Is this fair?

[J.R.]

It#'s probably the silly apron, a rolled up trouser-leg and the funny hand shake that does it !

[Mrs C.]

I don't think that would happen now, Maggie.

Believe me, I have heard of all sorts of "ways and means"!

So have I.

House funds are now being added to the bill instead of being brought to school and paid in to a House account. Hopefully this will put an end to the situation where pupils have paid nothing towards house funds term after term, yet are always "first in the queue" for any House food, entertainment etc paid for with these funds.

There is no reason why anyone should leave the school with debts - Grecians are told that they will not receive their Bible etc at the Leavers Service if they owe money to the school. Nevertheless, some still slip through the net and leave owing varying amounts. They can hardly be singled out can they?

[Foureyes]

Mrs C says:
"Grecians are told that they will not receive their Bible etc at the Leavers Service if they owe money to the school. Nevertheless, some still slip through the net and leave owing varying amounts. They can hardly be singled out can they?"

I would appreciate a little elaboration on this, please.
1. For what reason/s would Grecians owe money to the school - do you mean their parents owe fees, or that the individual owes personal bills?
2. Presumably, those who do not reach Grecian status also attend the leaving service. Are they given the same threat, or do they not receive Bibles?
3. A threat has no value if it is seen not to be implemented. Thus, if pupils are told that they will not receive a Bible if they owe money (for whatever reason) but they do owe money and they still receive a Bible then the threat becomes meaningless and should not be made in the first place.

I agree with JD that while Christ's Hospital is a charitable institution it is not a bottomless pit and parents must be clear that they must meet certain commitments. If they get into difficulties, but after discussing matters with the school they still fail to meet those commitments, then the school simply has to have some form of sanction, which, ultimately is to refuse to continue to educate the child.

I make no apologies for sounding harsh, but the pupils have to be fed and accommodated, teachers have to be paid, services have to be provided (gas, electricity, etc), buildings and sports facilities maintained, and so on and so forth, and it costs money - lots of money.

[jtaylor]

I am relucatant to pass any judgement on this, as I too believe there is often more than meets the eye to this sort of thing, and nobody on here knows the facts.

As an Old Blue, I'd hate to see someone have to leave CH due to changing financial circumstances, and if there were a way to help out, I would. To have to leave before the end of the Grecians would have been traumatic, as the last couple of years were the best and most rewarding.

Maybe there's scope for the Necessitous Children's fund, rather than the BSB? Is it BSB policy NOT to help with school fees? (I guess it would be a bit odd if the fees are means-tested, and then then BSB steps in to fund those fees! Means testing should obviously mean that in theory everyone is paying the same in terms of disposable income....)

J

[blondie95]

re grecians owning money when i was there it was for things like unpaid house funds, trips not paid for or if you somehow managed to wrangle a tab at the club


As for the topic of this thread, i have refrained from taking part. There is generally always more than meets the eye but every circumstance of a pupil, their parents and fees should be treated on an indivdiual basis.
Yes there are people who's parents have 'played' the system-i have heard some interesting stories relating to that but because there are those bad few who do this, other pupils/parent who have problems with the fees should not be tarnished with that brush.

I can understand why the school took the stance they did, although it will be having a potetnially very detramental affect upon the pupil in question and the start to their AS levels and getting back into school life.

[kerrensimmonds]

Or, Amy, maybe continuing and completing their education at a local comprehensive or whatever - with the benefit of CH's preparation behind them - and from where they may stand a better chance of admission to a 'good' University, given the current Government's agenda for Higher Education.

[carong]

Or, Amy, maybe continuing and completing their education at a local comprehensive or whatever - with the benefit of CH's preparation behind them - and from where they may stand a better chance of admission to a 'good' University, given the current Government's agenda for Higher Education.

Kerren, you and I have had our own discussion on this subject and to date I have refrained from commenting on this thread, as I am one of the parents who are struggling to pay the increased fees this term. However, having received my own "Your child will be excluded ..." letter today, despite being in correspondence with the school about a mistake in my assessment, I pointed the Finance office towards this thread, and added that as an OB I felt that threatening exclusion went totally against what I felt was the ethos of the school. The reply? What seemed to be a heartfelt "Yes" and a promise to pass on my comments.

Nastymum et al ... I am in receipt of Income Support which by definition means that I am on a low income. I'm not quite sure how I may pare down my spending further and to be honest I find some of the comments made on this topic quite patronising - very much along the lines of "Let them eat cake" ... My fees have trebled this year, and I was struggling to pay them last year. However, pay them I will ... somehow. Probably by borrowing from my long-suffering mother.

[J.R.]

Carong:

Your thread above says it all !

Again, I'm flabbergasted !

[nastymum]

Caron ,I think everyone is aware of the difference between parents who play the system and those who are on low incomes . The CH blurb implies that those earning below £12,000 will pay nothing. Everyone else will will pay something.

