Recently, I’ve been working with several clients to help them pay and save for private school education. That set me thinking, so I thought I’d share some of the learning. Before discussing how best to pay for fees and saving for private school education, I’ll start with costs.

Private School Education Costs

According to the 2019 Census and Annual Report of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), fees are rising at or below the rate of inflation. On average, day school fees, which apply to  the majority of children, are now at £4,763 per term. That’s £14,289 p.a. Of course, fees vary by school and by location. Schools in London and the South East are typically more expensive and also show higher levels of fee increase, too.

Table 1 shows the variation in averages by type of school.

How to Pay for Your Child’s Education

If you have the lump sum available, the best advice is usually to pay in advance and at least avoid the future inflation in fees. However, if like most parents, you don’t have that level of cash asset, you’ll need to save. Start as early as you can, is the best advice.

Also, don’t forget to seek out opportunities to reduce your fees. For example, did you know that, again according to the latest ISC Census, 34% of pupils in private school education receive help with their fees. Most of this assistance comes from the schools themselves in the form of bursaries and means-tested scholarships.

Setting Up a Savings Plan for Private School Education

A good place to start with saving is to maximise your ISA allowances, to save tax. Then, consider what type of savings plan is right for you on top of your ISAs. This is where I can help, by exploring your preferred approach to investing and pointing you in the most appropriate direction.

As you can see, saving for private school education fees can be rather costly. Let me help you to plan by creating a savings plan tailored for your needs. I’ll demonstrate different ways to invest in order to pay for this. A solid financial plan can be incredibly useful and provide some answers to key questions, too:

– “How do I invest?”

– “Can I afford it?”

Finally, contact me for a complementary chat, to see if a Financial Plan will help you. As ever, this blog has been written as a guide to saving and investing and is not a personal recommendation.