Let’s first talk about the listed prices for school fees. These can range from a few thousand a year, to over £50k.

As you would expect, there are a few key factors which determine the fees. Supply and demand prevails.

To keep it as simple as possible, we’re going to outline the 7 most influential factors on independent school fees:

i) Day/Boarding

It seems obvious that boarding costs more – you’ll know yourself how much it costs to feed, shelter and entertain your relentless offspring.

The difference between day and boarding fees is not set in stone, but we would usually expect a typical school operating as a charitable trust to charge an extra £10-15k p/a for boarders.

Average senior boarding fees are currently in the region of £39k p/a. The lowest we can find is Kirkham Grammar School at a veritable bargain of £24,500 p/a. The highest is DLD College London at around £60k p/a, and located directly opposite the Houses of Parliament.

Which brings us onto…

ii) Location

If you are a UK resident, you know what is coming here: You’re likely to pay more for a school in London and the South East than for a more provincial school with a smaller catchment area.

You should also expect to pay a premium for schools in Oxford or Cambridge, just because it’s Oxford and Cambridge.

Location can sometimes be less influential on the price of boarding schools, especially the “heritage” big names which will have fees at the top end of the scale regardless of location.

iii) Prestige

Talking of big names, you will not be surprised to hear that some of these top-brand schools will charge more.

Most schools are deserving of their stellar reputations, but be sure to dig beneath the brand and make sure the fit is right for your young person. Choose suitability over sheen.

iv) Exam results

Exam results can naturally feel a more tangible factor than a mere brand. But it’s important to understand how exam results work in the UK private school sector:

Top results = increased demand =  more selective enrolment of top students = top results = increased demand… ad infinitum.

And increased demand obviously means schools can price accordingly, if they choose to do so.

So there is generally some loose correlation between top exam results and top fees. However, top fees does not always mean top exam results: schools with a specialist provision may need to charge more for this provision without being able to enrol sufficient high-achieving students.

v) Specialist provision or facilities

Private schools have amazing facilities, particularly those which also offer boarding and have invested heavily in facilities to occupy its boarders. Accommodation can range from modest shared dorms to purpose built single studios, which can influence the price.

You may also find fees are higher at schools with their own stables, golf course, or cutting edge new science labs. As you’d expect, smaller and less well-appointed schools tend to be a little cheaper.

Some schools may also exist to provide a specialist learning provision, perhaps for SEN students or international students requiring significant additional language tuition. Such requirements can also increase the costs.

vi) Age and duration of study

In general, fees are lower for younger students. Some schools increase fees as a child progresses through each year group, whereas others will offer different set fees for the prep school, the senior school, and the sixth form.

Obviously, how long your child spends in the private school system will affect your total expenditure. You might choose for your child to attend private school from age 4-18. Or maybe just 7-18? 11-18? 13-18? How much can you get away with!?

Some parents develop savvy mix-and-match strategies. For example, they’ll to school privately from 4-11, with the aim to get them into an academically selective grammar school at 11+. Perhaps they might then fork out again for a top private boarding school at age 16+.

Once you have an idea of which school(s) you’ll be targeting, you can figure out the likely first year fee for your child’s starting point. You can then start your school expenditure forecasts.

vii) Inflation

When you are making your private school fee projections, keep in mind that fees have been increasing at an average of 4% per year for the past decade or so.

Given the uncertainty of inflation in 2023, you could try asking schools directly about their planned fee increases for the coming year.

Please note that, as per our terms, this information should not be considered as professional financial advice. If you do want fee planning advice from a licenced financial adviser, please take to Google or just ask us to introduce you to a specialist firm.

Independent schools all have their own unique procedures and terms. The following information is, in our extensive experience, about as standardised as we can make it – just don’t be too surprised when things vary a little from school to school.

Registration fees

Once you’ve decided to apply to a school, you’ll usually need to pay a registration fee. Schools charge this to issue entrance assessments and ward off non-serious enquirers. They are usually in the range of £50 – 400.

