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Many hard-pressed parents are already switching from boarding to day school places or even back to the state sector, but in Davison’s view, the majority of private schools are bending over backwards to prevent a loss of pupils.
Traditional forms of assistance come via scholarships and bursaries — the former invariably awarded on the basis of achievement in some area of the curriculum, the latter more concerned with pressing financial need. As many as one third of pupils at ISC member schools receive help with their fees, according to an ISC survey.
In a bid to beat the current economic slowdown however, some schools are going further. Wellington College in Berkshire is breaking new ground with the introduction of long-term loans that may spread the financial burden over many years; certainly long after the child has left.
While such loans, which may in theory be secured against the family home, are controversial, all independent schools are looking more closely at both the cost of fees and payment terms, says Sheila Cooper, executive director of the Girls’ School Association (an association of heads of independent girls-only schools).
‘Schools may not be feeling the pinch in terms of applicants yet, but they are not complacent. The majority are certainly looking at reducing costs where possible and finding more flexible ways for parents with changing circumstances to pay their bills,’ she said.
For those educating their children privately, school fees are undoubtedly the second highest expense that a typical family will incur after their home, but Cooper warns of unwary parents being seduced by what she calls ‘non-essential frills’.
‘If money is tight, look solely at the quality of the teaching and the ethos of the school. Expensive schools that spend vast amounts on fantastic sports facilities may not be spending enough on really good teachers.’
If your budget is limited, it may be worth saving for just a limited number of years in private education, while allowing the maintained system to bear the cost of the rest. But which years should they be?
Vicky Tuck, head at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, believes that the sixth form is vital and stresses that as a precursor to university, ‘the help, support and sheer depth of study that A-level students encounter at a good independent school is second to none’.
Dr Bernard Trafford, head of Newcastle Royal Grammar (an independent, rather than state grammar), agrees that the 16-18 year group ‘benefit enormously from a good private school’s approach to independent study’ and argues that just as canny parents can use some state primaries as a springboard to grammar schools, elite sixth forms can be a passport to the best universities.
Nick Dorey, head at Bethany School, speaks for many when he says that private education for the 4-11 age group ‘isn’t a priority’ — there being so many good maintained schools for this age group — and argues that all the teenage years are critical.
‘By moving to an independent school when your child is 13 or so, you give them a couple of years to settle in before GCSE options loom and hopefully, by the time they sit the exams, they will really have learned how to study.’
‘A supportive private school will get them through the difficult adolescent years and if you can afford to let them stay until they are 18, you will be giving them far more than icing on the cake.’
Case study: bursary
After achieving top grades in her Key Stage 2 exams at junior school last summer, it was the view of her state school teachers that Melanie Callan, an 11-year-old from Blackburn, was an obvious candidate to sit the entrance exam to the independent Wakefield Girls High School. She did so and passed with flying colours.
Although her mother Sharon says that the £9,500 or so annual fees seemed ‘an impossibility’ at the time, her daughter was awarded a bursary of 90 per cent and is now doing well in Year 7.
‘Both of the local schools Melanie chose were full and eventually we were offered a place at a school we really didn‘t rate. Although Wakefield offered to help with the fees, I still took the view initially that the High School was really only for privileged kids and I worried that even though she was bright, she wouldn’t fit in,’ says Sharon.
‘But having now been to a couple of cheese and wine events and seen for myself how happy Melanie is, I feel just as comfortable with the school and the teachers as she clearly does. As for the bursary, that‘s become irrelevant.
‘Her uniform cost about £210, which the family was able to help me with as I am currently not working, but when it comes to going on skiing trips at £800 a time, there is absolutely no way that I can afford that sort of money. Luckily for me, Melanie accepts that.’
‘The most important thing is that my daughter is doing well and the teachers are very pleased with her progress. Although I am finding my own share of the term fees a bit hard at the moment, I pay what I can when I can and the school has been really understanding about it.
‘Melanie’s out each day at 7.30 to catch the bus and when she gets home at 5.45, there’s homework, but she’s managing to keep all her old friends from the junior school as well as making some lovely new ones.’
‘She’s a bright girl and she deserves a chance to learn in a decent school. Given what’s happened to us in the past year, I no longer believe that private schooling is reserved exclusively for the rich.’
Hidden costs
Yearly fees (day school): £10,000
Ski trip £1,000
Uniform/PE kit £250
Books/exams £200
Violin £300
Music lessons per hour £50
Year 9 Camp £150
Cricket/ballet/riding gear £100
Theatre trip £50
TOTAL £12,100
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