Ten ways to cut private school fees

According to The Good Schools Guide, almost a third of those educated in the independent sector receive financial assistance, in either the form of a scholarship or a bursary.

It pays to know as much about these as you can – quite literally – given some bursaries can cover the full cost of fees, while others reward the parents of gifted children by knocking thousands of pounds off their costs.

With soaring fees outpricing many middle-class families, it’s more important than ever to know the tricks to navigating the system.

And prospective parents may face greater hurdles to getting support with fees if Labour comes to power at the next election.

The party has said it will close a loophole that means that parents currently avoid having to pay 20pc VAT on private school fees.

In response, headteachers have warned that independent schools would need to reduce the bursaries and fee discounts they can offer in order to stay afloat. At the same time, while wealthier parents may be able to take on the additional cost, those on lower salaries may be priced out.

Teachers warn this could mean vulnerable children miss out. Labour’s policy means that parents paying average non-boarding secondary school fees of around £17,600 a year could need to find around an extra £3,500 for each child. Labour originally said it would remove private schools’ charitable status but has changed course and instead is focused on closing the tax-saving loophole for parents.

So, what can you do?

Seek out specialist bursaries

Most independent schools offer bursaries for day and boarding, which range in value from 5pc, to transformational bursaries covering 100pc fee remission, as well as covering school uniform and extra-curricular enrichment.

Whatever school you favour, your first port of call is the bursar to ask what’s available, whether there’s certain eligibility criteria and how to apply. There are standard bursaries, of course, but many schools have niche offerings available for local children.

At Warwick School, for example, the CV34 Award is ring-fenced for boys who live within that postcode and can cover up to 100pc of fees. At Roedean School in Sussex, girls from state schools within 20 miles who meet certain academic criteria can apply for the Brighthelm Award which combines an academic scholarship with a means-tested bursary. And at Charterhouse in Surrey, bursaries are available to children from the local area to join at sixth form as day or boarding pupils.

In some cases, bursaries could pay more than just school fees.

Jenny Hopkinson, founder of The Bursary Foundation, said: “Schools which are taking the issue of social mobility seriously, and which understand the needs of disadvantaged learners, understand that this may need to be a 110pc bursary.”

Beware: bursary means-testing can feel invasive. Schools are looking at the whole picture – income, assets, liabilities, and where families can find the money, from the Pret coffees you drink, to your mortgage payments.

Bursars often have horror stories about means-testing: such as families who say they can’t afford the fees, but have a holiday cottage in Cornwall or a flat in London.

But you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you can earn and still qualify for a bursary: at St Paul’s School, families with a gross household income of up to £126,000 per annum, with net assets of up to £1.4m, may be eligible.

Grace Moody-Stuart, director of the Good Schools Guide education consultancy service, said: “They are absolutely thorough about your income, asset capital savings, property, and also what you spend. That can sometimes work in your favour if you have a lot of liabilities that will be taken into account, such as care costs.”

She also warned that the process is not a one-off – it will happen every year to check whether there is still a need for a bursary, and if the need is being met.

Get in early

Get in touch with schools to ask about bursaries two years before your child might arrive at the school you are targeting. Don’t stick to just a single school either – you can apply for bursaries at more than one place without penalty.

And don’t just apply at the obvious entry point of 11+ or 13+. You may have more luck applying for a place for a 14-year-old in year 10, when there is less competition.

For scholarships, make sure you are preparing your child in good time for any assessments they may need to take in order to qualify for an award.

“Most parents we work with are very well informed, but they often don’t realise how much lead time is needed to prepare. The worst thing is to try to cram scholarship work alongside GCSE work if you’re applying for a 16+ scholarship,” said Mr McCullagh.

Maximise fee reductions where you can

Some schools offer discounts for siblings of existing students, and for parents who work in specific professions.

Sibling discounts can be modest. At Ipswich High School, where annual full boarding fees are £40,110, a 10pc discount is given for the second child, and 20pc for the fourth child.

Many schools offer discounted fees for children of those serving in the armed forces.

