The article is an opinion piece by Annie Hayes, who is sharing her personal tips for saving money on private school fees. She reports that she has spent £63,000 on her son's education at a top independent school, but claims to have found ways to reduce the costs. The key numbers mentioned are the £63,000 paid by Prince George's parents and the 20% VAT addition to fees. Annie Hayes writes about several strategies for cutting costs, including opting out of add-on clubs and activities, buying second-hand uniforms, and using a "sneaky sibling discount trick" to save on fees from day one.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A new term begins and for those of us committed to sending our darlings to independent schools, it’s back to scrimping, saving and making do.
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it → begin → schools
No, our backs aren’t against the wall, and I’m expecting nothing more than the tiniest of violins, but the 20 per cent VAT addition to fees, plus the cost-of-living squeeze, means we’re feeling the pain acutely.
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we → expect → pain
Even the Royals might be wincing as they wire over £63,000 for Prince George’s first year at Eton.
uncertain
they → wince → Eton
I reckon I could have bought a house with what I have spent.
uncertain
I → reckon → what
The problem is, it’s like eating Pringles: once you pop, you just can’t stop.
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you → ’ → Pringles
But there are ways to drive down the list price, as I’ve learnt over my many years of white-knuckle cheque-writing.
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I → be → writing
School fees are like a new car – nobody pays for the add-ons except those for whom money doesn’t matter.
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money → pay → whom
Here’s how the rest of us scrape by…
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rest → ’ → us
A new term begins and for those of us committed to sending our darlings to independent schools, it’s back to scrimping, saving and making do, writes Annie Hayes
No parent should pay for Lego Club
Or any club, especially when they’re little.
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they → begin → Club
My friend Sarah was hung out to dry by her husband when he discovered she’d been paying extra for little Louis to attend Lego club at their already eye-watering prep.
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Louis → hang → prep
He could just as easily have clicked a Lego Quidditch broom into a minifigure’s hand at home, of course.
uncertain
He → click → course
If you can do it at home, never, ever pay.
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you → do → home
Remember: they can’t do any nice clubs if they’re no longer attending the school because you’ve overspent on after-hours luxuries.
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you → remember → luxuries
Ham sandwiches will do
Lunch doesn’t need to be five-star.
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Lunch → do → ?
Add-on catering at day schools can run to hundreds of pounds a term, but many allow you to opt out.
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you → add → pounds
A friend who shall remain nameless sent her son off to prep school with a ham sandwich and a flapjack in his sister’s pink lunch box.
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who → remain → box
He survived.
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He → survive → ?
Go ‘vintage’ with uniform and kit
Every school has a second-hand shop or a nearly new sale.
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school → go → shop
Nobody ever needs to pay full-price for an expensive new uniform, plus it’s naff to wear it.
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it → need → it
My 81-year-old father, who went to the same school as my 17-year-old, offered him his old cricket blazer.
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who → go → blazer
It was moth-eaten and nothing like the new version.
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It → eat → version
My son got a high-five for wearing a ‘vintage’ number.
Sneaky sibling discount trick
Most schools apply them to the youngest child, so the saving only kicks in years later.
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saving → get → child
If you’re committed to the school long-term, ask for if it can be applied to the eldest instead, so you save from day one and on the higher senior school fees.
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you → commit → fees
Blag free holidays or stay with relatives
Yes, their classmates will be going to Provence or the Galapagos, but if you can provide access to a hellishly noisy beachside arcade, you’ll have satisfied the under-tens.
Great Aunt Mary, whose house on the Suffolk coast you’ve installed your brood in, will of course cook cottage pie on repeat.
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you → blag → repeat
But you don’t care because every night there is another night you’re not paying for Center Parcs.
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you → care → Parcs
When you're already paying thousands for their education, a family camping trip instead of three weeks in the Galapagos will do wonders for your bank account
Say no to FOMO, hide school trip letters
School trips are verboten.
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trips → pay → letters
Even Gold DofE in the Cairngorms at £400 gets an immediate je ne pense pas.
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DofE → get → pas
Hide the letters and hold firm when they protest.
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they → hide → letters
They’ll understand the term properly when the bailiffs come knocking.
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bailiffs → understand → term
With four months off, let them go feral
Independent school holidays run to four months of the year-plus, which is a lot of weeks to fill even if you are at the relatives for half of it.
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you → let → it
And filling weeks costs money.
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filling → fill → money
Remind yourself that letting them ‘go feral’ and entertain themselves is character- building.
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them → remind → themselves
Who wants a helicopter mum anyway?
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Who → want → mum
A football is a fine birthday present and a muddy garden is a small price to pay.
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garden → pay → ?
I know one mum who sends her 12-year-old off with a friend on long ‘explore the Tube map’ trips.
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who → know → trips
Slip on shades and off to Aldi you go
Downgrade your supermarket.
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you → slip → supermarket
M&S and Waitrose is for those who wisely chose to go down the grammar route.
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who → choose → route
I have bumped into many a grand family in the middle aisle, eyes agog over Tupperware, wiring tens of thousands to a boarding school with one hand and shovelling own-brand beans into the trolley with the other.
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eyes → bump → other
Haggle if they’re boarding... or cry
Never pay the list price.
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they → haggle → price
Who knew there were awards for chess, dance and product design, but there are.
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Who → know → chess
…and 4 more, not listed.
