Money Tips Daily By Charles Kelly, Former Ifa And Author Of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness.

The gift of education is one of the most valuable things you can give to your children. However, the cost of sending a child or grandchild to an independent or private (strangely, also known as a “public school”) school has soared well above the rate of inflation, yet the number of UK pupils in private education has never been higher. Why is this? Part of the answer is that more than £1bn a year of financial assistance is available to parents, enabling one in three students to have their school fees reduced or even waived, according to the FT. School fees have become a major problem for the middle classes in recent years. The cost of a private education is nearly 50% higher than a decade ago, according to data from the Independent Schools Council (ISC). Average fees for day pupils are now nearly £4,800 per term, or just over £14,000 a year. Fees are higher in the Southeast and London, where boarding school fees now average more than £13,000 a term — close to £40,000 per year, according to the ISC. Scholarship