7/5/2008 9:07:00 AM
FT 5 July
A handful of England’s top private schools have responded to the credit crunch by bucking the trend and reining in this September’s fee increases.The 20 highest performing schools have raised fees by an inflation-busting average of 6.3 per cent, according to research by the Good Schools Guide for the Financial Times. The survey measured fees for pupils joining the school at sixth form – a common entry point for parents wanting their children to gain stellar A-levels.But City of London School for boys, which lies inside the Square Mile and educates many bankers’ children, will increase charges by only 2 per cent – the lowest rise in the survey. David Levin, headmaster, said: “Parents are worried. In my view slightly harder economic times are just beginning to show.” He added that in the past week four people had asked to pay monthly rather than a full term in advance, and three had asked for “help” with costs.Vicky Tuck, principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, which has raised charges by a below-average 4 per cent, said: “This year we were mindful of the credit crunch.” Consequently, “we have had to trim various things to keep fee increases at that level”, such as building work.Some of the schools that have delivered hefty increases might have raised fees even more, were it not for the economic downturn. Patricia Kelleher, head of Cambridge’s Perse School for Girls, said the school would this year use a financial “cushion” deliberately built up over the years to limit future fee increases in hard economic times. Despite this, Perse Girls is still raising fees by 8 per cent – one of the highest percentages in the survey.FT
Independent/ Private Sector
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