Damiso I really feel for people who desperately want to put their kids in private school but cant afford it.
Its not easy wanting something so bad for your kids but not being able to get it for them.

To be honest I understand your friends upset, but they shouldn't have sent the child to private school in the first instance.
Thats almost better than taking a child out of a school that he/she has already settled in
Thats why people should really look at their finances and be honest with each other whether or not they can really afford it.
Sometimes men just go along with their wives just for the sake of peace, but really they should put their foot down if they can tell that it will cause more disruption in the long term.

Can your friend and hubby look towards getting the kid into a Grammar school? My son attended a Grammar school and left with mostly A's and A*'s

damiso:


@piss off

I was not happy when they moved me from Ikeja to Vi when I worked in Naija.

Me that I used to wake up at 6.45 and still get to work by 8.

the more affluent the area, the more cars & more congestion
that's my conclusion anyway

I've certainly enjoyed reading up the discourse on private schools/ upper/ upper-middle class here. Truly that such discussions can go on without it degenerating to a brawl as is wont to happen on NL shows that truly there is still a decent group/class of Nigerians out there.

i'm so damn impressed

Wish i could contribute but all seems to have been said already.

I'd just sit back and continue enjoying the exchange..

Small chops anyone?

*cheers*

The U.S. is different. Yes, the school you go to matters, it the university you attend is the big player. Some schools are catchment areas for certain industries. In terms of the future of those kids, most will run the economy (companies, businesses, industries) but won't end up in Politics. Simply because Americans dislike people who look like they got life better than them. People disliked Bush II for that reason, even though he wasn't exactly the sharpest axe in the shed. Of course they love their old money but it's not revered the way an Englishman will ask you if your grandfather attended Eton. To be President in the U.S. you will get more votes if you tell them about washing cars or waiting tables during Summer hols than if you mention "I went to Duke, George Washington, Columbia, Harvard". They mistrust overly smart people. Bill Clinton went on Arsenio Hall's show, played the sax and got almost every single Black and Minority vote. Hillary Clinton can't get that group to trust her, so she's appealing to educated females and educated men. If it were any other candidate for the Dems, Trump would never have gotten this far as a opponent.

EfemenaXY and Damiso are looking at private schools from the UK position.I believe children in public schools with parental inputs/private tutors will do well there.Private schools' fees will cost about N1m when converted to Naira.However in Naija,you don't have a choice but put your kids in private schools.
However,N1m per annum is high end.

Onegai:


It's when they start denying it that it gets funny. I know someone whom that is what his clique members/awon boys do. 3 have been successful so far. And it always plays out in the same way.

Guy: "where do you stay?"
Babe: "Ikoyi, around Bourdillon, with my dad/Banana Island with my mum/Nicon town in the family house"

Gbam! He will call you back that night, no collecting your number and disappearing, no mago mago. Expect a 2nd date soon. The next day most likely.

Guy: "where do I drop you off"
Babe: "I live in Lekki 1"
Guy (soft smile): "really, I've got some friends there. Where?"
Babe: "Fola Osibo, in a self-contained BQ"

He will follow you home, bring his condom, but leave any thought of an engagement ring behind and spend the next 8 months "wondering" if you are The One (to your chagrin).

Guy: "where do I direct the taxi to take you to?"
Babe: "Festac/Iyana Ipaja/Egbeda/Fadeyi"
Guy: "wow, that's really far o"

Translation: "wow, that's really far, your father better be the owner of Chisco or Young Shall Grow or be a Customs controller of a Port somewhere because I ain't driving that far for nurring. Geh, ah don't do bridges"

If na lie I talk, make I fall for gutter

Many men are becoming lazier and the frustrations of the economy and joblessness isn't helping matters.The average guy now looks at the job she has and background in terms of family affluence before hitching.There are some who have made themselves diamond diggers.
Times have changed.

