Surely what the Foundation have decided is that the cost of educating a child at CH has now risen nearer to £25,000 per year; it is simply not realistic to jump from that to deciding that the fees must rise to cover this cost. I don't know how the shortfall is to be met, but it is surely unreasonable to expect already hard-pressed parents to conjure extra fees from thin air. Presumably the Foundation employs financial advisers who are well paid to find ways of maximising the income from their considerable endowments; this is sadly not the case for families on a modest and finite income who are also struggling to manage the rising cost of living.The finance office told me the other day that the Foundation has decided that the fees need to be nearer £25,000 in the immediate future which does mean that everyones fees will go up.You have to budget for increases each year and if you start off at your limit you will quickly come unstuck if your income doesn't go up at the same rate.
I imagine that many CH parents must ‘start off at their limit’ or indeed beyond it, since this appears to be how the fees are determined. And it is simply impossible to 'budget for annual increases' when these appear to be levied with no reference to any corresponding increase in income; it is particularly difficult to estimate what future increases may be now that the Foundation has ceased to publish any meaningful information on how the contributions are calculated against assessed income.
When our sons joined CH we agreed to pay the fees which at that time the Foundation considered to be ‘reasonably affordable’ (their words) based on their assessment of our family income; while anticipating an annual rise in line with any increase in that income, we certainly did not foresee that the criteria used to assess income would be subject to change with no notice, or that our contribution would rise at a rate of some 18-20% per year with no explanation. How can parents be expected to calculate what they can afford, and to commit themselves to school fees for seven years ahead when there is no reciprocal commitment from the Foundation that the fees will remain reasonably affordable during that time?
By my own calcuation, our own assessed income has risen this year by some £1600, of which £1200 is represented by this year's 'pension contribution' increment - our actual net income rose by less than £400. But our total assessed contribution has risen by a whopping £2400. We're currently waiting for some justification of this figure from the Counting House, but if anyone out there can explain it, or suggest how we are meant to budget for it, I'd be interested to hear from you!
I think you mean ailurophile 
Time for some mod-style editing JR.