Putting child through school until 16 costs £40,000 -…

Putting child through school until 16 costs £40,000 - tech, uniform, lunches and more

The cost of putting a child through school to the age of 16 is almost £40,000 a study has revealed.

Parents ensuring their youngster is fully kitted out to GCSE stage face paying out £4,340 on technology, £4,157 for packed lunches and £4,104 on uniform.

With mums and dads already thinking about back to school gear for the new academic year, research has revealed laptops, tablets or smartphones take the biggest chunk of the family budget with costs more than doubling year-on-year from £102 to £239 per child.

A survey of 2,000 parents by MoneySuperMarket found a chunk of cash also goes on transport and school trips which cost more than £3,000 each over the years or just under £200 a year.

Figures based on the average family having 1.7 children found mums and dads shell out almost £4,000 on extra-curricular activities and £3,665 on after school clubs and “wraparound care” such as breakfast clubs.

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A further £4,243 goes towards pocket money and £3,833 on social activities, all racking up a bill of £39,226.99 over a child’s school life to the age of 16-years-old.

No wonder then that the research found 77% of parents have worried about the cost of putting their youngsters through school, while 22% admit to regularly worrying about it.

Despite many parents having saved money over the past 18 months, 27% of those who did to put cash aside during lockdown admit to still feeling anxious about covering the cost of the new school year.

Plastic is the most popular way of paying for school essentials with 24% of mums and dads using credit cards to make sure their son or daughter has all they need for the autumn term.

But 21% have had to dip into their savings to buy school gear and 18% have turned to family or friends for help such as a handout or a loan.

And 12% have used “buy now, pay later” schemes to help make ends meet.

Sasha Evans, finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Everyone wants their kids to have the best possible time at school, so it’s easy to see how costs can mount up - particularly as education becomes more reliant on tech.

“With funding education causing a lot of Brits stress, it’s important to remember there are ways to control costs.

“There’s a whole range of measures you can take, from buying second-hand to making use of discount voucher codes, shopping for back-to-school essentials from supermarkets, car-sharing and even walking the school run.”