At Oakham School in Rutland, for example, fees are reduced by 10pc for full boarding pupils, provided they are in receipt of the Ministry of Defence’s Continuity of Education Allowance. At Wellington College, support is given to children of deceased servicemen or women who, “in the sole opinion of Governors, died in acts of selfless bravery”.

Elsewhere, at Rishworth School near Halifax and Marlborough College in Wiltshire, a discount on fees is offered for the children of the clergy.

Some fee reductions are even more specific. In 2004, former harbourmaster William Wood left his £1.8m estate to the scholarship fund at Gordonstoun, stipulating that children from fishing families in the Banff area should be given preference.

In 2006, the William Wood Scholarship, which is worth 70pc of Gordonstoun’s annual fees – currently £16,330 per term for sixth form pupils – came into effect, though the school does not advertise this on its website.

More broadly, if you are a family with an active faith, your best route may be a school with a religious tradition.

Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, for example, offers support via the Stonyhurst Foundation, which aims to be the largest ring-fenced independent bursary and fee assistance charity of its kind in Catholic independent education in the UK.

Save with a scholarship

While bursaries are means-tested, ordinarily scholarships are not.

At some schools, scholarships have only a token financial value. At St Paul’s School, they are worth £60 a year. Where they do carry monetary value, they are worth investigating if your child is particularly talented, since these are often offered for music, sport, drama, and art.

If you have a specific school in mind, enquire about its unique scholarships. At The Peterborough School, the Helen Belgion Memorial Scholarship is open to all those entering year seven based on the results of their entrance examination, and is worth 50pc of fees annually.

Some sports scholarships cover the cost of equipment, but not all do – so do your research.

To be considered for a music scholarship, check the individual school’s assessment criteria as these can vary.

At Sevenoaks School in Kent, Grade 4 to 5 standard is required for students aged 11 and up, and Grade 6 standard is required at 13 and over. At Oundle School in Northamptonshire, meanwhile, musicians aged 13 and over must play two instruments, with at least one at around Grade 6 level. If your child isn’t quite at this level, think strategically: no school orchestra has ever complained of having too many bassoon players.

However, Ms Moody-Stuart warned against forcing your child into a skill merely because it may secure a scholarship. Scholars are likely to be required to undertake additional activities linked to their area throughout their time at the school, so it’s important your child enjoys the hobby or skill they’re being funded for.

“Scholarship may help [financially], but it is not a big sum for that type of award – it is more the honour and the commitment. If it is something they end up nurturing later in life then that’s incredible,” she added.

If you are looking into an academic scholarship, another area to consider is tutoring – although at around £90-£120 an hour it is a significant financial commitment.

Nathaniel McCullagh, founder and managing director of Simply Learning Tuition said, “Make sure you don’t get a ‘standard’ tutor – you need someone who knows the schools, and knows the [entrance] papers, and can cultivate a ‘scholarly’ approach.”

If you don’t want to take on a tutor, Mr McCullagh added that it was important to do lots of reading, to ask the school to provide sample scholarship papers for practice tests, and also to prepare using extension GCSE papers.

Work with the school to tailor how you pay

If money is proving an obstacle, there are ways to spread the cost.

At the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), which encompasses 23 schools, payment can be taken either termly or monthly by direct debit.

Payment can also be taken annually in advance by cheque, and there’s a pre-payment scheme which “allows you to pay a lump sum to cover all or part of the estimated future fees for a specific period”. This benefits those in receipt of professional bonuses, or inheritance injections.

Other schools offer a discount for payment in advance. At Brighton College, discounts of 1.25pc are offered for the first academic year, and 2.5pc thereafter, when “at least one full year or more are paid in advance at any one time”.

This isn’t just for new applicants – it also applies to parents of children already at a fee-paying school, who may need to find a way to reduce their costs.

Ms Hopkinson said schools should have a hardship fund for parents who need to tighten their belts, and it is always worth asking about the support on offer.

Consider a range of schools

Not all independent schools cost £40,000 a year – these higher fees are usually reserved for big-name boarding schools.

Across the GDST’s 23 schools, termly day fees for sixth formers range from £5,017 at Newcastle High School for Girls to £7,718 at Putney High School.

