Parents face a £15,500-plus bill for the hidden costs of sending a child to school from Reception through to GCSEs, new research has revealed. The biggest drain on family finances is not uniforms or school trips – but the growing cost of after-school clubs.
Research commissioned by Nationwide found parents spend an average £700 a year on clubs and associated costs, compared with £381 on uniform and sports kit and £116 on school trips. Over a child’s school career, that means clubs alone could swallow around £9,100.
Parents feel the squeeze
The figures come as families prepare for the new school year, with almost half of parents – 49% – saying they feel stressed about the cost of going back to school. Many are being forced to make difficult choices, including cutting spending on eating out, holidays and even savings.
Clubs are becoming an increasingly important part of family life. Some 36% of children attend an average of around two different clubs during the academic year, with parents paying about £11 per session. For some working parents, they are not simply about hobbies – nearly a quarter (22%) say they rely on school clubs to cover childcare gaps.
Uniform and trip costs add up
Uniforms may not be the biggest expense, but the costs can still mount up. Nationwide’s research suggests parents spend an average £381 a year on uniform and sports kit, replacing around 25 items each year. Over the course of a school career, that works out at around 325 items.
The most expensive items include school shoes at £43, PE trainers at £42, blazers at £37 and tracksuits at £29. Some parents are paying even more, with 12% spending more than £76 on PE trainers. Almost every child (98%) attends at least one day trip during the year, while around half go on a residential trip – and of those, 49% of parents spend more than £100 per child.
Families cut back and find savings
The financial pressure is already changing household spending. Nationwide found families are cutting back on eating out or takeaways (37%), entertainment (22%), holidays or travel (21%), clothing or fashion (20%), home improvements (18%), household spending (18%) and savings or investments (18%).
Despite the squeeze, parents are trying a range of ways to bring the bill down. The most common tactic is looking for sales and discounts, used by 43% of parents. Some 35% are putting money aside in advance, while 34% are reusing items from previous years and another 34% are comparing prices between retailers. For uniforms specifically, a third of parents buy supermarket own-brand ranges, a third only replace items when they are worn out and a third shop around for the best prices. Almost a quarter (23%) deliberately buy larger sizes so uniforms last longer.
Jordan Banjo, member of Diversity and street dancer, said: “Like a lot of kids, I grew up having lots of hobbies from dancing to karate. So, I know the value of them but that doesn’t mean the cost doesn’t add up - £700 a year on clubs alone according to Nationwide’s research. Then add in uniforms and trips and you have stressed families.”
Fred Powell, Head of Current Accounts at Nationwide, said: “Our research confirms what many families already know: back-to-school costs can quickly add up. Clubs and trips all play an important role in a child’s school experience, helping them learn new skills, build confidence and make new friends and also help cover childcare gaps.”
Kate Steere, parent and consumer editor at Finder, said: “Clubs are vital for building life skills outside the classroom, but we can’t ignore that they’re also becoming an essential part of the working parent juggle, with a quarter of parents using clubs to plug the childcare gap.” Nationwide is working with Finder on a new back-to-school calculator allowing parents to compare their spending on clubs, uniforms and trips.
