Paying the fees: a major financial commitment

David Woodgate Chief Executive, Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA)

Terms And Conditions

Paying school fees is a major financial commitment for parents and is not to be undertaken lightly. Apart from a mortgage it is probably the largest expenditure parents can make. The opportunity to spread the payment load is limited as most schools require settlement of the previous term’s fees before allowing a pupil to return for the next term. Consequently, new cars and holidays often have to take a back seat and both parents may need to work to cover even the basic fee. Independent education is therefore, by any standards, a large financial commitment.

Key Advice

• Start planning early – it is a major financial commitment. Talk with the school about what exactly the financial commitment will be, including ‘extras’. It is also worth discovering whether staged payment schemes are available and how to access both scholarship and bursary funding. Be aware that each school has different funds available to assist parents and that if one school cannot help, another school might be able to. However, don’t forget that the most important thing is to find the right school for your child rather than the one offering the best discount.

• Don’t be shy – schools need pupils, and heads and bursars will always be happy to talk with prospective parents, not only about the academic and pastoral aspects of their school but the financial ones as well.

All schools will send prospective parents a copy of the school’s terms and conditions and ask them to sign an acceptance form agreeing to them. This is in effect a contract between the parent and the school in which certain arrangements are set out – one of which covers the payment of fees. School fees are normally due for payment on the first day of term. However, most schools offer the opportunity for staged payments of the annual fees over 10 or 12 months either arranged by the school or through a third party broker.

How a family pays the fees will, no doubt, have been the subject of a considerable amount of planning and preparation. In addition to family funds, there are two key sources of finance:

• government and charities

• the school.

Government And Charities

The Government plays its part in two ways. First, for Service families, there is an already well-established system whereby the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) may be claimed for qualifying individuals. Second, there are schools founded by the Military – the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, The Duke of York’s Royal Military School, Dover (now an Academy) and the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook. Alternatively, there are some state boarding schools where fees (or part of them) are covered by the Government, including Cranbrook, Gordon’s and Sexey’s.

There are a number of charities that will help families in need. Some are specific to certain professions and others are more widely available. Full details of financial help provided can be found via the Educational Trusts Forum’ (ETF) at the Independent Schools Council (ISC). For more information go to www. educational-grants.org

The School

When a parent applies to send a child to an independent school, there will usually be a selection procedure. When filling in the application form, there is a page asking whether parents are seeking assistance in paying the fees. After the selection process is complete, the school may offer the family a place for their child with a discount on the normal fees. This can be:

A scholarship – many schools may offer a scholarship to a particularly talented child for a period of education – perhaps the twoyear GCSE or A-level study period. Such scholarships could involve a percentage reduction in the fees, but this is unlikely to exceed 20 per cent of the full fees and is often less.

A bursary – it is possible that a school would like to offer a place to the child and, noting the previously completed request for financial assistance, may then ask the parents to fill in a meanstesting form and, based on this, offer a percentage reduction in the fees. In particularly deserving cases, this could be as much as a 100 per cent reduction.

Once a child is established and settled in a school, if the family circumstances change and the expected income is no longer there, it is important for the family to talk with the school. Many schools have hardship funds and these may be able to help a family keep a child at the school at least to the end of an academic year and perhaps to the end of a stage in education.

Before becoming Chief Executive of the Independent Schools’ Bursar Association (ISBA), David Woodgate was the group strategy consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants (Australia). He has previously held the post of Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants as well as heading up the Institute of Administrative Management.