More expensive does not always mean better – and a “household name” school with high fees may not be the right fit for either your child, or your wallet.

Children who can attend predominantly boarding schools as day pupils are attractive to bursars as they don’t need to have the cost of boarding covered.

You could also apply to one of the 34 state boarding schools – for these you pay boarding fees, but not educational ones. Fees at the Royal School, Wolverhampton, for example, are about a third of comparable private schools (£14,580 per annum) – and you get the Duke of Edinburgh as patron.

Pick and choose private school years

If the independent sector looks unaffordable for your child’s full education between the ages of two and 18, consider which stage you would most like to invest in, and budget accordingly.

It needn’t be all or nothing – a mixture of independent and state education can work well. 

If you live in a county with grammar schools, perhaps your child would excel at an independent prep school until 11.

Alternatively, you could change from the state sector to the independent sector at 16 to focus on A-Level studies, which would limit the funds required to two years.

Don’t be shy – bursaries are more common than you think

Schools are actively looking for intelligent children who might otherwise miss out on independent education – if you secure a bursary, your child will certainly not be the only one receiving support.

Admissions officers often talk about the need for variety, and a school which was only home to super-affluent international students would soon lose the character that made it appealing to the super-rich in the first place.

For example, at Eton College in 2020/21 the average bursary was 68pc of the fee; 261 boys received a fee reduction and 90 of these boys paid no fees at all. At Dulwich College the value of bursaries currently held by students totals £4.4m, with 129 pupils on 100pc fee remission, and 155 awarded 75-100pc remission.

Dr Joseph Spence, master of Dulwich College, told The Telegraph he sees part of his role to drive forward an education vision and a social mission.

“I want a dialogue that says: ‘If you are out there, whatever class you are, independent education can still be for you’,” he added.

Ms Hopkinson said: “Fee paying parents want their children to be in socially diverse schools – it is important for the future of the sector. It’s about helping others get a leg up to get the best for their children, too.” 

For London schools, check out feeassistancelondonschools.org.uk for more information.

Investment strategies for early savers

Planning ahead and saving early are key when it comes to reducing financial pressures when your child reaches school age. Given the sums of money that could be required, Isas provide a way for your money to grow over the years, free of tax. 

Figures from Bestinvest show how saving an annual lump sum of £7,500 from when your child is born until they reach 13 will build up savings of £140,000, based on 5pc annual compound growth. Even at a school charging £40,000 per year, this would see your child through their GCSE’s, giving you that time to raise extra cash should you want them to stay on to study A-Levels at the same institution.

Note that you should steer clear of Junior Isas if you want to earmark the money for school; funds will not be available for the child to use until they turn 18 – and you won’t have any official control over how the money is spent.

Other ways to fund school fees

If you can’t get a bursary or scholarship, you might be able to release funds from your existing assets, or use other facilities to meet the fees.

Some parents may be in a position to release money by remortgaging their home, or downsizing to a smaller property, using the funds for independent education.

Fees are not tax deductible for corporation tax purposes; if you have a family company, you may be able to structure the shareholding so that fees are funded from profits and use up the children’s tax-free allowances.

Getting funding help from grandparents may be an option – and it can be a good estate planning tool. Grandparents can set up an educational trust to cover the costs, with their grandchildren as beneficiaries. This can be good for estate planning. 

They can pay in up to £325,000 per person – the inheritance tax nil-rate band threshold – and the money will count as a “potentially exempt transfer”. This means it will usually be considered as being out of their estate for IHT purposes after seven years.

For wealthier grandparents, the “surplus income” rule might come into play. Grandparents can make regular payments directly to cover the fees, and they won’t be subject to inheritance tax if they are paid out of income and do not reduce their standard of living. Detailed records of your annual income and outgoings will need to be kept for when an executor claims this exemption.

Another option is to take out a loan secured on your property. Note that you’ll need to have a plan of how you’re going to repay it; falling behind on repayments could mean losing your home. Taking out insurance to cover you in case of a change in circumstances – such as illness or redundancy that reduces your income – could be wise, but it will also add another cost.