10 | SCHOOL FEES | OPINION
Because it’s worth it …
A good education costs more than ever these days and independent schools need to show that they offer value for money, says Hilary Moriarty
I Hilary Moriarty
n recessionary times, anyone contemplating independent education for their offspring
must take pause for thought before they embark on the enterprise. How much? For how long? And how much is that in total? After tax? And if they are thinking about a child becoming a boarder, it’s probably the same questions, but with a higher pitch at the end of the sentence, demanding, in print, at least two question marks and italics – How much?? Answer: a boarding fee now will cost more than the average national wage. Is it worth it? A good education
is always worth it. Geting the right ‘good education’ for each individual child is the hard bit – broad, balanced, thorough, inspiring, tailored eventually to the interests and aspirations and talents of each child to enable them to go on to lead productive, well-enough-remunerated lives. Not a tall order at all. Research indicates that even
people who cannot afford an independent education would like it if they could. They believe the smaller classes, more subject- expert staff, the longer days, the broader curriculum, the extra-curricular activities (Eton produces more than 25 student plays a year, when many schools think one big production a year is hard work) – all these things add up to a beter education than is generally available in the local state school. You only have to look at
the academic results, and the preponderance of independently educated people in the best universities and in the highest ranks of the most esteemed professions, to believe that it’s worth it. Indeed, it’s so worth
it, government is looking to the independent sector to help them raise the game in state schools. The trouble is the rise in
independent school fees, and in boarding most of all, has transformed the customer. I am sure I would enjoy the ride in a Rolls Royce, it would probably be money well spent, but ‘worth it’ becomes immaterial if the price is simply too high. My husband and I, who sent four
children to independent senior schools, two of them as boarders, were not then – nor are we now – Rolls Royce riders. But it’s
days, it is that those days are gone. A headteacher talking to a parent like that now, would not see her, or her beloved, valuable child, for dust. The prices are now so high that the parents who can afford them have turned into extremely discerning customers: upset them at your peril. If I was grateful to be allowed to approach, they believe the customer is king. So what changed? The world, my
friend, the world. Raise the fees, reduce the market, and a tender market will need more nurturing. Today’s parents do not kowtow to people who might once have said,
“THE RISE IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL FEES, AND IN BOARDING MOST OF ALL, HAS TRANSFORMED THE CUSTOMER”
quite possible that most parents now able to afford the kind of education which I thought was expensive and which is now eye- wateringly so actually are Rolls Royce people. And if they are, they will come to the school doors with very different expectations of the head and the school than was the case back in the day. We were of the generation of
parents who virtually did what the head asked of us, or told us, or allowed us. Viz. when I asked if our son entering senior school as a boarder could come home for a weekend every two weeks, the head was horrified – “I do not want boys in class on Monday morning unable to think straight because they have been having a high old time at home all weekend! Certainly not!” I capitulated. I do not recall mutering, “Yes sir,” but I suspect I came prety close. If I am sure of anything these
“We are the professionals, leave it to us.” A high-handed stance is likely to be greeted with a baffled, “Excuse me? I am the customer – yes? I am paying the bill – yes? Then I expect service, the very best service, look at the prices!” While headteachers may have
woken up to the new world, conjuring appropriate service from the whole school is not necessarily easy. Making sure the message of doing the job beter than ever before gets through to the frontline troops can be a real challenge. Working out who is on the
frontline, of course, is not always easy. These days, with prospective parents and pupils considering many schools before making their decisions, particularly for boarding, the front line is remote: the website. Slow, clunky, out of date, neglected, tired – pupil and parent are gone in 60 seconds.
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