Nearly two out of five parents of under-5s and one in five parents with children at state schools consider going private

Premium Credit’s Schools Fee Plan provides funding to help parents spread the cost of fees

Private schools remain popular with parents in the face of rising costs, new research* from Premium Credit, a leading provider of finance for school fees, shows.

Its study found 39% of parents with children aged under five hope to send them to private school and nearly one in five (19%) of parents with children currently at state schools are thinking of sending them to private school instead.

Only a quarter of parents with under-fives hoping to send their children to private schools would do so when they start school, the study found, with 90% saying the potential cost would put them off.

More than half (51%) of parents with children at state schools considering sending them to private schools say the main reason for doing so is that they believe the quality of education would be better while a third (34%) say it is because they believe their children are falling behind academically.

Around 27% say it is because their children have special educational needs which they believe would be better met at a private school. Nearly one in five (18%) say their children are unhappy at their school.

Premium Credit’s Schools Fee Plan (SFP), which provides funding to parents enabling them to spread the cost of their children’s school fees, saw a 13% rise in lending last year with the average amount of funding provided at £7,695.

Its analysis** shows the cost of privately educating a child from reception to A levels is an average £355,516 in a day school rising to £514,594 if they attend a day school to 11 and then board.

Stewart Ward, Director Education Sector & Head of School Fee Plan, Premium Credit said: “The cost of funding a child through private school requires careful budgeting and parents considering sending their children from reception or switching them from state schools need to plan ahead.

“Their options for paying fees should include looking at the possibility of paying a small annual charge in order to spread the cost and they should ask schools if they offer such plans when considering where to send their child.”

For over 25 years, SFP has helped parents finance their children’s independent school fees by allowing them to spread the cost rather than paying a lump sum each term. SFP is the convenient and manageable way for parents to pay for independent school fees and extras such as music tuition and trips. It splits the cost into regular monthly direct debits, like any other household bill.

The process of applying for a SFP for both parents and schools is seamless. Parents apply to open their account online before the beginning of any term. If the application is approved, SFP will notify the parents and the school. SFP sends the full payment to the school at the start of each term.

Notes to editors:
(*) Independent research conducted by Viewsbank online among 885 parents including 197 whose children currently attend or have attended private schools in the UK between May 24th and 26th 2023
(**) Based on Premium Credit analysis of data from schoolfeeschecker.com. This included the latest fees for day and boarding schools, and an annual increase of 4%. According to schoolfeeschecker.com, schools fees have been increasing by around 4% since 2016. They increased by 5.1% year on year in September 2022.

For further information please call Phil Anderson at Perception A on 07767 491 519