The hidden costs of private schools go well beyond basic fees

To some, they represent everything wrong with modern society – exclusivity, privilege and unfair advantage. To others, they’re simply about tradition and doing what they think is the best thing for the people they love most: their kids. Fee-paying schools, and particularly their receipt of taxpayer funds, remain a divisive issue in this country. Yet, despite them being a source of debate at both dinner parties and the Dáil, Department of Education data suggests more children than ever are in private education.

As The Irish Times reported last month, the number of students attending fee-paying schools “reached its highest level on record”, with 27,200 attending private secondary education in the last school year. Despite surpassing the Celtic Tiger era peaks with the overall number of students, the percentage of those in fee-paying schools has declined from the highs of 8 per cent in 2008 to 6.7 per cent. Many parents are still opting to go private, however, even as the costs rise.

Last year, in a wide-ranging survey, The Irish Times found that the majority of private schools in Ireland had bumped up their fees in 2022-2023, with 5 to 15 per cent increases. The 2023-2024 school year won’t offer much relief, with some schools increasing fees yet again. For example, St Andrew’s College in Dublin increased school fees by 5 per cent for this school year, raising costs from €7,700 for most secondary students to €8,100, on top of a 6 per cent increase last year. In a letter to parents and guardians, the school’s board put the hikes down to the school “experiencing significant increases in operating costs”, which it could no longer absorb.

For those families thinking about going down the fee-paying school route but who might be only able to pay for it through years of saving and sacrifice, here are some things to consider when working out how feasible it is in the family budget.

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School fees are just the start

A proportion of Ireland’s 50 or so fee-paying school fees publish their fees online and The Irish Times publishes an annual table, which is helpful for parents to get their head around costs.

Don’t expect that number to stay put, however, if the recent fee rises are anything to go by. Arthur Godsil, the former headmaster of St Andrews and founder of an independent education placement and consultant service Godsil Education, said “it’s hard to know” what fees might look like in the future.

“We had the inflation surge, then we had a cost of living and energy price crisis,” he said

“It’s hard to predict whether fees will continue to rise. It depends on the economic circumstances of the society in which we live.”

Aside from economic influences, school fees may be impacted by Government policy changes, which have the potential to increase or decrease costs passed on to parents, depending on how much support from the public purse is granted to the schools.

[ Should the State continue to provide €112m a year to private schools? ]

According to Godsil, the question of “whether or not the Government will continue to fund the salaries of teachers of fee paying schools” is one to watch “on the horizon”.

The sticker price for a year in fee-paying secondary school for day students varied between €4,000 and €9,632 in 2022/2023. The most expensive school on that list, St Columba’s in Dublin, now lists its day fees for the 2023/2024 year as €10,258, which includes student lunches and snacks.

Boarding fees are higher again, with St Columba’s charging €27,588 for seven day boarding for 23/24, while Villiers School in Limerick offers a five day boarding option at €10,800 for the 24/25 year.

Fee structures are set according to a variety of factors that differ from school to school, such as “facilities, building, programs and subjects available”, according to Godsil.

It’s also key to make note of the school’s admission policies to see how places are allocated in the event the number of people who apply exceed the number of spots available. Many schools give first preference to pupils who went to a designated feeder primary school, particularly if they are connected. For example, in the case of Blackrock College, attendance at Willow Park Senior School on the same campus, is considered “Criteria 1″ in the admission’s policy. According to the school’s admissions notice, which details how many students got in and how in 23/24, 207 of the 218 places were given to students who attended Willow Park.

Parents with their hearts set on certain schools should be aware that their children may have to attend fee paying schools from the start if they want to maximise their admission chances.

Don’t forget the extras

School fees, as high as they might seem to some, don’t include everything needed to put a child through private school. Parents should be prepared to cover a range of extras outside tuition. These start before kids are even accepted, with some schools hitting parents up for an “admin fee” for processing their application. These may or may not be refundable or redeemable against future fees. For example, Alexandra College charges a non-refundable administration fee of €175 on application, as does Belvedere College, which sets it at €100. It should be noted, however, both schools reserve the right to waive the application fee at their discretion. Blackrock College requires a “non-refundable, non-redeemable” admin fee of €100, St Gerard’s Bray an application fee of €60 and St Columba College a €150 “registration fee” to be paid on application. This could become quite expensive if parents make applications to several schools.

