Fees in Advance Scheme
The Foundation has had a Fees in Advance (FIA) Scheme for some years. This is reviewed periodically by Trustees of the Foundation. A recent review has been completed and Trustees have agreed to an updated FIA Scheme for pupils across our Foundation schools.
Parents, guardians or third-party fee payers can use the Scheme to pay for all or part of the tuition fees for their child’s education at one of our schools in return for the benefit of a discount on fees, currently set at 2% per annum.
Eligibility
The Scheme is open to current fee payers who wish to pay in advance for one or more academic years. Parents who have accepted the offer of a place for a child entering one of our schools can also take advantage of the Scheme.
The maximum period that fees can be paid for in advance is seven years, and the maximum amount that can be paid per term will be the current fee rate at the time of signing up to the scheme. The minimum termly amount is £1,000.
Overview of the Scheme
Fee payers can choose the period they wish to be covered by the Scheme and the amount they wish to pay towards the fees per term; this will be a fixed amount per term throughout the agreement period. This calculator below allows fee payers to consider what sum they may want to put against the fees for future years and will indicate the resulting discount. The calculator can be used by inputting the current fees as a starting point.
Click here for the Fees in Advance Calculator
To enter the Scheme, the Fee Payers and the Foundation will agree a single advance payment sum. This will be subject to a written agreement which sets out the full Terms and Conditions of the Scheme. Upon receipt of the fees paid in advance, the Foundation will issue an invoice which will detail the school terms against which the fees have been allocated for the period to be covered by the Scheme, in accordance with the agreed Fees in Advance schedule.
Examples
Example A
You make an advance payment towards 6 terms at a termly rate of £4,064 per term, a total of £24,384. The actual payment is £23,981.66, being a discount of £402.34.
Example B
You make an advance payment towards 9 terms at a termly rate of £3,000 per term, a total of £27,000. The actual payment is £26,295, being a discount of £705.00.
Example C
You make an advance payment towards 15 terms at a termly rate of £5,280 per term, a total of £79,200. The actual payment is £75,630.72, being a discount of £3,569.28
Important Points to Note
- The Scheme does not protect parents from future increases to the school fees. A termly invoice will be issued showing the actual fees (and any supplemental charges and/or taxes) less the amount of the applicable prepayment applied to that term’s bill, as per the Terms and Conditions of the Parent Contract. Where the actual termly fees are more than the termly fees paid in advance, parents would be required to pay the difference
If the actual fees are lower than prepaid for that term, any excess of the advance payment above the actual fees for the relevant period will be refunded (without interest and less any sums due to the Foundation), subject to the terms of the Scheme.
- No statement made by or on behalf of the Foundation shall be treated as legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Anyone considering entering the Scheme is recommended to take their own tax, financial or legal advice before making a payment.
- To look through the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme, please click on the relevant link below if you are a parent or if you are a third party fee payer.
FIA Terms and Conditions - Parents
FIA TERMS AND CONDITIONS - THIRD PARTY FEE PAYER
Next Steps and Timescales
If you wish to take advantage of this Scheme, the first step is to complete the online application form.
Click here to access the online application form
Following receipt of the application form, we will then provide a Scheme Agreement setting out the details of the Scheme based on the information supplied, which you need to sign and return to us along with the payment.
Fees in advance for September 2024
The deadline for receipt of a completed online application form is Friday 5 July 2024 (which follows the publishing of the fees for September 2024 in the week commencing 24 June 2024).
The deadline for signed agreements and payments is Friday 26 July 2024 to ensure correct invoicing in August.
Parents, guardians and fee payers whose children are joining a Foundation school in September 2024 can participate in the scheme once they have accepted the offer of a place and paid the deposit.
Fees in advance for January 2025 and April 2025
The scheme will be available to join for the Lent and Trinity Terms in 2025. Deadlines for these terms will be published in due course.
Further information on the Scheme is provided in the Questions and Answers section below.
Questions and Answers
Why does the Foundation provide a Fees in Advance Scheme?
There are a number of reasons:
- The Scheme provides peace of mind for parents that funds have been allocated to the payment of school fees for a specified period of time.
- The Foundation gains the security of knowing that a child’s fees have been paid for future terms.
- Third party fee payers may want to transfer payments secure in the knowledge that their payment can only be used for a child’s fees.
What is the maximum prepayment period?
The maximum pre-payment period is seven years. At the end of the period to which the prepayment Scheme relates, parents may enter into any new prepayment Scheme then being offered by the Foundation for further academic years. Any subsequent agreement will be subject to the discount rates (and any VAT rules in place) and terms of the plan in each case then being offered at that time.
What happens if my child leaves their school earlier than expected?
If your child leaves the School before the end of the Period covered in the Scheme agreement, then the Foundation will refund that part of the Advance Payment as shall have been applied in paying the fees (at the allocated rate) for any term in the Period during which your child shall not be at the School.
The amount will be refunded as soon as practicable, and usually within two months after the end of the last term your child is in the school.
Please note that a term’s fees in lieu of notice will fall due where the correct notice has not been given to withdraw your child from the school. (Details of this can be found in the Foundation’s Terms and Conditions of the Parent Contract.) The Foundation may deduct from any refund any monies that may be due, which may include any fees in lieu of notice that are due and owing to the Foundation.
How safe is the amount I have paid in advance?
The Foundation is financially strong. Our audited accounts are on public record at Companies House and the Charity Commission.
Parents who have paid fees in advance are however unsecured creditors of the Foundation. This means that in the event of insolvency or otherwise, the Foundation cannot guarantee that any part of the advance payment will be returned.
What about VAT on fees?
- Currently VAT is not chargeable on invoices raised for independent school fees, including any charges under the Fees In Advance Scheme.
- We do not know how any potential change in the VAT legislation would affect school fees that have been prepaid.
- If VAT is introduced on school fees, the Foundation does not know how it will be applied and it may be that any applicable taxes will be applied to any fees where payment has been made in advance, but the relevant term has not yet started. Any VAT due on fees will need to be recharged to parents by the Foundation.
- We recommend that you seek your own financial, tax or legal advice on this matter.
Can prospective parents join the Scheme?
No. Regretfully, it is only possible to enter into the Fees in Advance Scheme where the offer of a place in a school has been made and accepted by the parents with the deposit paid.
Can current Foundation Prep School parents and fee payers use the Scheme to pay fees in advance at Princethorpe College?
Unfortunately, this is not currently possible unless you have had an offer of a place at the College which has been accepted (current Year 6).
The Discount Rate – is this fixed for the term of the Agreement?
Yes, the discount rate (as set at the applicable time) will be guaranteed at the time of entering into an agreement with the Foundation and will be fixed for the duration of the participation in the Scheme.
Please note that the Foundation will review the discount rate from time to time and so in future may be subject to change at the time of any future application.
When will we know the School Fees for 2024-25?
These will be communicated in the week commencing Monday 24 June.
Can I pay more than the termly fees to cover any additional charges?
No, the Scheme only covers school fees and the maximum termly payment is the currently termly payment for the pupil’s year group on entry to the scheme.
If I have any further queries what do I do?
Please send any questions through using the link below. We will respond by email and are happy to discuss queries with you in a call where that would be helpful.