Letter to School About Problems Paying School Fees

If your family's finances have taken a battering, perhaps because one of your child's parents has lost his or her job, and all of your carefully laid school-fee paying plans have been disrupted, then you may feel very upset and concerned.

You obviously will not want to disturb your child's education by taking him or her out of the school if at all possible, and this will probably be a particular concern if your child is about to take public exams as he or she will be at a very crucial stage of their education. You may feel like this is the only solution, but you should first contact your child's school to ask for advice.

It is advisable to contact the school as soon as you realise that you are going to face problems paying the school fees: if you have defaulted on a term's payment, and the school has sent you several letters which you have ignored, they are going to be less likely to help out than if you have contacted them in advance of the school bill, advised them that you have serious concerns with paying the following term's fees, and asked for advice.

What To Do Next

It is a surprising fact to many parents that a large proportion of pupils who attend independent school receive some kind of financial help with their fees. This help can include bursaries, which are usually means-tested sums of money to help children who would not otherwise be able to attend the school to study there, or scholarships, which are usually awarded to students based on criteria such as academic ability, or musical or sport or artistic talent.

While bursaries can cover the full amount of school fees, scholarships are usually worth less, they are unlikely to be worth more than 50% of the full fees. It's a good idea to ask schools whether any financial assistance is available if you think your period of financial hardship will be temporary. If, however, you cannot foresee being able to pay school fees for the next few years, it may be better to seek the school's advice about taking your child out of school before a particularly important period, such as the GCSE and sixth form years.

This letter format laid out below shows how parents can write to a school to request to meet with an advisor to talk over financial problems and discuss any possible solutions. It is based on a fictional family's contact with their school.

The School House
School Lane
Schoolville
England

Parental Address
Family Home
Anytown
England

5 February 2008

Dear Headteacher

My daughter Kelly is studying in year 9 at The School House and is very happy studying at the school. However, last week my husband was made redundant and our plans for paying the school fees have been heavily disturbed. We are especially worried about paying next term's fees, and wanted to get in touch as soon as possible to discuss this with you. We would obviously love Kelly to continue her education at the School House undisturbed but appreciate this may not be possible as we are unsure when her dad will be able to find employment.

We are obviously very concerned and would appreciate the opportunity to come and talk to you about this. To arrange a time, you can contact me, Mother, on 0131 2343 9049 or 0723422342, or email me at mother@parents.com, or via the address above.

With thanks for your time and best wishes

[signature]

Mrs Sith, mother of Kelly Sith