According to new research, children attending
private schools have more chance of outshining their state-educated
counterparts when it comes to qualifications and eventually high paying
jobs. They also stand an improved chance of winning Oxbridge places and
are admitted with lower grades.
There are around 2,400 privately run and privately
funded schools in the United Kingdom. Children as young as two years
old can be enrolled into pre-prep school nurseries before going on to
prep (or preparatory, to give it the full name) schools when they
reach the age of five. Preparatory schools are so called because they
prepare children for entry to senior independent schools when they
reach the age of 13 or 14. Many senior schools require children to pass
an entrance examination.
Some schools offer special facilities for children
gifted in a particular area and can offer special training in addition
to wider academic curriculum. Others simply offer what the parents see
as a better all round education and an improved start in life for their
offspring.
Disillusioned with state education, many parents
make considerable financial sacrifices to send their children to
private schools. Around a quarter of these parents have average or
lower than average incomes.
The cost of this education for a two to seven year
old is around £1000 to £1500 per term or £3000 to £4,500 per year. As
far as boarding schools are concerned, the average fees of girls are
around £20,400 per year and for boys a slightly higher £21,600.
Parents have differing views on the right age to
get onto the private education ladder. Some parents start off hearing
glowing reports of the local kindergarten and may feel that a year or
two there will give their child a head-start when they take their place
at state primary school. Some decide to go full-on from the start and
plan their child’s education soon after birth. Probably many more
become more and more disillusioned with their child’s progress and
opportunities at the local state school and turn to the private sector
for help. Parents who were themselves products of private education are
probably more likely to choose this route for their child at some stage.
It should be noted that the curricula set by the UK
education departments are looked upon as a minimum requirement by most
independent schools.
Roughly 620,000 children are now being educated in
private establishments. A representative for Sainsbury’s Bank says
there has been a marked rise in applications for loans to help with
school fees in the past year. They, in line with other lenders, fully
expect to experience a growing number of parents taking out loans for
this purpose.
When it comes to funding, unless you’ve planned
ahead and made some provision for the fees, some help is going be
needed. Even parents who have made plans via various schemes may find
they need topping up with the increased costs of private teaching. If
you can’t afford to pay the fees out of income or by robbing your
savings, borrowing may be the solution.
Assuming you’re a homeowner, remortgaging to
release money is normally the cheapest option. Mortgage rates will
usually be lower than those on credit cards and personal loans and
equity in your home could be exchanged for a lump sum, which could then
be invested to cover the fees over a period of time.
If you’re not a homeowner, or would prefer not to
go down this route, then an unsecured personal loan may be the answer.
Loans can be used for almost anything and repayment periods are
flexible. Log on to the internet for more information on the subject –
an on-line broker will be able to offer all the options and advice that
you need, with a minimum of fuss and form-filling.
Whichever way you choose to go, what better investment can there be than your children’s future!
A word of warning for your youngster though – as a
teacher once said to my own son, “Just because your parents can afford
to send you to a private school doesn’t mean you don’t have to put any
effort in. Believe me, you will!” – And he did.
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