Lol @diamond diggers

thorpido:
Many men are becoming lazier and the frustrations of the economy and joblessness isn't helping matters.The average guy now looks at the job she has and background in terms of family affluence before hitching.There are some who have made themselves diamond diggers.
Times have changed.

tearoses:
Damiso I really feel for people who desperately want to put their kids in private school but cant afford it.
Its not easy wanting something so bad for your kids but not being able to get it for them.

To be honest I understand your friends upset, but they shouldn't have sent the child to private school in the first instance.
Thats almost better than taking a child out of a school that he/she has already settled in
Thats why people should really look at their finances and be honest with each other whether or not they can really afford it.
Sometimes men just go along with their wives just for the sake of peace, but really they should put their foot down if they can tell that it will cause more disruption in the long term.

Can your friend and hubby look towards getting the kid into a Grammar school? My son attended a Grammar school and left with mostly A's and A*'s

They are still in primary school and fortunately they live in s catchment area with good grammar schools. So yes I think one of the plans is to get into grammar schools at secondary school level.

thorpido:
EfemenaXY and Damiso are looking at private schools from the UK position.I believe children in public schools with parental inputs/private tutors will do well there.Private schools' fees will cost about N1m when converted to Naira.However in Naija,you don't have a choice but put your kids in private schools.
However,N1m per annum is high end.

I agree with you that a child will do well with parental input if not affordable. Its a lot of work though and believe me when i say it's almost a full time job on its own I.e. Parental input.

But if affordable I would go down the private school route.

Onegai:
The U.S. is different. Yes, the school you go to matters, it the university you attend is the big player. Some schools are catchment areas for certain industries. In terms of the future of those kids, most will run the economy (companies, businesses, industries) but won't end up in Politics. Simply because Americans dislike people who look like they got life better than them. People disliked Bush II for that reason, even though he wasn't exactly the sharpest axe in the shed. Of course they love their old money but it's not revered the way an Englishman will ask you if your grandfather attended Eton. To be President in the U.S. you will get more votes if you tell them about washing cars or waiting tables during Summer hols than if you mention "I went to Duke, George Washington, Columbia, Harvard". They mistrust overly smart people. Bill Clinton went on Arsenio Hall's show, played the sax and got almost every single Black and Minority vote. Hillary Clinton can't get that group to trust her, so she's appealing to educated females and educated men. If it were any other candidate for the Dems, Trump would never have gotten this far as a opponent.

You know I kinda think the tides are swaying abit on this side of the pond as well especially in working class areas.Typical example is the London mayoral election with son of a bus driver Sadiq Khan and Posh Tory boy Zack Goldsmith. Even though I liked Zack ,alot of people mistrusted him as they felt 'he could never get them ' because of his background.

David Cameron and his eton buddies also had to shift the conversation to 'helping working families' (though I think having a weak opposition did help) when the elections were trying to be fought along the lines of class. Even the Labour Party sef have that issue has a lot of core labour supporters feel that a lot of the Labour Mps(so called blairites ) are 'red torys' a lot of them were also privately educated. Guess that's why the core labour members rebelled against the establishment and voted for Jeremy Corbyn.

I even watched a programme where it was insinuated Theresa May (grammar school educated ) emergence was the Tory party going back to 'merit over privilege '.

That said though, politics aside Private (or public school as they are also called ) educated children would still tend to get better advantages.Even art where talent should be the driver is dominated by public school kids i.e Damian Lewis,Benedict Cumberbatch etc

And like it or not race also comes to play in certain professions.

damiso:


They are still in primary school and fortunately they live in s catchment area with good grammar schools. So yes I think one of the plans is to get into grammar schools at secondary school level.

If I had a choice between primary and secondary private school. I will most def choose secondary

For a start primary classes are smaller even in local schools (there were about 17 in my daughters class when she started and 22 when she finished) and because the schools are smaller, there is much more time for pupils against secondary schools with an average of 1200 pupils.

