Parents in St George and the Sutherland Shire can expect to fork out more money for private education than parents in other areas of Australia, after Sydney was named the most expensive city in the country for a private education.
Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) released its latest planning for education index today. It forecasts the cost for a child to go through school – from pre-school right up to Year 12 – in government, systemic, or private schooling.
The study discovered for a child born in 2017 the forecast cost of a private education in Sydney is $575,140, 18 per cent above the national metropolitan average ($487,093) and significantly more expensive than Melbourne ($536,515) and Canberra ($447,307).
The index revealed Sydney ($250,862) is also the most expensive city in Australia for a systemic education – such as at a Catholic school or other religious school – with Sydney five per cent above the national metropolitan average ($239,672).
Sydney is also forecast to be the second most expensive city for the cost of a government education ($75,080), just behind Melbourne ($77,371), but still nine per cent above the national metropolitan average.
Based on more than 12,500 responses, the index calculates a range of variables including school fees, transport, uniforms, computers, school excursions and sporting trips to determine the cost of education.
School fees, the cost of extracurricular activities including excursions and uniforms have all risen in the past year, but computers and transport costs have fallen when compared to 2016.
Muhammad Haroon spends about $30,000 a year to send his son, Samar, in Year 5, to a grammar school in Sydney. He said it was important to ensure a holistic education.
“Samar’s school offers the International Baccalaureate syllabus and we wanted to give him an environment where he can be exposed to international languages and cultures.
“It’s not just about education but overall development, because we need to start thinking differently and the world is larger than a city or suburb.
“It was important to join ASG to give us the financial security to always be in a position where we can afford Samar’s education, because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”
The research also discovered that the estimated cost of a private education has skyrocketed by 64 per cent in the past decade across metropolitan Australia. For a child born in 2017 the forecast cost of a private education across metropolitan Australia is $487,093, a jump of $190,820 compared to a child born 2007 ($296,273).
These figures are the average estimated costs, and represent the highest amount parents and families could expect to pay.
ASG was established in 1974. ASG is the largest provider of education scholarship plans in Australia. Since its inception, the organisation has supported the education journey of more than 520,000 children, and more than $2.3 billion has been returned to members and their children in the form of education benefits and scholarship payments.
