Walford Anglican School For Girls overtakes Prince Alfred College as most expensive for Year 12 fees
There’s a new name at the top of the list of Adelaide’s most expensive private schools. See how much parents are paying to educate senior students at 20 of the state’s elite colleges.
Schools Hub
Don't miss out on the headlines from Schools Hub. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Search the 4000-plus SA uni offers
- TAFE SA offers for 2020: All 8729 listings
- Schools hub: All other education news and databases
A girls’ school is now the most expensive in Adelaide at Year 12 level, a mantle that has been held in recent years by elite boys’ colleges.
Last year Prince Alfred College overtook traditional all-boys rival St Peter’s College as the priciest.
But this year, it’s parents at Walford Anglican School for Girls who will hand over the most for senior secondary schooling.
The Hyde Park school, which has been contacted for comment, has raised Year 12 fees by 2.5 per cent to $27,409.
Co-ed Pembroke School has also overtaken the boys’ colleges through a 2.5 per cent rise to $27,348.
The 1.9 per cent hike at St Peter’s College takes it to $27,310, while PAC’s 1.5 per cent rise sees it drop to fourth overall at $27,210.
Of the hikes by high-profile schools compiled by The Advertiser, Rostrevor College’s 6.2 per cent jump to $13,110 for Year 12 was by far the largest in percentage terms.
Rostrevor principal Brian Schumacher said Year 12 fees had been reduced in 2016 and then held at that level for the following two years.
He said this year’s rise “enables us to have an all-inclusive fee that includes specific Year 12 events such as the principal’s ball, graduation dinner and memorabilia”.
“This single fee ensures every student has the opportunity to participate in these significant final year events and means parents can have the costs spread across the year,” he said.
“This approach to fees has proved very convenient and popular with families.”
After Rostrevor, St John’s Grammar had proportionally the next largest rise of 3.7 per cent to $18,830, followed by Concordia College on 3.6 per cent to $16,140.
All other schools surveyed kept their rises to below 3 per cent.
MORE NEWS
Top of the class: All the 2019 SACE Merit recipients
How to secure a scholarship for your child
The figures, from fee schedules published on school websites, take into account tuition costs and other fixed charges.
But some are more transparent than others about whether their totals are all-inclusive or not.
And some will have different rates of fee increase at different year levels, so their Year 12 rise may not reflect their overall hike.
St John’s Grammar principal Richard Anderson said junior primary fee levels were unchanged from last year, while the tuition component of Year 7 fees had fallen slightly.
“The overall average fee increase is approximately 2.9 per cent across all year levels,” he said.
“This equates to a modest increase of our average Reception to Year 12 all-inclusive school fees of $7.10 per student, per week.”
Concordia College principal Paul Weinert said its board had made “the reluctant decision to move to a compulsory building fund levy” and was “always mindful of the impact of any fee increases on our families”.