Kids that age also benefit a lot from parental input too; so music classes, holidays, art, quality time, brownies, scouts etc should start now.
They should start prepping the kid for grammar school. Saturdays should be spent at museums, library's, swimming etc and not just in front of TV.

And please advise them not to just assume that because the kid is in private education he/she will automatically pass the entrance exams to grammar school. They should please prep the child very well.
Those exams are very specific.

babythug:
I've certainly enjoyed reading up the discourse on private schools/ upper/ upper-middle class here. Truly that such discussions can go on without it degenerating to a brawl as is wont to happen on NL shows that truly there is still a decent group/class of Nigerians out there.

i'm so damn impressed

Wish i could contribute but all seems to have been said already.

I'd just sit back and continue enjoying the exchange..

Small chops anyone?

*cheers*

Thanks babes
This has always been a sane section
I prefer Yam and egg pls

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.

^^ How old are the kids in question?

Sounds like the dad is contracting (at best) on a £500 per day rate before tax, and this is on the assumption he works flat out 5 days a week for 50 weeks a year, excluding the 8 day bank holiday, and no time off for personal holidays / sick leave.

How sustainable is this? That aside, most of these contracts (from the finance sector) tend to be 6 month contracts with the possibility for extension, on the assumption that the project(s) is / are ongoing.

Don't forget dad needs to keep aside £17,000 a year in Corporation Tax, and that's exclusive of income tax, NI Contributions, Idemenity Insurance, 10-20% accountant fees, etc. Factoring these, his net take home pay at best would be more in the region of £70-£75k assuming he declares an income (i.e. what he pays himself/ salary) of £10k for tax purposes and the rest as dividends.

Now you might say £70-£75k per annum isn't bad but if the bare fees for one child (excluding lunches, uniforms, instrumental lessons, sporting kits, drama, school trips, insurance, etc) is £12K per annum, when you factor in those extra expenses, you'll easily be pushing an additional £8k per annum. That's £20k per child and £40k for both, leaving dad with a balance of £30-£35k per annum. Would the balance be able to foot their feeding, rent, council tax, gas, light, water, phone, Internet, cable tv, tv license, credit cards / loans repayment (if applicable), etc for the entire year?

Most importantly, mum appears to be working on minimum wage. What happens when dad is inbetween jobs, as is common with contractors? Especially now we've got the implications of Brexit to consider in the long run?

I think what's key is for the parents to decide what their priorities are, and to take it from there.

Hi Jahblessme is the fathers job fixed and will his wages be secure for the duration of when the kids will be in private education? The last thing you want to do is to run out of funds in a ready settled kid in private education. From the fugures you have given, mums wages cannot afford to pay for private education if anything happens to dads wages bearing in mind that he is self employed

I find that location matters a lot and if the kids are going to mix with the elite day in day out, then that does make a difference.
I still believe that private school alone does not automatically complete a child if you get what I mean. Parents still have a lot of work to do to mould the kids.

to be honest its down to what one really wants and ones priorities and what is important to the parents and of course affordability.

@Efemena & tearoses



Efe,

modified

That means that there are more funds available then
If dad did decide to work for the NHS and not be self employed will those figures change much?
Just asking to ensure that he has looked at all options that can occur that can affect his take home pay

If his take home pay is very secure then private school can be considered, but as they have a choice to move to a very good area, I suggest that they look at all the schools in the area first before spending their money on private education.

@ tearoses,
Thank you very much.
Income shouldn't go down,should actually go up but the couple don't want to spend all waking hours working.
They will look into state education more closely then.
Thanks madam T

Jahblessme:


It's tough out there mennn.

The irony is that you start out with your family and career almost at the same time, so you live in a smaller house and drive an average car etc as that's all you can afford then
Then by the time that you are at the pinnacle of your career and can afford more, the kids are about to leave home so you are left with a big empty house.
Thats why You see all these pensioners with their jags and flying all over the world; something that they couldn't afford years back.

tearoses:


The irony is that you start out with your family and career almost at the same time, so you live in a smaller house and drive an average car etc as that's all you can afford then
Then by the time that you are at the pinnacle of your career and can afford more, the kids are about to leave home so you are left with a big empty house.
Thats why You see all these pensioners with their jags and flying all over the world; something that they couldn't afford years back.

