Industry News
Parents 'making sacrifices for private school'
Posted on 26th November 2007
Parents are making many sacrifices to fund their children's private school fees, new research has revealed.
A study conducted by Mtm-consulting showed one in six families pay at least 40 per cent of their total household income on fees and a similar number were working additional hours to meet costs.
It found two-thirds of fee-paying parents claimed they spend more than £10,000 a year on fees, with many going without holidays, cars and even home improvements to meet the cost.
Melanie Tucker, principal of Mtm-consulting told the Times: "This survey shows that many families are very stretched by the cost of school fees."
The Independent Schools Council reports that among its member schools, the average termly fee for the academic year 2006-07 was £3,391, with boarding school fees costing an average of £6,712 a term.
It reports that fees increased by an average of 5.9 per cent on the previous year, which it attributes mostly to staff salaries and rising bills.
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