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Summary: State or private education for your children? You have some tough financial decisions to make.

Private schools - examine the options. Page 2

Author: Richard Norfolk

So how much are you looking for in total funds? If your child's education is to be totally at private

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schools from the age of 4 through to 16 or older, you are going to have to provide £200,000 or more; if you opt for boarding school the figure will be very much higher. This figure drops to around £14,000 if you opt for state school education, on the very reasonable grounds that the private school costs sound too much like your phone number! You thought that state schools were free? Yes they are, but you still have to pay for food, transport, clothing, books etc.

If you opt for state schooling for your child until they reach 11 years old, you could probably get away with a non-boarding cost of around £50,000 over a 5 year period, although don't forget to ask about scholarships or bursaries. You could find that your total costs are reduced to somewhere between £38,000 and nil!

No scholarship and no bursary? It is still possible if you are determined. If you start soon enough you may be able to fund the 5 year private education ( critical illness ) option by saving £100 a month into a high interest fund, especially if you are prepared to take a low risk option (rather than no-risk) to increase the interest rate. This would probably be feasible over a ten year period, bearing in mind that you would still need to be saving the same amount whilst your child is receiving the private education.

With less time available you would need to look at alternatives. Saving the taxation costs by going for ISAs or the appropriate National Savings schemes

could be a wise move which would give the apparent interest rate a significant boost. Maybe couple these funds with a remortgage to ensure that you can cover the school fees

It's the old story. Do your homework, trawl the internet, and make sure that ( home insurance ) you have got the best deal which you can find. You are using your money to ensure that your child's prospects are as good as you can make them - use that money wisely.

A final cautionary word. All the figures quoted above are for one child only. If you have 2, 3 or 4 children (or worse still twins, triplets or quadruplets who will all start school together) then you have a few problems and the writers sympathy.