Hahahaha
You are so correct...!!!It is well,very painful reality.

Jahblessme:


Hahahaha
You are so correct...in this case,by the time mothers income should be reaching 6 digits depending on specialty,6-8 years!!!! When the kids have matured.It is well,very painful reality.

It is well
that's why some last borns can be so spoilt
they came after all the "suffering" and they just came to enjoy money

@ tearoses so true @ last born
You and Efemena have opened my eyes.
So hard to get info on things outside naija here.
The family were really hoping to hear that it's doable but the figures don't stack up at all!
Time for hot tears for the mother.

Jahblessme:

@ tearoses so true @ last born
You and Efemena have opened my eyes.
So hard to get info on things outside naija here.
The family were really hoping to hear that it's doable but the figures don't stack up at all!
Time for hot tears for the mother.

You're welcome.

I know how she feels. Private schooling in the UK especially in South East England is no joke. Parents are adviced to start saving up at least £2k monthly before junior is born. And that's to fund private schooling at secondary level.

To do both levels, then they should either have buoyant grandparents to help, Equity to release on their property, or savings / trust funds already established. When hubby showed me an article in the papers detailing all of this, our eldest was just under a year old.

Question is, how many of your average migrant Nigerian parents have these set up or better still, an inheritance to fall back on? Especially when the mentality is "born the pikin first, then God go provide..."

EfemenaXY:


You're welcome.

I know how she feels. Private schooling in the UK especially in South East England is no joke. Parents are adviced to start saving up at least £2k monthly before junior is born. And that's to fund private schooling at secondary level.

To do both levels, then they should either have buoyant grandparents to help, Equity to release on their property, or savings / trust funds already established. When hubby showed me an article in the papers detailing all of this, our eldest was just under a year old.

Question is, how many of your average migrant Nigerian parents have these set up or better still, an inheritance to fall back on? Especially when the mentality is "born the pikin first, then God go provide..."

@ God go provide.
Migrants face an uphill task to be honest! You just arrive empty handed and work from scratch to become something.

This family sets aside at least x per month ,yet seems like nothing.they are not willing to go totally skint yet.Mother really has to sit up,she was waiting for father to finish training and become more flexible with work then start her own.
It's a crazy world.
Thanks ma!!the mother and father are grateful and will sit up.
England seems to be more deadly fees wise.10-12k tops for secondary down where the family resides.

Jahblessme:


@ God go provide.
Migrants face an uphill task to be honest! You just arrive empty handed and work from scratch to become something.

This family sets aside at least 4k per month ,yet seems like nothing.they are not willing to go totally skint yet.Mother really has to sit up,she was waiting for father to finish training and become more flexible with work then start her own.
It's a crazy world.
Thanks ma!!the mother and father are grateful and will sit up.
England seems to be more deadly fees wise.10-12k tops for secondary down where the family resides.

Please tell mum and dad to remember to enjoy life
I know that they want the very best for their children, but they need to be healthy, stress free and happy themselves for the children to enjoy the full benefits of the parents investment.
The parents can do so much and the kids need to do their own bit too
To help the kids understand their own responsibilities & to encourage them, the parents need to be in a good place themselves.

If it so happens that the kids don't eventually make it to private school, its not the end of the world and the parents haven't failed

I know of a family who mum and dad worked 12 hours each 7 days a week just to put an only kid into private school. The mum died and people believe it was due to stress and over work.
Kid went to uni, but did a weird course and is not in that top job as expected.
You can imagine an only child not seeing the parents for hours/days due to work. must have been really lonely.

