School Fees
UK private school fees vary widely
Private school fees are substantial and have tended to rise faster than other forms of inflation in the past (as much as 43% between 2003 and 2008 according to a survey conducted by a major UK financial institution).
For example, if you take an average private school's fees of around £3480 per term and assume inflation of just 3.5% per cent per annum, then the cost of sending one child to prep and senior school for 13 years from age 5-18, is almost £175,000. This does not take account of any extras, nor does it consider the cost of boarding. When these are added in, you could be looking at a total cost of well over £300,000 and it's an enormous investment in your child's future.
Since the abolition of student grants, funding education has become an issue for everyone who hopes their children or grandchildren will attend university. Indeed, those with children in private sector schools sometimes wryly remark that one of the advantages of paying fees is that it prepares you for the cost of university. The average graduate now begins working life with over £20,000 of debts and that figure is set to rise.
The good news is that inflation over the years of education plays a major part in creating that daunting total to fund prep and senior school, so the cost in today's money would be substantially lower. This raises the important point that by planning to fund education and implementing a savings strategy now, time will be on your side, instead of working against you. In other words, investment growth may match or exceed inflation over the period and help you meet costs as they arise.
Fortunately, various tax reliefs remain available which can help families fund private school fees, although the fees themselves do not attract relief directly. While it is never too late to benefit from some of them, the sooner you start to plan how you are going to pay for this commitment which may, depending on the age of your child or children, stretch out over a decade and a half or more - the greater your choice will be about how you do so.
We would always recommend that you consult an independent specialist adviser for school fees planning.
Typical termly school fee ranges:
Pre-Prep (age 2-7)
£700 to £1200
Junior/Prep (age 7-11/13)
£1400 to £4250 (Day)
£2055 to £5010 (Boarding)
Senior (age 11/13-18)
£3360 to £5390 Day
£5640 to £8360 Boarding