Shock number of families willing to switch kids’ schools to manage cost of living rises

More parents are willing to move their kids from private to state schools to make ends meet, and some have already switched.

Almost one in five Australian parents would pull their kids out of private school and send them to public schools in a bid to drive down mounting cost of living pressures.

New data released by comparison website Finder has revealed that 10 per cent of families around the country have already made the switch.

The survey of more than 1000 people with children under 12 years old found that less than a quarter of all parents would keep their children enrolled in private schools.

Fifty per cent of families already sent their children to government schools.

Finder’s most recent Parenting Report showed that 17 per cent of Australian families would move their child from a private school to a public school to reduce their living expenses.

Fees for Victoria’s most expensive school Geelong Grammar have increased from $43,360 in 2022 to $46,020 this year. Picture: Mark Wilson

Kate Hill, group executive of Futurity, an investment firm that provides education-related financial advice to families, said additional school expenses on top of rising fees were stretching parents financially as livings costs continued to spiral.

“School fees play a factor, however outside tuition, software and electronic devices, uniforms, transport, sports equipment and musical instruments are all demanding a far greater share of the family budget than in the past, pushing-up the total cost of education,” she said.

“It is not surprising parents are considering school choice in an effort to ease the cost of living burden.

“Private school fees increases of between three and five per cent equate to hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year. This places more of a burden on parents who are already stretched by the spiralling cost of living.”

It comes after the Herald Sun analysed private school fee increases for the 2023 school year, which found it would cost parents at least $480,000 to enrol their children in some of Melbourne’s most exclusive independent schools from next year – about the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne’s CBD.

Exclusive Lauriston Girls School in Armadale, where enrolments have dropped. Picture: Ian Currie

Fees for year 12 students at Geelong Grammar School, Victoria’s most expensive independent school, increased from $43,360 in 2022 to $46,020 this year.

Some of Melbourne’s most exclusive private schools have reported decreases in enrolment numbers in recent years.

In 2018, Lauriston Girls’ School had 950 students, compared to 885 in 2021.

Kew’s Xavier College had 1943 students enrolled in 2018, which dropped to 1744 by 2021.

Money specialist at Finder and mother-of-three Sarah Megginson said private school education was “on the chopping block” for more families as other costs continued to skyrocket.

“Families are having to make some tough choices when it comes to household expenses,” she said.

“A private school education is a ‘luxury’ with many households having to prioritise other expenses like housing, groceries and petrol costs.

“It’s difficult to pay school fees when every other bill is rising at the same time.”