Is this fair?

[Great Plum]

I'm in contact with some of the current Blues on Facebook and was chatting to a girl who told me that she was not allowed at school at the moment as her fees had not been paid. She is just starting the Deps and to me, it seems ridiculous that due to a change in her family circumstances, the 'new regime' are not letting her continue her school year until this has been paid...

I never knew this to happen in the past - I think there are a couple who aren't back at school yet due to this. However, I understand that if parents don't pay, then they shouldn't expect to get 'free education' (unless they are entitled to it!) But why can't the school come to a deal with these parents and help them out a bit, perhaps pay in installments or take a fresh look at family circumstances... It all seems a bit harsh...

I am shorlty going to email the BSB in this particular case to see if they can help...

What are people's comments?

[J.R.]

I'm absolutely with you on this one Matt.

Surely there is room for negotiation, rather than jeopardise an education !!

If you want me to add my voice.......

[Mid A 15]

One must acknowledge that there are two sides to every story but that said the scenario (s) you have described appears completely contrary to the ethos of the Foundation.

Maybe intervention is needed from Governor / Almoner level.

It could be an error in "good faith" as I believe I am correct in stating that there are no Old Blues involved in the Senior Management team hence the management may not fully appreciate the School's Ethos and are therefore acting as they would in any ordinary commercial organisation. However if that is the case some "education" is needed!

[J.R.]

One must acknowledge that there are two sides to every story but that said the scenario (s) you have described appears completely contrary to the ethos of the Foundation.

Maybe intervention is needed from Governor / Almoner level.

It could be an error in "good faith" as I believe I am correct in stating that there are no Old Blues involved in the Senior Management team hence the management may not fully appreciate the School's Ethos and are therefore acting as they would in any ordinary commercial organisation. However if that is the case some "education" is needed!

By design or by accident ?

I trust you aren't suggesting a 'Them' and 'Us' scenario, Andy ?

[Mid A 15]

One must acknowledge that there are two sides to every story but that said the scenario (s) you have described appears completely contrary to the ethos of the Foundation.

Maybe intervention is needed from Governor / Almoner level.

It could be an error in "good faith" as I believe I am correct in stating that there are no Old Blues involved in the Senior Management team hence the management may not fully appreciate the School's Ethos and are therefore acting as they would in any ordinary commercial organisation. However if that is the case some "education" is needed!

By design or by accident ?

I trust you aren't suggesting a 'Them' and 'Us' scenario, Andy ?

I'm just giving people the benefit of the doubt at this stage.

The debt collecting techniques employed in industry and commerce are very different (or should be) to those in education particularly a school in the Charitable sector.

An eminent Old Blue Governor or Almoner should have a word if the circumstances are as Matt has described.

[kerrensimmonds]

The Treasurer is an Old Blue.
Denying the children their education (particularly if it is at a critical time in their lives) is not going to be helpful to them or to anyone, although of course there are two sides to every story.
Given the nature of Christ's Hospital one would have hoped that if the family were in genuine need and talked to the school about it, some concession could be made/rearrangement or deferral of fees/payment by instalment, in order not to prejudice the child's future. I am sure this must have happened in the past and I guess that in my day at Hertford the discretion would have been exercised by the Headmistress in liaison with the Counting House and the Council of Almoners.
It would sadden me if this 'individual' attention to pupils is no longer happening.
But there is the BSB, and the Necessitous Children's Fund - so let us know Matt how your contact with the BSB gets on?
At our University we do not allow students to re-register if they are in debt and the final reminder usually brings results. If they are in debt when they finish their course, we do not release their Awards (or even tell them what degree they would be getting).

[Katharine]

I agree with Kerren that it would be very sad to see CH taking such a hard stand.

When our elder son was starting his last term at boarding school, as usual we gave him the cheque to pay in when the boys reached school (we were in Borneo then). For some reason he forgot, there was no question of throwing the boys out. Rather foolishly, the school did not ask Jeremy but asked his grandmother (UK Guardian) instead. Thus it all took lot longer to sort out than it should have done. I presume the school took its in loco parentis status seriously, and Jeremy had been in the school for almost 10 years, with fees paid all the time.

