In return for a lump sum payment to the School, at or after the acceptance by the parent of an offer of a place for the child at the School, the School will apply a credit against the amount due under each term's fee invoice for an agreed number of terms. The total value of these credits will be commuted at an agreed rate in order to calculate the total amount of the lump sum payable by the parent to the School under the Scheme, with such calculation carried out prior to the parents joining the Scheme.
The scheme operates by parents buying a credit against future invoices at a discounted amount. These two examples show how parents can benefit from the scheme:
Parent/guardian pays the majority of school fees in advance
Parents ‘A’ wish to provide a sum of £6,000 per term for the full period of their child’s time at the senior school, which would be 21 terms. The total of the fees credited over these 21 terms would be £126,000.
The commutation rate is currently 3.0% so parents ‘A’ actually pay to the school the sum of £114,273 (from the Standard Table £19,045.55 x 6) so the termly cost to parents of providing the £6,000 worth of fees is reduced to £5,441 (an effective saving of 9.31%).
The parents will receive an invoice each term showing the full fees. The Finance Department will then contact parents each term to confirm the actual payment due.
Parent/guardian pays the minimum qualifying amount
Parents ‘B’ wish to purchase 9 terms at a rate of £3,500 per term. The total of the fees credited over these 9 terms would be £31,500.
The commutation rate is 3.0% so parents ‘B’ actually pay to the school the sum of £30,280.87 (from the Standard Table) so the termly cost of £3,500 is reduced to £3,364.54 (an effective saving of 3.87%).
The parents will receive an invoice each term showing the full fees. The Finance Department will then contact parents each term to confirm the actual payment due.
For all enquiries and to receive a personalised and accurate quote for the Fees in Advance scheme, please complete the below form.
Unfortunately not. As we do not know what tuition fees will be in the future, we are unable to guarantee that you will have nothing more to pay. The fees in advance scheme also only covers tuition and boarding fees; you will still have to pay extras (like music lessons or trips) on a termly basis.
Banking regulations mean that we are unable to refund fees paid in advance other than under clauses (14) to (16) of the following terms and conditions. This effectively means we can only refund fees if your child leaves the School.
Fees paid in advance form part of the general unrestricted reserves of the School, the School is therefore free to used fees paid in advance as it sees fit. However, as a general rule fees paid in advance are held in a separate bank account from the School’s general account and an amount is then released to general funds at the start of each term.
As the law is currently written, VAT is due on a taxable supply of a service at the earlier of the service being provided or payment being made. If the fees in advance scheme is used, the time of supply would be time that cash is received into the School’s bank; and under current legislation that means VAT would not be due. If VAT does get added to school fees in the future and the time of supply rules are not changed, VAT would not be due on the amounts paid in advance. Parents could therefore potentially save the cost of the additional VAT by paying in advance.
However, if VAT is added to school fees at some point in the future it is also possible that the time of supply rules could be changed at the same time. If VAT does become chargeable, the School will have to pass this on to parents regardless of fees having been paid in advance. There is therefore a risk that either way parents will be liable for VAT at some point in the future.
The School is unable to provide legal or taxation advice on whether using the fees in advance scheme is appropriate for parents. We recommend that parents obtain appropriate advice from an accountant or solicitor before opting to make a lump sum payment.
Yes; however, we may need to undertake further checks to confirm the relationship with the student and the source of the funds.
Yes; there is a minimum limit of £30,000. This amount is the minimum to be paid to the Schools and is the amount after the discount has been applied.