Jahblessme:

@ God go provide.
Migrants face an uphill task to be honest! You just arrive empty handed and work from scratch to become something.
This family sets aside at least x per month ,yet seems like nothing.they are not willing to go totally skint yet.Mother really has to sit up,she was waiting for father to finish training and become more flexible with work then start her own.
It's a crazy world.
Thanks ma!!the mother and father are grateful and will sit up.
England seems to be more deadly fees wise.10-12k tops for secondary down where the family resides.

Private school fees on average increase by 3% every year. So the parents should take that into consideration when calculating how much the actual fees will be (in six years time) for when the oldest is 11 years old, and in 10 years time for the youngest.

Additionally, I forgot to mention that the parents should seriously consider utilising their ISA allowance and start saving into a (high risk but potentially higher returns) Stocks and Shares ISA account. This should be left to grow for a minimum of 10 years - just about when the youngest is about to start secondary school.

Like every savvy saver, they should also look to spread their investments in a wide range of savings vehicles. i.e medium risk (bonds / government gilts), and low risk but lower returns (Cash ISAs). The ongoing rates for cash ISAs are drab to put it mildly (0.8 - 2.0%), but at least the gross (not AER) interest generated is tax free.

There is a lot of free information on the net they can look up but I would strongly suggest they pop into their local bank branch and ask to speak to an IFA (Independent Financial Adviser).

tearoses:


Please tell mum and dad to remember to enjoy life
I know that they want the very best for their children, but they need to be healthy, stress free and happy themselves for the children to enjoy the full benefits of the parents investment.
The parents can do so much and the kids need to do their own bit too
To help the kids understand their own responsibilities & to encourage them, the parents need to be in a good place themselves.

If it so happens that the kids don't eventually make it to private school, its not the end of the world and the parents haven't failed

I know of a family who mum and dad worked 12 hours each 7 days a week just to put an only kid into private school. The mum died and people believe it was due to stress and over work.
Kid went to uni, but did a weird course and is not in that top job as expected.
You can imagine an only child not seeing the parents for hours/days due to work. must have been really lonely.

Thank you for the kind words madam,big food for thought.life is indeed for the living.
I will relay to the family

Madam Efemena
Big assignment for them,WOW!!!
Thanks for taking time out to give all this financial info!!
The parents are blown away!!!
Thank you very much,they will get to work on it immediately!
Pity I'm now too old to say that when I grow up I want to be like you

@ Jahblessme

I guess you have read a bunch responses already. My two cents are as follows:

As Efe said, private schools increase by about 2% in my neck of woods annually and frankly speaking the parents should consider adding another 20% on top of fees to include extra-curricular activities, school trips and mundane things like birthday parties. Private schools can be socially exclusive if the kids do not participate in these activities; it sounds ridiculous but it is the truth and can be hard on the kids if the parents are unable to pay for all these extras. You will be amazed at how petty Oyibos can be about some of these things

Are the parents in Scotland? They may want to consider leaving them in in state in primary school, I have been on both sides, had to relocate my kids to state when oil price crashed, i was all up in knots but in the end, they have adjusted quite well and do not seem to have fallen behind and are progressing very well. In my opinion, the difference at that level is mainly the extra-curricular activities and ambience of the schools as far I can tell. In fact some of the parents that relocated their kids too have gone as far as saying that private school education at primary school level is a waste of money (I reckon that is sour grapes sha )

If they are that well off, I would say it makes more financial sense to do it from Sec. school where the network can offer a bunch of other opportunities and getting into a red brick is almost a guarantee even if the kids perform averagely. Finally, whatever they do, they should make sure the kids are not completely cut-off from black folks, many people think it is not a big deal but for children it is good for self confidence and can prevent all manner of ridiculous culture shocks later in life, we are all drawn to people who look like us, some of the the things my kids relay about the playground amaze me and I am glad there are other black kids around them.

Finally, they should know that what is most important is a well rounded child, 'make dem allow the shidren enjoy being shidren o '. These days many of the red brick unis are far more interested in well rounded kids than they are in polished accents and public school educated youngsters.