Peak inflation pain hasn’t passed for everyone in the UK. The headline rate may finally be falling, but shocks still lie in store for some people. Some of the loudest groans have been emanating from parents opening their private school fee demands for the coming academic year.
I speak from rueful experience. My own bill is rising by well in excess of 10%, once all extras are factored in. Conversations with London-based education consultants that help place children in fee-paying establishments suggest this isn’t particularly out of the ordinary. Steve Spriggs, managing director of William Clarence Education Group, says he has seen increases of as much as 15%. Johanna Mitchell, founder of Lumos Education, pegs fee growth in the capital at 7% to 9%, though puts the nationwide average at a more modest 4.5%.