By Jordan Baker and Nigel Gladstone
Fees at Sydney’s top private schools have grown almost as much as the city’s house prices since 2005 and are likely to hit the $50,000-a-year mark by the end of the decade.
Three schools – The King’s School, The Scots College and SCEGGS Darlinghurst – will charge more than $40,000 for year 12 in 2022. Annual fee increases at other schools range from two per cent at St Catherine’s to 4.5 at Reddam House.
Wages make up more than half of a school’s costs. One former private school principal predicted financial pressure on parents would climb further in the next few years as a teacher shortage leads to bidding wars in key subjects.
Between September 2005 and 2021, the median price of a house in Sydney grew by 185.6 per cent. The cost of putting a student through year 12 at Scots grew by slightly more, from $13,772 in 2005 to $39,930 last year, or 190 per cent. Next year, Scots parents will pay $41,100, an increase of 2.9 per cent.
At Reddam House, fees grew by about 146 per cent between 2005 and 2021, and next year they will be $37,625 for year 12; at Abbotsleigh they grew by 125 per cent, and will be $35,500 in 2022; and at Newington they grew by 110 per cent and will be $36,770 next year.
“Our challenge has been – and always is – to minimise fee increase while maintaining the quality of education and range of opportunities that sets The Scots College apart,” principal Ian Lambert said.
Staff represented more than 60 per cent of costs at the Bellevue Hill school. “Our staff are a defining difference at the college,” he said. “They create a large part of the Scots advantage.”
The cost of sending a year 12 student to King’s will rise by 4.5 per cent next year to $40,007, plus more than $2000 in lunch and technology levies. If fees rise by three per cent a year, they will hit $50,000 in 2030.
The cost hierarchy of the schools has also changed; in 2005, Newington, Shore, Ascham and Sydney Grammar were the most expensive.
If fees had followed inflation, King’s and SCEGGS would have cost about $25,000 in 2020, Scots $19,200, and Kambala $17,500, based on the Reserve Bank of Australia inflation calculator.
However, the school sector says inflation is a poor comparison because of the substantial cost of wages. Between 2005 and 2020, teachers’ wages in the public sector increased by between 50 and 60 per cent. High-fee private schools have a higher teacher-student ratio and employ more non-teaching staff.
Some private schools have released their fees for year 12 next year
The Scots College - $41,100 (up 3 per cent from the previous year)
The King’s School $40,007 (up 4.5 per cent)
Moriah College $38,450 (up 3 per cent)
Reddam House $37,625 (up 4.5 per cent)
St Andrew’s Cathedral School $37,278 (up 3.25 per cent)
St Catherine’s School $37,322 (up 2 per cent)
Newington College $36,770 (up 4 per cent)
Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview $32,955 (up 3.5 per cent)
Redlands School $36,660 (up 3 per cent)
Abbotsleigh $35,500 (up 2.5 per cent)
Timothy Wright, the former head of Shore School, said he was always “painfully aware” of the expense. “You’ve got the tension between parents, [some] want as much as they possibly can, in terms of offerings,” he said.
For example, running the International Baccalaureate and HSC subjects with small candidatures was expensive. Buildings required maintenance. Independent schools also maintain a surplus to cope with shocks such as COVID-19.
“The pressure on fees is going to be ramped up in my view by the fact we’re going to have to be looking hard for teachers,” Dr Wright said. “It’s already almost impossible to get an experienced maths teacher to come into a school. That’s going to be exacerbated.
“That’s going to sooner or later cause a bidding war for certain skills.”
Another former school principal, who did not want to be named, said independent schools’ surpluses created a cycle of wealth because they’re invested back into the school, which in turn creates competition among high-fee schools for facilities and extras.
“When you are generating surpluses in excess of your Commonwealth recurrent funding, surely there’s an argument that you don’t actually need that,” he said.
University of NSW economics Professor Richard Holden said the increases were also related to market forces. “The parents sending students to those schools – can they afford to pay? Yes,” he said. “If people can afford to pay more, and there is a scarce number of places available at alternative schools, then [they can charge high fees].”
Geoff Newcombe, the chief executive of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, said insurance and cyber security costs were climbing steeply for private schools; for some, internet security costs have tripled. They were also responsible for their building and maintenance, and did not share the public and Catholic sectors’ economies of scale.
“The capital expenditure by NSW independent schools is approaching $1 billion per annum with most of that funded through borrowing, which must be paid off in late]r years,” Dr Newcombe said. “The growth in enrolments in independent schools has meant that schools have brought forward building projects to absorb demand.
“Schools have employed more counsellors and tutors to assist students maintain their learning levels and to cope with mental stress.”
The highest-fee schools receive the minimum amount of government funding. Figures from 2019 - the most recent - showed SCEGGS received $3669 per student, Kings was given $6044, and The Scots College received $4089.
Reddam is fully private so gets no public money.
This article has been changed to show that Moriah’s fees are going up three per cent, based on updated figures.
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