[jhopgood]

I am sure there are two sides to this very difficult question, but having chatted to the Clerk, Paul Tuckwell, on more than one occasion, he has always made it clear that as far as he is concerned, the education of the children is of paramount importance, over and above everything else. So I don't think that not being an Old Blue really comes into the equation. Both the Headmaster and he must have known about the CH ethos before they took the job, and I would be surprised if it was not drilled into them in the final selection procedure.
It must be very difficult knowing what to do when fees are not paid, since it is a child's education that will suffer, and yet they are not to blame. University students are normally responsible for their own funding.
At the same time, if everyone stopped paying fees it would not be long before the school ceased to function.
One would hope that a fair amount of discussion took place with the parents (who I assume are the non payers) before the decision was taken, and that they were pointed in the right direction to get the thing sorted out.
That is my hope, but without knowing the other side of the question, it remains a hope.

[loringa]

My father was the burser of a mid-sized, fee-paying girls' public school for twelve years. On numerous occasions parents failed to pay the school fees for their daughters and some would go to almost ridiculaous lengths to avoid paying, lying about their circumstances, hiding funds offshore and even having more than one tax identity with the Inland Revenue so as to reduce apparent income, usually to that from a single pension scheme or similar. Even at that fee-paying school, the charitable status of which was about as valid as most Public Schools, pupils were only ever excluded as the very last resort when all else failed. In view of CH's very different purpose I would wholeheartedly agree that this all seems very unfair ............. if, of course, things are actually what they seem.

[J.R.]

Matt:

Please keep us all updated on any response you get to your e-mail to the BSB !

[JackD]

(if, of course, things are actually what they seem.)

I have been involved in several such issues over my term as a governor and things have never been quite so and in my personal experience the school has gone to great lengths to be fair and understanding once ALL the facts are in.

There is a noticeable tendency on this forum to assume the worst. Is that the inherent nature of blogging?

[J.R.]

(if, of course, things are actually what they seem.)

I have been involved in several such issues over my term as a governor and things have never been quite so and in my personal experience the school has gone to great lengths to be fair and understanding once ALL the facts are in.

There is a noticeable tendency on this forum to assume the worst. Is that the inherent nature of blogging?

Not necessarily, JackD.

Nobody on this forum, afaiaa, uses it to denigrate the workings of the school.

If there was to be one criticism, it might be that there is often no response FROM the school to comments made here.

You must remember that probably over 90 per cent of posters here ARE OB's and have the interests of the school and what is stands for at heart.

[Ajarn Philip]

(if, of course, things are actually what they seem.)

I have been involved in several such issues over my term as a governor and things have never been quite so and in my personal experience the school has gone to great lengths to be fair and understanding once ALL the facts are in.

There is a noticeable tendency on this forum to assume the worst. Is that the inherent nature of blogging?

In general terms I suspect you're right. It's a bit like the TV news - good news comes in a little package at the end...

As far as this particular thread is concerned, I wouldn't dream of getting involved unless I knew all the details.

If those details included a one-off 'Your parents haven't paid, don't come back until they do' warning without any prior dealings, I'd be quite horrified.

Matt, as far as contacting BSB is concerned, shouldn't the parents/guardians be doing that? Have you spoken to them? I'd suggest that was an essential step before you took it any further.

I don't know much about the inner workings of BSB, but I doubt they'll be terribly impressed with "Well, I met this girl through Facebook, and she says..."

[Hopeful_2009_Dep]

This really upsets me, my friend has just gone into GE and she was not going to be allowed back in September, her family have just had a baby and there are now 4 younger siblings and two parents. As a result her parents spent their mortgage money on fees so as not to disappoint her [she doesn't know anything of this]. Wheres the charity in that? I did the whole begging and crying for her not to leave [she left xP] but I was all set to write to the school demanding to know why she wasn't allowed to stay when she loves it so much and is so clever. I didn't but her parents may be declared bankrupt because they want her to have a good future. Sad eh?

[midget]

Surely if circumstances change, so should the fees? When my father was unemployed for 3 months no fees were charged (NOT simply deferred). Have the parents not notified the school of the change?