School fee rise 'outstrips earnings'

London: Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to send children to fee-paying schools with private education less affordable than it was five years ago, a report claims yesterday.

In a report condemned by the Independent Schools Council, Halifax Financial Services found that school fees last year took up a significantly larger chunk of earnings than in 2000.

In 2005 average private school fees were equal to 35 per cent of average gross earnings compared with 30 per cent in 2000. Fees were judged to be affordable if the charge for one child's schooling for one year was equivalent of less than 25 per cent of the average earning of a parent's occupation.

This would mean that parents in only 10 occupations named by the Halifax can now afford to send their children to fee-paying schools, down from 19 in 2000.

The average pilot, doctor, lawyer and senior police officer could still afford to send their children to private school.

But journalists, writers, tax advisers, architects and scientists have been frozen out.

Average salary

For teachers, school fees represented 30 per cent of the average salary last year, while for nurses the chunk of average earnings needed was bumped up to 39 per cent.

As a result, fewer than one in 10 nurses can afford to send a child to a private school, researchers said.

Martin Ellis, chief econ-omist at the Halifax, said: "The rapid rise in school fees over the past five years has made it increasingly difficult for many parents to send their children to private schools."

But the Independent Schools Council hit out at what it claims is "muddled and misleading" information.

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