Parents spend almost £3,000 on their child’s first year of school, according to new research.
Over the course of a child’s education, parents reportedly spend an eye-water £60,000 – excluding school fees – on food, technology, childcare, transport and extracurricular activities for their child.
The research, commissioned by John Lewis, found the cost of a child’s reception year in primary school was £2,744. Overall, the study claimed parents spent £29,512 per child on primary school outgoings and £34,440 on secondary school costs.
Food and drink was the most expensive outgoing – costing parents £944 annually per child.
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Technology was the next most expensive item, with the costs of mobile phones, laptops and tablets totalling £607. The study also found that transport (£536) and childcare (£589) followed as the next most expensive outgoings for parents.
It claimed that Year 7 – the first year of secondary school – was the most expensive overall, with parents spending £6,794 on average. But costs for the GCSE year fell, with Year 11 only costing £2,792 in comparison.
Bad luck if you have three sons: on average boys cost £1,600 more every year than girls to send to school.
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Regional differences also emerged with London being the most expensive region to educate a child per year (£8,500) compared to Wales (£2,800).
The results demonstrate how state school costs for parents have rocketed in the past two years. A 2013 Aviva study estimated the total cost at £22,500 – roughly a third of the total costs now.
