

stellabgh

cupid_s wrote: »

The OP was asking for advice on how to save/where to put to money. Not peoples opinions on whether private school is worth it or not!

Thanks for sticking to my point, and for the good advice!

emsywoo123

Something else I have thought of...my school offer a direct debit service, spreading the fees over 12 equal payments rather than 3 big hits in the year. There are no penalties for using this service, and alot of parents find it really helpful!

3plus1

If you make the decision to send your DD to private secondary school and not to private primary school, that gives you 7 odd years to save up more money and be able to a) afford school fees and b) afford all the extras like expensive school trips. If you are scrimping now, there is no way you're going to be afford to let your DD go to New York with all her 'rich' friends when the school says that's where her class is going next.

7 years is long enough to invest on the stock market (make use of your ISA stocks allowance each year) and see out any temporary 'blips'.

I went to a state primary school that was quite frankly rubbish, but it didn't do me any harm. When I went to a private secondary school, I was one of the brightest kids amongst my peer group. When we got streamed, I ended up in all of the top sets for each subject. Not trying to show off, but trying to point out that primary school really isn't that important.

I know you want to give your DD the best start in life, but I do think it makes more sense to invest the money in her secondary education - she'll get much more out of it. If you couldn't afford to buy her the same clothes as her peers in primary school, she probably wouldn't remember that. But if you can't afford to let her go away with all of her mates in secondary school - that feeling is going to last a wee bit longer. Plus she might gain some 'cultural awareness' from foreign trips.

Not quite what you were looking for, but I hope it helps a bit anyway.

PS Don't forget to look into bursaries for a) low parental income and b) smart kids! A friend of mine, who was incredibly bright, lost her father when she was relatively young. Because her mum had a low-ish income (she wasn't married so her partner's income didn't count) and my friend was really clever, she got through secondary school without paying a penny. Deserved it too.

natalie1974

emsywoo123 wrote: »

Something else I have thought of...my school offer a direct debit service, spreading the fees over 12 equal payments rather than 3 big hits in the year. There are no penalties for using this service, and alot of parents find it really helpful!

DD1's school offers this too , costs £10 an invoice so only an extra £30 a year .

benood

I've got this really depressing spreadsheet which estimates the cost of privately educating our 4, the grand total is about £1m - of earned income - actual cost about £600k.

If I'm ever feeling flush I look at it - great money saving motivator!;)

I'm hoping to be able to keep them all at the local primary until 11, I agree with Stellabgh that it seems like these days you need to be in a feeder at 7 but I'm hoping that in actual fact if you are prepared to pay the fees at 11+ then places will become available - the power of market forces.

Spendless

stellabgh wrote: »

There are very few places that come up at 11+ ands only the brightest kids get them. More and more people are sending their kids earlier which means that more of us have to send ours earlier to get in!

So do you automatically get a place if you are already privately educated, or do you mean you are not sure she would pass an entrance exam for 11+ if she was state educated first?

stellabgh

Spendless wrote: »

So do you automatically get a place if you are already privately educated, or do you mean you are not sure she would pass an entrance exam for 11+ if she was state educated first?

A bit of both. Much more likely to get a place if you've been at the same school since you were 4 and are just continuing at 11.

whatatwit

Spendless wrote: »

So do you automatically get a place if you are already privately educated, or do you mean you are not sure she would pass an entrance exam for 11+ if she was state educated first?

Whilst your child is not guaranteed a place at 11+, the school does cover old entrance exam papers and helps the child with exam practice.
Most kids at private school will sit the entrance exam not just for their school, but any other local private schools. Often in the hope that they may get an assisted place or scholarship.

If you are thinking of keeping a child in state education to Year 6 and then going private for senior school, It's an idea to find out how many places are available for Year 7 and how many kids they already have in Year 6.

Lunar_Eclipse

natalie1974 wrote: »

I want to move to where you live as all the secondary private schools are £12,000 a year upwards in the area where my daughter goes to school , as although I live in Crayford she goes to school in Medway where I am originally from . The secondary school I am looking at for her is £15,000 a year :eek: plus meals and uniforms on top of that .

I was thinking exactly the same thing. They start at £3k/term plus for reception year. Secondary is more.

From a money saving point of view, we have two children currently both in the state system. We moved to a new area with top performing state schools for this reason, as another poster suggested. The plan is private from 11 and we have started conscious saving in an attempt to reduce/eliminate the mortgage before we need to start paying school fees as they are roughly equal, plus I could also go back into the workforce in a 'proper' (i.e. career type salary paying) job too. Not 100% decided as we are more pleased with the state schools than we thought (I was educated privately so am aware of its merits), but have started taking action anyway since 'to fail to plan is to plan to fail.' If money was no object we would have gone private from the beginning, but secondary school is definitely where education counts and the differences become more obvious, IMO.

devils_advocate

I went to a state primary school that was quite frankly rubbish, but it didn't do me any harm. When I went to a private secondary school, I was one of the brightest kids amongst my peer group. When we got streamed, I ended up in all of the top sets for each subject. Not trying to show off, but trying to point out that primary school really isn't that important.

I would like to put the opposite view to this poster's opinion. IMHO, a good primary school will develop the child's enquiring mind, which will stand the child in good stead for the rigours of the challenge of the secondary school.

There is far more to educating your children than to have them pass exams, and this, I feel is the benefit to a good private school against agood state school.