Financial Matters
The cost of an independent education is a major factor in the decision making process. For many parents meeting the cost of an independent education involves sacrifices and changing priorities.
School fees vary drastically from school to school and will increase as the child moves through the school. The average termly school fees are:
| School Type |
Day |
Boarding |
| Pre-Preparatory |
£1500 - £2700 |
- |
| Preparatory |
£2000 - £3750 |
£4250 - £6250 |
| Senior |
£2500 - £5000 |
£5000 - £8250 |
There may be extras such as school meals, after school clubs, school trips and entrance fees for public examinations so this should be taken into consideration when choosing which school you can afford. Extras can be anything up to another 10% on the school bill.
If you are intending to send your child to an independent school, it is important, from a financial point of view, to plan in advance. There are tax efficient savings accounts and plans specifically designed to cover this outlay. Speak to one of our school fees specialists for advice on how best to save for school fees.
Planning for School Fees
Disrupting a child's education midway through a vital stage would be very unfortunate, so it is important to prepare for the commitment of paying fees for several years.
The secret of paying school fees is to plan them. Having in place a robust strategy that will enable the school fees to be met in the event of death, an illness or loss of income, better still, having plans in place where fees are not dependant on earned income should ensure that a child will be able to complete their education – no matter what.
It is, in most cases, possible to significantly reduce the financial burden of school fees with professional advice on planning strategies. SFIA would typically save parents tens of thousands on the cost of educating children.
Planning early is preferred but certainly not essential, a significant number of parents approach us with children starting (or attending) senior school.
Financial Assistance
Help is at hand in the form of scholarships or means-tested bursaries for which you may qualify.
The Head and/or Bursar of the school will be able to provide information about any such bursaries and eligibility for them.
Scholarships
- Offered by many schools to attract bright pupils to the school by helping their parents with the fees.
- Awarded as a result of competitive examination, for academic, musical, artistic or all-round merit.
- Vary in value but rarely cover all the fees; these are sometimes ‘topped up’ by bursaries on a means-tested basis.
Bursaries
- Grant from the school to help parents pay the fees.
- In appropriate cases bursaries may be used to augment scholarships.
- It is awarded after a ‘means test’ of family income.
- Unlike a scholarship, it is not based on a competitive examination.
- Often offered to children of clergy, teachers and armed forces personnel, children of former pupils, single parent families and orphans or concessions for brothers and sisters.
Government grants
Service families
The Ministry of Defense (MOD) gives grants to children of parents in all ranks of the armed forces in specific circumstances. Further information can be obtained from Service Education Units or from the Children's Education Advisory Service.
Diplomats
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gives grants to enable children of diplomats and other government servants working abroad to attend boarding schools in Britain. Further information can be obtained from Diplomatic Service Families Association.
Local authority grants
Some education authorities and social service departments give grants to enable children who need to board to go to boarding schools. You should apply to the Director of Education for the area in which you live.
Reasons commonly accepted for boarding need include:
- parents are abroad or move home frequently because of their jobs
- home circumstances are unhelpful to the child's development
- the child is highly talented and can only be properly catered for at a boarding school
- the child suffers from a disability which makes boarding desirable
- the child lives in a remote part of the country and cannot easily travel each day to school
Financial Matters
The cost of an independent education is a major factor in the decision making process. For many parents meeting the cost of an independent education involves sacrifices and changing priorities.
School fees vary drastically from school to school and will increase as the child moves through the school. The average termly school fees are:
| School Type |
Day |
Boarding |
| Pre-Preparatory |
£1500 - £2700 |
- |
| Preparatory |
£2000 - £3750 |
£4250 - £6250 |
| Senior |
£2500 - £5000 |
£5000 - £8250 |
There may be extras such as school meals, after school clubs, school trips and entrance fees for public examinations so this should be taken into consideration when choosing which school you can afford. Extras can be anything up to another 10% on the school bill.
If you are intending to send your child to an independent school, it is important, from a financial point of view, to plan in advance. There are tax efficient savings accounts and plans specifically designed to cover this outlay. Speak to one of our school fees specialists for advice on how best to save for school fees.
Planning for School Fees
Disrupting a child's education midway through a vital stage would be very unfortunate, so it is important to prepare for the commitment of paying fees for several years.
The secret of paying school fees is to plan them. Having in place a robust strategy that will enable the school fees to be met in the event of death, an illness or loss of income, better still, having plans in place where fees are not dependant on earned income should ensure that a child will be able to complete their education – no matter what.
It is, in most cases, possible to significantly reduce the financial burden of school fees with professional advice on planning strategies. SFIA would typically save parents tens of thousands on the cost of educating children.
Planning early is preferred but certainly not essential, a significant number of parents approach us with children starting (or attending) senior school.
Financial Assistance
Help is at hand in the form of scholarships or means-tested bursaries for which you may qualify.
The Head and/or Bursar of the school will be able to provide information about any such bursaries and eligibility for them.
Scholarships
- Offered by many schools to attract bright pupils to the school by helping their parents with the fees.
- Awarded as a result of competitive examination, for academic, musical, artistic or all-round merit.
- Vary in value but rarely cover all the fees; these are sometimes ‘topped up’ by bursaries on a means-tested basis.
Bursaries
- Grant from the school to help parents pay the fees.
- In appropriate cases bursaries may be used to augment scholarships.
- It is awarded after a ‘means test’ of family income.
- Unlike a scholarship, it is not based on a competitive examination.
- Often offered to children of clergy, teachers and armed forces personnel, children of former pupils, single parent families and orphans or concessions for brothers and sisters.
Government grants
Service families
The Ministry of Defense (MOD) gives grants to children of parents in all ranks of the armed forces in specific circumstances. Further information can be obtained from Service Education Units or from the Children's Education Advisory Service.
Diplomats
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gives grants to enable children of diplomats and other government servants working abroad to attend boarding schools in Britain. Further information can be obtained from Diplomatic Service Families Association.
Local authority grants
Some education authorities and social service departments give grants to enable children who need to board to go to boarding schools. You should apply to the Director of Education for the area in which you live.
Reasons commonly accepted for boarding need include:
- parents are abroad or move home frequently because of their jobs
- home circumstances are unhelpful to the child's development
- the child is highly talented and can only be properly catered for at a boarding school
- the child suffers from a disability which makes boarding desirable
- the child lives in a remote part of the country and cannot easily travel each day to school