| An increasing numbers of parents are applying for | | | | College must each pay £10,000 in addition to |
| bank loans to fund their children through private school, | | | | making payments averaging £60,000 to a new |
| new figures reveal. | | | | educational charity. |
| Household expenditure on private school fees reached | | | | An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading led to |
| approximately £7.9billion last year, up from | | | | the payout. |
| £6.9billion in 2001-02. | | | | The schools had admitted that, over the past three |
| Sainsbury's Bank revealed it had seen a 38 per cent | | | | years, they had been sharing detailed and sensitive |
| increase in loan applications to cover independent | | | | information about the fees they were intending to |
| school fees during the past year. | | | | charge both for boarding and day pupils. |
| Loans manager at Sainsbury's Bank, Steven Bailie, said | | | | Meanwhile previous studies have already revealed that |
| he expected to see a further rise in numbers as fees | | | | tens of thousands of parents are keen to send their |
| have gone up by about 50 per cent since 1999. | | | | children to private school as a result of mounting |
| He said that about 620,000 children are now being | | | | disillusionment with the state sector. This inevitably |
| educated in private schools, and they are consistently | | | | brings a financial consequence. |
| charging more in fees. | | | | They are cancelling family holidays and juggling two or |
| 'We expect to see a growing number of parents | | | | three jobs in order to fund a private education. |
| taking out loans to help pay for their children's | | | | The ISC recently provided detailed analysis covering |
| education. Those parents doing this need to make sure | | | | hundreds of thousands of postcodes and collected |
| that they shop around and find a competitive loan rate.' | | | | from 900 member schools. |
| Based on ONS data, the bank's figures showed | | | | The research showed that nearly a quarter of ISC |
| families in London usually spent the most on education | | | | pupils (23.8 per cent) originate from average or below |
| fees, at an average of £577.20 per year. | | | | average backgrounds. Almost 10 per cent (some |
| Families in the East Midlands spent the least, at around | | | | 43,000 pupils) live in postcodes where household |
| £140.40 per year. | | | | income is less than the national average. |
| These average figures were generated from all | | | | Of these, 10,000 reside in officially classified |
| households, including those without children in private | | | | 'hard-pressed' areas and include families on low |
| education and those with no children. | | | | incomes, single parents on council estates and people |
| Separate figures from the Independent Schools | | | | living in high rise flats. |
| Council, however, show that average fees are now | | | | And another survey by ING Direct found that almost |
| about £21,600-a-year for boys' boarding schools | | | | half (44 per cent) of parents are saving money |
| whilst for girls, the figure is £20,400. | | | | specifically for their children's education. In the last few |
| For pre-preparatory private education (for children | | | | years, this figure used to stand at just 12 per cent. |
| aged two to seven years), parents can expect to pay | | | | The fact that many parents are willing to take out |
| between £1,000 to £1,500 a term. | | | | loans - and thus pay interest - to finance school fees |
| Fee fixing allegations | | | | demonstrates the importance that they place upon |
| The annual rise in private school charges was under | | | | high quality education said a spokesman for the ICS. |
| public scrutiny recently following an investigation into | | | | Independent school parents who have average or |
| alleged fee fixing which saw fifty of the country's | | | | below average incomes represent about a quarter of |
| leading public schools ordered to pay out a total of | | | | the total and many are going without exotic holidays or |
| £3.5million. | | | | new cars to give their children an independent |
| Earlier this year it was revealed that schools including | | | | education. |
| Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Cheltenham Ladies' | | | | |