Be sure to check out Top School Guide’s day and boarding school application guides to make sure you don’t waste time and money applying to inappropriate schools.

Confirmation deposit

After your young person has passed entrance assessments, interview, and been made an offer, schools will usually give you 2 – 4 weeks to confirm acceptance. A non-refundable confirmation deposit is usually required, and can range from a few hundred pounds to a full term’s fees.

When confirming your school place, you will also need to sign a contract. Pay particular attention to the cancellation and/or withdrawal clauses. Understandably, schools need to financially protect themselves from withdrawals, so they tend to require a considerable amount of notice – usually a minimum of one full term. In lieu of sufficient notice, you could be liable to pay significant financial compensation (usually 1 or 2 term’s fees – which could be tens of thousands for a boarding place!)

Payment schedule for school fees

There are three terms in the English school year, and the majority of schools request termly payments.

Schools will ask for each term’s payment before the term begins. You will therefore probably be required to pay the first term’s fees in late August, the second term’s fees in late December, and the third and final term’s fees during the Easter break.

Some schools provide an option or facility for parents to pay by monthly direct debit. A small number offer discounts if the full year’s fees are paid upfront.

Let’s assume you are new to this, and need a clear introduction to the basics of how scholarships and bursaries work in British private schools.

Before we go in to more depth on the significant difference between scholarships and bursaries (and how to apply for them) a little background knowledge will help:

i) Many private schools were founded hundreds of years ago by philanthropists who wanted to provide a top education to those in society who could not afford one. Such schools maintain this benevolent identify and ethos.

ii) Furthermore, the Independent Schools Council’s 2023 Census and Annual Report notes that around a third of students in its 1300+ member independent schools recieved some kind of fee assistance in 2023. Independent schools spent £1.2bn on fee assistance in 2023.

iii) All schools want to enrol the best and brightest students to help move them up the exam league tables, deliver sporting success, or wow theatre, concert or gallery visitors.
For schools, enrolling high achieving students is also a fabulous marketing tool.

iv) Most schools operate as charitable trusts, so any profits are reinvested in the school. In return for the accompanying tax breaks, schools are obliged to “give back” in the form of fee assistance for those who cannot afford it. The process is tightly managed.

v) Proprietary or private equity owned schools are usually more flexible and open to direct negotiation when allocating fee reductions.

vi) Fee assistance tends to be available in senior schools, from age 11+. Little to no financial support is available for younger students.

Now, let’s look at that distinction between scholarships and bursaries in more detail.

Scholarships

Scholarships are used by schools to entice the most talented and gifted students towards them. Schools can offer scholarships to academic, sporting, musical, artistic, or “all-round” students.

It can be difficult to dig down into who each school is really trying to attract. For example, one year a school might be using their music scholarship to attract a harpist, then the following year be on the hunt for a French Horn hero.

Scholarships can offer maybe 10-15% off school fees. In some cases, they are just honorary, and the winning scholar may benefit from no fee reduction at all! (They might get extra tuition or support in their scholarly pursuit, or they’ll possibly be granted the right to wear a distinctive cape or hat!)

Privately owned for-profit schools and colleges tend to offer larger fee reduction incentives, mostly in the form of academic scholarships. As private businesses, they are not obliged to “give back”, but offer scholarships to make sure they have some tasty marketing collateral –  which is very often overseas-region-specific. (“We got this Vietnamese student into Oxford Uni – apply now and it could be you!”)

How to apply for private school scholarships

You will have to start with a long list of target schools, outlining your young person’s requirements and preferences as per our day or boarding school application guides.

Then you’ll need to find out exactly which suitable scholarships are available at each school, and what the process is. You’ll either need to check each school’s website or call around.

Be realistic and keep in mind that it will be harder to attain a scholarship at the most in-demand and competitive schools. If getting a scholarship is a deal-breaker, you might benefit from setting your sights on less competitive schools, where your young person could stand out more.

Bursaries

If getting a scholarship and subsequent fee assistance is a deal-breaker, then you may be better off looking for a bursary.