Once accepted, depending on the school, parents may be liable for a deposit to secure their child’s place, which would ultimately be put towards fees. These tended to range between €500 (Villiers) to €1,000 (Loreto College Foxrock, Alexandra College and St Columbas).

And that’s all before you even start shopping for physical bits you need to send your child off to school. Fee-paying schools tend to have clear and fixed uniform policies, which students are expected to adhere to. There may not be an option to buy generic jumpers or shirts in the right colour, as sometimes allowed in state schools. This could push costs up, especially when kitting a child out for their first year all in one go.

For example, adding one of every mandatory item on Alexandra College’s senior school uniform checklist and two shirts (reasonable for attending school 5 days a week) will come to a total of €389.93. This did not include one of the most expensive items of school clothing: shoes. Or items like plain white socks or tights that can be bought cheaper in bulk.

According to the Zurich Cost of Education in Ireland 2023 survey, the cost of clothes for an average secondary student (non-fee paying) sat at €300 total. In this case, an incomplete and bare bones uniform would have already maxed that budget by about €90. A similar uniform for boys at St Columba’s using the same calculations came to €492.80 – that’s without including the rugby or hockey uniforms.

Then, there are books to buy, materials for certain subjects and, of course, whatever required digital device is specified in the schools policy, all of which combined could easily run up into the multiple thousands for a new student.

[ Fee-charging schools do not greatly enhance students’ chances of securing high CAO points – study ]

Parents should also pay close attention to their prospective school’s fee structure for additional costs they might be on the hook for outside of the tuition fees. These are not limited to parent’s association fees, school diaries, one-off building levies for new students (€500 in Villiers), locker fees (about €60), trips, special pouches for students to lock their phones into so they can’t use them (€19 in St Andrews), insurance, etc. Then, there are the extracurricular activities like music lessons, instrument hire, sports, debating, chess etc. That could all add up if your child is particularly well-rounded or wants to do what their friends are doing.

Belvedere College, in a bursary program document, estimated that annual incidental costs for students to “be in the region of €1,500″.

Know what help is available

Almost every school we looked at had a bursary or access scheme aimed at students who would not be able to attend without some form of financial help. While some schools had ability-based bursaries or scholarships based on sporting, musical or academic talent, most were aimed at students in financial need.

Godsil advises parents in this situation “to write to the school directly, inquiring about what bursaries are available”. This is due to some schools advertising them more widely than others, while some may make them available on a discretionary basis.

One of the most well known, The Belvedere College Access Program, accepts students from a range of public primary schools across Dublin whose total household income does not exceed €48,811 (less than four dependent children).

Schools will usually offer discounts for subsequent children and an overwhelming number of them have a policy aimed at assisting families in hardship and struggling to make payment.

“The last thing a school would do is impact the education of a young person,” said Godsil.

“When I was a headmaster back in the day, we looked after many parents who, through no fault of their own, found themselves in financial difficulty.”

Save early, save often

Children’s education costs and planning for their future is one of the main reasons customers open savings plans with Zurich Life Assurance, according to their head of life retail distribution and propositions, Jonathan Daly.

The company’s 2023 cost of education research found the average expense of putting a child through a non-fee paying primary school is €1,871 a year and €5,581 for secondary students.

According to Daly, while those numbers might not come as a shock to parents already in the trenches of school expenses, it might surprise people trying budget for the future.

“When you add all the bits up, it adds up to a huge chunk of money every year which multiplies with each additional child a family has so you do need to try and plan ahead.”

While acknowledging in the current climate “it is hard to put away money for something like this” in relation to private education, Daly maintains having a savings or investment pot to help keep the pressure off for future expenses.

According to Zurich, if a family saved the €140 Child Benefit it received from the Government into their LifeSave Savings Plus product every month for 5 years after the child was born from July 2023, the fund could be worth €22,589 by the time they started secondary school (Prism 4 fund with an assumed 4.6 per cent return annually).

Daly recommends parents seek professional financial advice tailored to their needs before investing in a product.

“Talk to a financial planner, make a plan and decide when to put that plan in action,” he said.