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Education

What is the cost...

54 replies

TigerBabyyy · 29/09/2013 16:53

Of private primary schools in lancashire north west area?

Are there alot of extra things you have to pay for?

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Lonecatwithkitten · 29/09/2013 18:45

Most private schools publish their fees on their websites so you can check the ones you are interested in.
I'm not in your area.

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TigerBabyyy · 29/09/2013 19:25

I ve had alook on there websites and cant see a price list.

I thought they didnt publish their fees as they wanted people to maybe ring instead so they could use sales tactics?

Just a thought though

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difficultpickle · 29/09/2013 20:11

Are you sure the fees aren't on their websites? I'm not in your area but I can't think of a school I've looked at that didn't have fee info on their website. Do a sitemap search as sometimes it isn't always obvious.

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lunar1 · 29/09/2013 20:16

I'm in the nw, the prep is 6700 per year and the senior is 9000. Extras last year were less than 100 but are obviously more when they start residential trips and extra curricular lessons.

Uniform can all be bought second hand in the PTA shop. New it was about £250 per year. Nobody cares if you buy second hand. To be honest most parents just pass it on if they know you have a younger one who will use it.

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TigerBabyyy · 29/09/2013 20:16

Checked all their website, its no where to be seen

I did manage to find their fees on an education website £2000 per term.

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difficultpickle · 29/09/2013 20:19

£2000 per term? What age is that? Seems very cheap

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Lonecatwithkitten · 29/09/2013 20:24

In general you do have to search about a bit it is often hidden under admissions information. The only school round here that doesn't have it's fees on the website is really a "if you have to ask how much this is not the place for you" establishment.

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TigerBabyyy · 29/09/2013 20:44

Its for age 3-11

Dh thinks its expensive

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difficultpickle · 29/09/2013 20:55

Ours is nearly £3000 per term for reception and nearly £5000 per term once they get to year 5. Hence my !

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TigerBabyyy · 29/09/2013 23:24

Wow!!!!!!!

Are you in london

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difficultpickle · 30/09/2013 00:05

No but we are in the south east. I think fees are even higher in London and there are schools near us with even higher fees.

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BadgerB · 30/09/2013 06:10

In the North Midlands £3000 to £4000 is the usual price for primary/prep, going up to £5k to £6K for Ys 7&8 in preps that go to age 13.

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happygardening · 30/09/2013 07:17

"if you have to ask how much this is this is not the place for you" establishment."
Even the most expensive and well know state their fees very clearly usually in the admissions section.
I suspect you won't find many/any in the UK charging less than £2000 I've just looked up two of our local not overly well regarded schools with no specialised teachers both want at least £2700 for infants rising to over £3000 for juniors. For a well regarded one with specialised teachers add at the very least another £1300 per term. We're not in London.

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TigerBabyyy · 30/09/2013 10:24

Do you think its worth the money?

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ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 30/09/2013 10:50

Some prep schools are worth every penny and others are not. It depends on each individual school, the quality of the local state primary schools and what will suit each individual child.

For us, a prep school was the best option but had we lived in a different part of London or been eligible for the local faith primaries, then it would have been a more complicated choice.

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crazymum53 · 30/09/2013 11:00

My old school in Lancashire charges £2200 per term for Infants and Juniors but this does not include lunch which is extra. You may be able to take a packed lunch though!
On the website it states that there will be extra charges for trips (residential or day) but this would apply to any school (state or private).
You may also need to pay extra for instrumental music lessons and sports activities where an outside coach is used who doesn't teach at the school, but this sort of activity wouldn't be compulsory.

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Norudeshitrequired · 30/09/2013 11:17

I'm int he north west and most if the private primary schools near me (we have quite a few to choose from) are in the region of £6000-£7000 per year. Some include the extras in the fees and others charge for those separately.
What part of Lancashire are we talking? Bury, Bolton Blackburn?
Yo usually find fees info under the admission tab.

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happygardening · 30/09/2013 12:09

Do I think it's worth the money?
We've paid virtually all the way since nursery for one or other of my DS's there are times when either at the time or in retrospect it wasn't worth the money, currently I feels it's worth every hard earned penny. You need to look at your child and try and decide where they will thrive (not an easy thing to do), work out what you can expect and want from education/what you can afford and factor in where you live. We're rural we have excellent state senior schools but I still pay for one DS.

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TigerBabyyy · 30/09/2013 13:12

Do you feel your children would be the same academically if they went to a state school?

Are they smaller classes in private school?

What made you choose private school?

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exexpat · 30/09/2013 13:18

Just google the name of the school and 'fees' and I would be very surprised if you couldn't find what you're looking for (even Eton has its fees very clearly on its website). You can do the same for comparable schools to get an idea what the going rate is. Whether it is worth it is entirely a question for you, and depends on you child, his/her needs, and what the alternatives are like. Why are you thinking of going private?

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TigerBabyyy · 30/09/2013 13:31

Your going to think im a right snob for saying this but...

I left school 12 years ago with the lowest GCSEs you could get.

Alot of classes i was in had children in that misbehaved and took up alot of the teachers time etc.

Primary school was very much the same. I went to the very nearest school as it was convenient for my mum. The schools i went to had a good exam success rate, but there was also alot of children in there that came from rough backgrounds and disrupted the class.

I dont want this for dd. shes only 11 months, but i want her to really thrive academically etc and get good grades etc.

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happygardening · 30/09/2013 14:07

OP in answer to you questions:
I suspect in terms of academic results my DS2 who we still pay for would probably achieve the same type of grades as he was offered a place at one of the countries top 10 grammar schools. But we are interested in universities outside of the UK a natural next step for those who've boarded since an early age and when we were making our decision state schools were definitely not up to speed on these. The very bright we're being aimed at Oxbridge in fact I doubt many are now really pushing the Ivy League etc for the very able.
Yes the classes are usually significantly smaller, at prep 8-15 depending on the subject and yr, at senior single for some classes e.g, MFL there are 7-8 in others up to a max of 18.
Finally we chose it because we like boarding my DS's boarded from yr 3, and I like the ethos/opportunities/staff and it was a good fit for my DS.

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exexpat · 30/09/2013 14:16

She's only a baby! You have got plenty of time to think about it, but I would recommend looking at your local primaries too - unless you now live in an area with a lot of social problems, I think you are unlikely to find that much disruption in primary classes.

And if you are not impressed with your local schools, you might find it better value to move to an area with better schools, rather than committing to paying school fees for the whole 14 years of school education for your DD and any other children you have. You are probably looking at a bill of something like £150,000 per child for the total 14 years (not allowing for inflation).

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exexpat · 30/09/2013 14:23

Oh, and to answer your question: DC1 has been at a private school since year 7, DC2 since year 3. They are both very academically inclined children (pretty much everyone in our family is an Oxbridge graduate, and they are looking as if they may follow the same pattern), and the schools they are now at suit them better than the local state alternatives.

I realised when DC1 started year 7 that he had been seriously bored and underchallenged at his old state primary, which is why I decided to move DC2 earlier. The school they moved from is 'outstanding', extremely popular and oversubscribed - it just didn't suit us.

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Norudeshitrequired · 30/09/2013 14:39

Your going to think im a right snob for saying this but...

I don't think you are a snob at all. Our own childhood experiences shape the decisions that we make for our own children. Somebody who has had an awful state school experience or not met their academic potential in state school is more likely to want something different for their own children if they can afford it. Of course there are lots of people who despite a poor experience themselves are set against private school for a variety of reasons, but it doesn't make you a snob in the slightest way.