Private School Deposit Timing Post Reply

[sw11_]

Hi all

Has anyone had a good experience that they can share around delaying a private school deposit payment by a few weeks while they wait to find out the outcome of another school application, to avoid paying two large deposits? Or navigating the system in some other way ?

We will have an assessment at Thomas's in November, only 1-2 weeks after our second choice school wants a huge deposit paying. The lottery of whether we'll be successful at Thomas's means we we will probably have to play the game and meet the earlier deadline, but the amount of time between the two events is so short that I thought i would ask in case anyone has some good ideas for how to successfully navigate this.

The other issue of course is that the second choice school has an extremely long waiting list and so it's totally crazy that they and others dont a)align their deposit timings with the other schools in the area, or b)refund a portion of my deposit if i pay them and then a few weeks later did not want the place. However in this instance i'm not arguing with how the system works - just trying to work out if i can navigate it with a bit more savvy. Any advice to this end very gratefully received.

[mumsw16]

Hmmm. They're not daft are they??! Think they make quite a bit of money this way.....

[SoConfused!]

Its probably not the kind of advice you are after... but my advice is take the other place and forget the Assessment farce at Thomas' ! If you look at their results they really are no better than any of the other local schools and I do find it a bit annoying that they are the only school that offer you a place 2 months after all the other local schools ask for a deposits. I think its all part of their Marketing - everyone is hanging in there waiting to hear whether they have been accepted and it makes you feel "special" if you have. But if all siblings get in automatically and if they try and select 50/50 boys and girls and equal birthday splits - then why do they bother with this assessment ?? I don't get it. But maybe that's just the cynic in me !

[pie81]

I suspect the time gap is probably longer than you think. The assessment may only be a couple of weeks after the other deadline, but it may then take several more weeks before you get told whether you have a place at Thomas's or not - and if you get waitlisted it's even longer obviously.

This system of asking for large deposits, which are not refundable if you don't take up the space EVEN THOUGH WE ALL KNOW THEY WILL FILL THE SPACE is pretty outrageous. Can't think of a way round however - but will watch with interest!

[MGMidget]

I'm sorry to say the problem has been around for years. I heard that a meeting was organised years ago to try and get the local schools to agree to coordinate timing of deposits but they wouldn't. The non-assessment schools tend to ask for deposits very early which is a way of locking you in (and their deposits tend to be higher than the assessment schools). Schools that assess the children tend to do this later because they say the children would be too young otherwise. If you want to pick and choose among the schools you can find it gets expensive in lost deposits (the wasted registration fees pale into insignificance in comparison with the deposits).

Personally, I agree that its wrong for schools to keep a full deposit if they can fill the place but not only does it make them lots of money, it is also a way of trying to avoid becoming the second, third or last choice school. If it is not their fault that you want to cancel the place they ought to be allowed to keep some of the deposit though because of the administrative time and costs involved in finding a replacement. However, schools tend to argue that the full deposit represents this cost!

If you want to have the safety net of the second choice school I don't have a solution for how to avoid paying the deposit. I think you would have to pay it and try to get it back later if you no longer wanted the place. I have some experience of getting deposits back but it depended on making a proper legal argument based on the contract, caselaw and statutory law at the time. These things will always vary so you will need to do your own research if you have the time - you can find out lots from websites though. I wouldn't engage a lawyer to do this for you because they will soon swallow the value of the deposit in legal fees.

[pie81]

Realistically it's a question of market power. These schools are very in demand (and their customers are pretty well off) which means that they can set outrageous terms like this and people will just comply. If a parent does not comply then the place will go to the next on the list.

The only solution I can think of is that one year, all the parents who have applied to X school should get together and collectively refuse to pay the deposit. The schools would then not have the option of giving the place to the next family on the list.

Trouble is, there would probably be some sharp elbowed parents who wouldn't abide by the collective deposit boycott...

[Mum2Monkey]

We have an offer from a private school (very over subscribed) and can't decide whether to take it - basically I need to do the sums. The registrar told me I had to pay the deposit by a certain date, I asked to speak to the head master and explained the situation and got a 2 week extension. I explained I like the school but needed more time to ensure that we could commit to private education for the next X years. There was no issue with having that extra thinking time.

If the school is over subscribed and confident it can fill the place then I can't see that a 2 week extension is either here nor there.

[juliantenniscoach]

@So Confused - so spot on!

[sw11_]

I'm inclined to agree with So Confused as well. Does anyone have experience of choosing between Thomas's and the other schools in the area? The thing I like about it is how forward thinking it is compared to other schools in the area which seem to be so traditional?

[livegreen]

@so Confused
Great advice with regard to any school that claims to "select" at that age !
Perhaps if keen on going to Thomas's, as many are, ask how many of applied/sat test to get into Alleyn's at 11+ this year and how many were offered places. Both schools are highly sort after mixed cohort day schools and many going to Thomas's target Alleyn's.

[walesdavies]

Sorry for short response, but supposed to be working
We asked for a 2 week extension on EH & got it, but we were in a different situation of not getting offered a place there until a month before the Thomas's assessment. & we managed to delay the whole thing until finding out about Thomas's 1st because my hubby was away with / busy with work & so we couldn't go back to the school & speak to the HM.

We have twins & so there was absolutely no way we could afford the 'lose' the deposit approach! We also spoke about our situation with our Nursery head & she was full of advice & helped us have the confidence to push for an extension (whilst helping us come up with good reasons to put forward without sounding like we were waiting for Thomas's!). We were able to use the boy / girl argument mainly as whilst I 100% wanted the twins split up, I was feeling very emotional about splitting up them into 2 different schools at 4yo! If you have different sex chn maybe you could use this argument too?!

Also worth noting, that because of the sibling, 50/50 & equal spilt birthday approach of Thomas's (& the then mass extradition once state school's have offered their places in April) that whilst apporx only 9 chn from the nursery started with a place at Thomas's in November, by July I think that had gone up to 17! So if you do decide to take a punt (seems hard to do!) on Thomas's, you could well end up with a place by the end of the year, although I do appreciate most people can't have that mentality!

We have only been there a few weeks, but we (all of my family!) LOVE it & the chn are so happy - the head is VERY forward thinking & whilst I doubt there is very much in it in terms of secondary school places offered, it is as equally important to me that my chn enjoy primary school rather than lose their joie de vivre because of stressful prepping & cramming.

Anyway, do PM me if you would prefer a chat about it - I won't get any work done at this rate!!!!

[dudette]

One thing to note about Thomas's is that if you want co-ed and want to go to 13+ it's your only choice unless you want the journey out to Newton Prep. Thomas's is forever being knocked about it's assessment but I'm not sure the alternative which the other schools adopt - ie to go on date of registration - is any better. It just means the kids who get in have pushier parents. I was told at one school I was "far too late" when I tried to register my daughter at 9 months.

Also you shouldn't see primary education as just a means to an end (ie getting into the next school) - it must be an end in itself. Those early years are extremely important in a child's development. If they go to 13 they will spend nine years at the school compared to five at the senior school. That's 10% of their life if they live to 90. It's important they're happy there.

[BalhamMumWorkingFT]

You're about to embark on a 100k purchase. That's about what you'll pay for one child reception to year 6. My advice is to get the school you want. Do you really really want Thomas? Then you probably will have to pay 2 deposits or be prepared to spend a portion of the time in state school to get either Thomas' or another local prep. Lots of kids move about before year 3 so it really isn't too bad.

Although they all appear a bit tough, a good sit down with the headmaster will help you out. They probably have seen many parents in the same situation!

Financially this is a small price when you start to think about the costs overall of a private education. Which is another stress all together different!

Good luck!