Bursaries exist to provide financial assistance to those who could not otherwise afford the fees. They are not awarded on a student’s ability, but on the family’s ability to pay (“means-tested.”)

To be awarded a bursary, your young person still needs to demonstrate that they are a great candidate for the school. At the same time, you will need to open up your finances for whatever examination the school (or usually a professional third party) wishes to make.

These financial assessments are usually very thorough and will look into salaries, savings, debts, assets, house size, lifestyle and expenditure etc…

Again, there is no hard and fast rule as to the number or amount of bursaries available. Many schools limit the bursaries to 10 – 50% of the school fees, but some wealthy and committed schools like St Paul’s can provide up to 100% (or even a little more to help with uniform, travel expenses etc.)

Some schools will publish their income and asset threshold for bursaries on their websites. For example, St Paul’s states that, for 2023/24, “those with gross household incomes below £68,000 pa may be eligible for an award of up to 100% of fees, subject to net assets.”

But those are London numbers. Schools in more provincial areas will likely have lower thresholds (though they’ll possibly have less funds available in the bursary pot.)

How to apply for a private school bursary

As each school has different bursary critera, you will need to get out that longlist of schools and get calling.

If you live in London, you are fortunate that a group of 33 proactive schools has founded the London Fee Assistance Consortium. You can search for schools nearby and find out at what entrance points their bursaries are available. This is more of a directory than a centralised bursary application system – so you will still need to approach each school individually.

Make sure you have your young person’s supporting documents (i.e school reports) ready. Schools may ask you to send these for review before taking an application further.

Other school fee reduction opportunities

Well, free money is hard to come by isn’t it? There are some benevolent organisations such as The Royal Springboard Foundation, which aims to give significantly disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity of a boarding education. However, if you are a parent reading up on this topic for your child, they could already fall into the over-privileged category just by having you on their side!

Schools will also provide discounted fees for certain professions such as clergy, medical professionals, British military, and their own employees.

Modest fee reductions 5-10% are usually available as sibling discounts, the downside being that you are still having to stump up for more than one child!

One of the smartest things you can do to manage school fees is plan early. Believe it or not, Top School Guide has received enquiries from people who are planning their child’s education even before conception!

For those of you with a child already on the ground, British residents can invest up to £9k a year, tax free in a child ISA. Max this out, let compound interest do its thing, and save up for those senior school fees.

There are plenty of other clever financial things you can do with offshore investment bonds, pensions, your own ISA allowance, the bank of granny and grandad etc.

Many families will also relocate within the UK to gain access to the best private education. In the age of remote working, why not sell your 3 bed semi in Barnes, and move somewhere with fresh air and quality private schools?

We’re not qualified or authorised to offer financial advice on school fee planning, nor are we experts on the UK property market. If you’d like an introduction to financial advisers or relocation consultancies, please just drop us a note.

You can probably put all the components above together, and figure out how you will be able to afford the best possible education for your child.

Essentially, you need to piece together where you can live, what you’re likely to have to pay, and when you’ll have to pay it.

Here’s a quick checklist on how to get the best value (not necessarily cheapest) British independent education:

i) Save early and get professional advice on all those financial loopholes you don’t yet know about.

ii) Housing will probably be your biggest expenditure and an area where significant savings could be made. Be flexible on location if you can and check out our guide on Relocating within the UK for Education.

iii) Make a plan for your child’s entire education up until the age of 18. Our guide on Planning  a Private Education from Birth should help. Come up with a strategy or two and price up your plans.

iv) To get the best value, you must buy wisely: Always focus on your child’s needs first and then target schools to suit. As malleable as children may be, trying to force a square peg into a round hole will give you a terrible return on your investment – usually in the form of an unhappy young person.

v) If you think you might qualify, always check about scholarship and bursary opportunities when making an initial approach to schools. There is no harm in asking and the threshold might be higher than you anticipate.

Top School Guide is here to help

Please get in touch if you require any further support or advice. We’re here to help you research, choose, and apply to the best private schools in the UK.

hello@topschoolguide.com

+44 1892 862554