- Rise in fees is excluding children of average-earners
- Dr Martin Stephen say private schools are putting themselves in danger
By Laura Clark
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Private schools have put themselves in danger warns Dr Martin Stephen
Thousands of middle-income families have been priced out of private schools by inflation-busting fee rises.
Average fees have risen at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the past ten years.
The increases mean that private schooling is now beyond average earners in well-paid occupations, including pharmacists, architects, IT experts, engineers and scientists.
A decade ago, these professionals would have been able to afford to pay fees out of earned income.
Now, however, they would struggle without funding from other sources, according to the study.
The average annual fee for a day pupil at a private school is 11,457, up from 6,820 in 2002, researchers found. Charges have risen 68 per cent in that period, 1.8 times faster than retail price inflation over the same period, which was up 37 per cent.
Private school fees are considered affordable if they account for 25 per cent or less of the average annual full-time salary before tax.
But 11,457 represents 35 per cent of this average, which stands at 33,011, according to the study by Lloyds TSB Private Banking. In 2002, fees would have taken 27 per cent.
Suren Thiru, economist at the bank, said the rises make it 'increasingly difficult for the average worker in many occupations to afford a private education for their offspring'.
Those who can most easily afford the fees include accountants, senior police officers, airline pilots and production managers as fees represent 19 per cent of their annual earnings.
Excluded: The rise in fees for private education means that average earners can no longer afford independent schooling for their children
The findings follow a warning this year from the former head of a top private school that the sector is losing public confidence by becoming the preserve of the super-rich.
Dr Martin Stephen, formerly of St Paul's School, West London wrote: 'Independent schools have put themselves in a very dangerous position; even more dangerous because they don't realise the danger.
'They are pricing themselves out of the reach of most normal people in the UK. The independent sector is becoming socially exclusive in a way not seen since Victorian times.'
Dr Stephen is now director of education at GEMS, an international schools group aiming to make private education 'affordable'.
He added: 'The sector has become too dependent on overseas parents and is profiting from a state sector in some turmoil as a result of radical change. Independents need to realign themselves with their clients.'
The biggest rises in fees have been in London and the South West, both up 79 per cent from 2002-12. Next were East Anglia (74 per cent) and the East Midlands and South East, both at just under 70 per cent.
The number of pupils enrolled at private schools has also fallen over the decade, according to the study.
Predictably, there'll be a lot of comments directed at the middle-classes, from spiteful and jealous chavs, along the lines of "serve them right". The problem is: If the middle-class disappear, as you gleefully hope, who will pay for your dole, tax-credits, housing benefits, and welfare state? Not the rich. They employ accountants to avoid paying tax.
- tilapia muzungu, where, 27/8/2012 05:01
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