Boarding school fees hit a high

The Weekly Times’ annual review of school fees, published in Education, has found costs have hit a new peak annually close to Melbourne.

Full list: The complete Boarding School Fees Guide 2019 reveals ten Victorian schools charge more than $60,000 a year for combined tuition and boarding in Year 12.

THE average annual cost of sending a child to boarding school in southeast Australia is more than $47,600 a year.

The Weekly Times’ annual review of school fees, published in Education magazine today, has found while combined tuition and boarding fees start at $21,650 a year at regional schools, fees top $69,000 annually closer to Melbourne.

Ten Victorian schools charge more than $60,000 a year for combined tuition and boarding in Year 12, with the state’s most prestigious independent school, Geelong Grammar, topping the list of 29 surveyed schools.

 

YOUR GUIDE TO SCHOOL TUITION AND BOARDING FEES FOR 2019

 

The Corio institution charges an average of $68,800 a year for a boarding education, peaking at $69,940 a year for Years 9-12.

Fees for Year 12 at St Catherine’s School in Toorak and Melbourne Girls Grammar in South Yarra both top the $64,000 mark.

Australian Boarding Schools Association chief executive Richard Stokes said while the rates appeared expensive, they actually offered value for money.

“A boarding fee tends to be all-inclusive,” Mr Stokes said. “It includes transport, extra-curricular activities, supervision, security, food — all the bits and pieces that are part of that living environment.

“It tends to be the day fees that might have additional costs for sports and transport.

“Sometimes a more expensive fee might look scary, but it could include everything and there are not any hidden costs.”

Mr Stokes said fees had increased quite dramatically over the past 10-15 years because boarding schools had improved staff-to-student ratios and expanded services and security to meet parent expectations.

“When I started work in boarding 40 years ago, I would be on duty with 140 boys. Nowadays a school wouldn’t dream of doing that,” Mr Stokes said. “The expectation on the boarding staff has gone up 10-fold.”

He said boarding staff were trained to deal “with technology in kids’ hands better than parents can”.

Mr Stokes said regional families affected by drought could expect to be supported by boarding schools.

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“I don’t know of any boarding schools that don’t look after people in the country well,” he said. “A farmer who can’t pay the bills because they haven’t had rain in a year just needs to speak to the principal. They find ways to help.”

The 2019 guide to tuition and boarding school fees includes rates for Years 7, 9 and 12 from 29 leading Australian independent schools, including 27 boarding schools.