Money Matters

School Fees

Our current School fees can be found on our website. Fees are reviewed annually by the Governors, and parents will be notified by a letter from the Chair of Governors at least a term in advance of any fee change.

Fees are billed three times a year in advance of the term to which they refer and any extras (e.g. music lessons, trips or activities) are billed in arrears. Bills are emailed to parents at the following times of year:

August – Michaelmas/Advent fees (including extras from the previous term)

December – Epiphany/Lent fees (including extras from the previous term)

April – Whitsun/Trinity fees (including extras from the previous term)

Payment is always due no later than the first day of the term.

Supplemental Charges

Any extra-curricular activities such as instrumental music lessons, trips and visits in which you agree your child may participate shall be deemed to be supplemental to items met by the fees and charged for accordingly. In particular, all public examination charges and any additional charges incurred by the School in providing for the special educational needs of your child shall be charged as supplemental to the fees.

Supplemental charges are invoiced in advance and in arrears depending on the nature of the charge. Where charged in arrears they must be paid in full before the first day of the term following the supplemental invoice except for invoices for supplemental charges raised after 30th April which must be paid before the 31st July following.

Methods of Payment

Flywire

You can pay your school fees on our website via Flywire, our preferred payment partner. Flywire is secure, safe, and fully trusted by Wells Cathedral School; Flywire enables you to:

• Pay from your home country in your home currency (for most countries) with competitive foreign exchange rates and no hidden fees with a Best Price Guarantee for bank transfers in your currency

• Use payment methods like bank transfer, credit card, and e-wallet (Alipay, PayPal), all available online from your home;

• Track your payment anytime via the web, Flywire mobile app, or by contacting Flywire directly. Flywire multilingual customer support is available around the clock by phone, live chat, email, and more.

Direct debit (UK bank accounts)

To give your authorisation to make all future payments for fees and extras by Direct Debit, please complete our Direct Debit instruction form and return it to the Fees Manager, Wells Cathedral School, The Bursary, College Road, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2SX.

For those having returned a completed Direct Debit instruction, all future bills for fees and extras will be emailed giving the required 10 working days’ notice of the Direct Debit. The date on which payment will be made will be indicated on the face on the bill.

Bank transfer (if not using Flywire)

For the bank details to use for overseas payments, please visit our Parent Portal.

Deposit Refunds

When your child leaves the School, we will want to return your deposit. The refund will be shown on the very last bill, usually the Leavers Bill issued in August. The Bursary will ask for details to make arrangements when the bill is emailed.

Insurance

Parents are strongly advised to insure pupils’ persons against injury, and their personal effects against loss of damage. In particular, insurance should cover clothing, musical instruments, laptops, cameras, watches, tablets, mobile phones, cash and any other valuables. An extension to the parents’ household policy may often suffice. Parents may also wish to consider school fees insurance, which provides cover for fees in the event that a pupil is unable to attend school for extended periods due to illness. The School does not recommend any specific insurer or insurance policy, but an indicative list of providers offering such insurance products can be obtained from the Bursar on request.