School Fee Assistance/Costs

The cost of an independent education is a major factor in the decision making process. For many parents meeting the cost of an independent education involves sacrifices and changing priorities. School fees vary drastically from school to school and will increase as the child moves through the school.

The ISC annual census has various information regarding average school fees for ISC schools. They are:

Parents must be aware that boarding school fees can be considerably higher than the day fees (2009 census puts the average boarding fee at £7,748 per term). For more information on boarding you might also find the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) website useful.

Basic school fees are quoted on each school’s profile page on this website but there may be extras such as school meals, after school clubs, school trips and entrance fees for public examinations so this should be taken into consideration when choosing which school you can afford. Extras can be anything up to another 10% on the school bill.

It should be noted that should you wish to take your child out of an independent school there is normally a one-term-notice policy in effect. This means that you have to give the school one full term notice before withdrawing from the school otherwise you may be liable for the fees.

Help is at hand in the form of scholarships or means-tested bursaries for which you may qualify. These school fee assistance awards benefit pupils to the tune of over £200 million a year (ISC Annual Census 2009 p.9). The Head and/or Bursar of the school will be able to provide information about any such bursaries and eligibility for them and you can search for schools with school fee assistance by using our personalised advanced school search.

For more information on help available please visit our section on school fee assistance, which also includes information on scholarships including dance, music and sport scholarships, and choir schools as well as bursaries including government grants, local authority grants and grant giving trusts.

You can also search for schools by type of scholarships or bursaries offered using our personalised advanced school search.

Blogs on school fee assistance
Looking for school offering bursaries or other types of school fee assistance?