Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Dinahcat wrote

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.

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.

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!

ailurophile wrote:Dinahcat wrote

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.

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?

That's exactly what I meant by "natural justice". I may have got the legal term wrong - any lawyers out there? - but my heart & mind and common-sense all tell me that there is something seriously flawed in the Foundation's reasoning. To tell you that one figure is reasonable, then to add £2k to it & demand payment without question, is unreasonable . It needs to be addressed urgently, otherwise CH will find a lot of gaps in the classrooms. What will they do then - increase the fees again to cover the loss of that income? It's totally self-defeating, and let's not forget the ultimate victims, all those children whose happiness will be shattered and school careers disrupted. It's not what I understood CH to be about.
This is crying out for a legal challenge, judicial review or whatever. CH may think the case is watertight, but I suggest it's more than a bit leaky!

[/quote]
This is crying out for a legal challenge, judicial review or whatever. CH may think the case is watertight, but I suggest it's more than a bit leaky![/quote]

The trouble with the Law is it's useless to the likes of us. The outcome is uncertain, but what IS certain is it'll cost a fortune! What is needed at this stage is to bring these grievances forcefully home to the decision-makers, who are the Council of Almoners and the School governing body. To do that it will be necessary to put all this in front of a much wider group of current parents, because there are relatively few of us here. If the bulk of parents agree it will then be necessary to organise a persistent storm of complaint which will inevitably be listened to sooner or later. The big problem is – how to contact the wider body of current parents? Any ideas anyone?

How about using your children's contacts?
They will each have the name, address, email address or phone no. of at least one CH friend. Those friends may well have contact details for different CH friends, and so on ... it could snowball! All you need is to channel the information to someone who could compile a central database. When you've got enough names, you could carry out a sounding among their parents.
Word would undoubtedly get round, & you could be snowed under by angry parents wanting to join you!

I'd really like to see the Headmaster step up to the plate and do something to help here. I appreciate he's in a difficult position, but rather than distancing himself from the financial side of the school with a "there's nothing I can do" approach it would be good to see him taking some responsibility for representing the interests of the pupils in his care.

I feel so very sorry for the parents involved in this scandalous situation.

I seem to remember recently filling out some sort of questionairre for the CHA.

How about the school balloting ALL listed OB's and staff on THEIR views on this apparent way forward ? I think holding ones breath might be a bad idea, though.

In a way, I'm glad our attempts to get GS into CH fell at the second hurdle.

Incidently, I think I saw 'the writing on the wall' a couple of years ago in the garden of a certain local hostelry to the school on 'Retreat' day, where a band of 'hooray-henry' parents were swilling champagne like it was going out of fashion and generally ruling the roost.

I thought then, as I do now, that they would have better been suited on the river banks at Henley or in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot. Their behaviour and attitude to a particular YOB who was present , was to say the least, obnoxious.

I take it there is no truth to the rumour that Housey Uniform is to be replaced with wing collars and boaters ?

Hi everyone...

I've been following this thread since it began, and I have to say, it's scaring me silly.
We're on a low income, my daughter is very bright, and the local school is mediocre. CH makes itself sound ideal for kids like her, but now I'm not so sure...
I've known all along that petrol costs for us will be pretty huge, but know my mum will help out with that if necessary. The main thing is this idea that if my daughter is lucky enough to be offered a place CH, we would only ever be asked to pay contributions within our means. We went to the open day at CH earlier this year, and this is undoubtedly the message they are still putting across. (Including the head, who MUST know the problems parents are facing.) What I have been reading here is a very different story!

I wish you all the best of luck with getting a positive resolution to this. It seems to me that making a lot of noise, collectively cannot make things any worse. The formula for calculating contributions needs to at the very least be made available to parents, and preferably made fair and reasonable, as they claim to be. The foundation must recognise that times have changed, even benefit claimants are "clients" now! The current one sided system cannot last, surely..?

This whole matter is SCANDALOUS !

The Foundation would not DARE to consult all the Old Blues.
Our views on th ematter of "Fees" have been expressed, at lengh on this Forum.
It has been said that CH is the richest School in the UK, and this is not shameful, when the original Morals of its Foundation were observed.
In my time, it was known that CH owned a good deal of the City of London, does it still ? and if so, can better use be made of the Income.
I have never looked at the Balance Sheet --- but I shall in the future, and I suspect many other OBs will do the same !
CH is NOT a commercial undertaking, it was never intended to be, but ------------

ailurophile wrote:I'd really like to see the Headmaster step up to the plate and do something to help here. I appreciate he's in a difficult position, but rather than distancing himself from the financial side of the school with a "there's nothing I can do" approach it would be good to see him taking some responsibility for representing the interests of the pupils in his care.

If the situation continues to deteriorate it may be that his cry will not be "there's nothing I can do" but '"there's nothing I have left to do".

xx

Headmasters and 'Guvnors come and go.

It's a shame they don't realise that the School is there for ever - Hopefully !

I was just wondering, with the new term less than a week away, if ailurophile has managed to sort something out re the fees? Any developments?

Hi Lonelymom

No, we're still waiting for a response. But in the same situation last year it took six weeks of anxious waiting, a second letter and two phone calls to the Counting House before we eventually got a reply which when it finally came amounted to 'We can charge whatever we want, like it or lump it'! To be honest I've been trying not to think about this too much - I spent the whole summer worrying last year and it actually made me ill; this year I've made a conscious decision to try to enjoy our time with the children. We've scraped just enough funds together in the kitty to ensure we can manage the first direct debit, and there's plenty of time for a nervous breakdown later!!

I really hope you get over this problem, ailurophile.

I'm getting more and more annoyed by the day !

It won't be silver broadie-buckles soon. They'll probably insist on 9ct gold, diamond encrusted buckles.

J.R. wrote:I really hope you get over this problem, Lonelymom.

I'm getting more and more annoyed by the day !

It won't be silver broadie-buckles soon. They'll probably insist on 9ct gold, diamond encrusted buckles.

Me? I think you mean ailurophile Time for some mod-style editing JR.

Thanks, LM.

moderately edited !

Oh the joys of power !