Where the finance office makes a mistake that is really awful of course because even though you know it is a mistake it is very stressful while it is being resolved. It is also annoying when you get a generic letter that says what will happen ,as you feel doubly abused .

What I am confused about is, so many people saying their fees have gone up. I thought that unless you earned more they would only go up by inflation but people seem to be guenuinely surprised that their fees have gone up.This implies that the fees just went up by inflation but people didn't realise it would be so much, they didn't know they would have to pay more if the earned more or ,as in Caron's case, there has been a mistake.

[Mrs C.]

I`m sure our daughter`s fees have not gone up in proportion to my or my husband`s CH salary increase (fees are deducted at source from my husband`s salary, so I`m not 100% sure how much we pay - i know he said they`d gone up quite a bit this year) That would imply that if our annual pay increase was in line with inflation, fees have been raised above that.

[Ajarn Philip]

That would imply that if our annual pay increase was in line with inflation...

then you would be one of the lucky few over the last 20 years or so!


Or am I losing touch completely?

I know this is a bit off topic, and I'm a huge supporter of anyone who has chosen to work at CH for altruistic reasons, but I've been away from the UK cycle for 5 years, and I thought pay rises in line with or above inflation were now fantasy. Tell me I'm wrong!

[blondie95]

] and I thought pay rises in line with or above inflation were now fantasy. Tell me I'm wrong!

mine certainly was not near inflation and in the end i saw very little of it courtesy of the student loans company taking it!

[blondie95]

Nastymum et al ... I am in receipt of Income Support which by definition means that I am on a low income. I'm not quite sure how I may pare down my spending further and to be honest I find some of the comments made on this topic quite patronising - very much along the lines of "Let them eat cake" ... My fees have trebled this year, and I was struggling to pay them last year. However, pay them I will ... somehow. Probably by borrowing from my long-suffering mother.

i do truley sympathise with you, and the problems you had with the school around the fees.....i imagined that school knowing full well the difficulty and sensitiviy of the situation they would approach these situations with tact etc....alas i have learnt not.

[onewestguncopse]

My intention is not to comment on this case as I am totally unaware of the circumstances and anyway, it would be quite wrong to discuss an individual on a forum with no evidence other than heresay. The reality of the situation is that the cost of running CH is rising and we are far from immune from the effects of the economic downturn and rising utility and food prices. CH 'School' is a business - since 2008 we are a stand alone business that enjoys a substantial grant from a charity. The gap between the running costs and the grant must be met in two principal ways - fee income and donations made direct to the school not the foundation.

I have felt for sometime that the fee structure of the school is ripe for review - it seems to penalise the middle income earner in a disproportionate way. I do not know how much the fees have risen but I do know that the school is now, quite rightly in my opinion, taking a more business like approach to its finances. We cannot allow unpaid debts to eat into the schools ability to teach and care for the majoirty.

For as long as I have taught here (14 years now) there have been parents who have employed good accountants, ignored letters asking for money owed or taken advantage of the charity in other ways. Equally there are parents who pay up, however painful it is to meet the bill and do not attempt to play the system. They are in the majority. Thank goodness!

However, in the final analysis, CH is a private school that does not benefit from State money. Parents who send their children here should understand that it will carry a financial burden. This burden they choose as education in the UK is free to the 90% who do not pay at source but through taxation. We all make choices - educating our children at a private school is a choice - it is a luxury choice too. We need to buy food, pay gas bills, pay rent or mortgages and cloth our children. We do not NEED to pay for private education. 90% of children in the UK did not attend any private school (including me).

If we make choices then we need to live with the consequences of those choices. CH will ALWAYS bend over backwards to help parents in need. However, in the end if you cannot afford to pay fees then you need to take that painful decision to withdraw your child. This is happening in schools (private schools) throughout the UK as parents feel the pinch. CH is not a bottomless pit and whilst every child's education is to be protected as much as possible, we cannot hurt the majority or not pay salaries, gas bills .... because we allow a few people not to pay what we think is a fair price. If the fee assessment is wrong - fight - but if it is fair, pay up or exercise your right not to pay for education at the point of sale.

[CHAZ]

Sadly this is the reality of the modern world of private education. Yes it is a choice and a sacrifice at the same time but the responsibilty lies always with the parents and it is clear that CH can not allow itself to be abused by parents who may ride the system. Of course there will always be true cases of hardship and these should be examined case by case by those in the position to do so.

I see there is an ad (Times last Sunday) for a Business Development Officer and this completely confirms "onewestguncopse's" comment that CH is a business.

In the old days such titles didn't exist; no one travelled to the East to find "star" pupils so as to keep the numbers up; sponsorship of school sport kit was unheard of...I could go on...

So it is clear that if the ethos of the school is to be maintained, everybody must play by the rules so that each child can benefit from the greatness of CH.

Falling numbers and falling income can also means staff cutbacks and no-one wants that.