From the School Bursar

Welcome  I too should like to extend a welcome to your son. It is usually a bursar’s lot to remind parents of the less welcome aspects of schooling, but I hope that these notes will be of assistance at this early stage. Please feel free to ring my office on 01753 671235 for further assistance or information.

Payment of Fees

The bill for your school fees for the first Michaelmas half will be posted to you from the Bursary in July. The bill will make allowance for any scholarship, bursary or pre-payment that affects the amount due. Future bills will include extras from the preceding half. Apart from standard works (for instance a dictionary, and a bible) the cost of most books is included in the school fee, We charge a standard calculator (at an advantageous price) to new boys' bills at the end of their first half. If your son's bill should normally be sent to somebody other than yourself, or to an address other than your usual home address, please inform the School Bursar as soon as possible.

Payment of the bill for school fees is always due by the opening day of the half. Interest is charged after that. Unforeseen financial difficulties sometimes arise. If they do, it is always advisable to discuss problems over payment of fees with the School Bursar at the earliest possible opportunity. Silence is the one thing that makes it more difficult to help than it might otherwise be.

Purchasing from Local Tradesmen  

Purchasing from local tradesmen  Boys are allowed to buy goods on account from certain local tradesmen. Purchases have to be authorized in advance by the boy’s house master or dame, and they are subsequently included in the school bill at the end of the half. If you are concerned to restrict your son’s spending with local tradesmen, you may like to make your wishes known to his house master or dame.

Insurance  

Except for personal accident (details are provided of lump sums according to a scale of resulting disabilities), the school does not itself provide insurance of any sort for boys or their possessions or for damage they cause to other people (it happens occasionally ... ).

The school facilitates insurance for private medical expenses and for school fee protection. If you wish to subscribe to these, please be sure to return the options card in the envelope provided with the new boy pack. The school also offers a scheme for insurance by you of your son's possessions and for dental treatment after an accident. Details of these schemes are provided on the separate leaflets in your envelope.

Extras at Eton, as at most schools, can be quite numerous and can mount up. Some are 'house extras' and are itemised on a note from the house included with the main bill, which just shows the total; any query should probably be raised with the dame in the first instance. Other extras are added separately to the main school bill, including purchases from the High Street. We would maintain that the Bursary's accuracy is good considering the many thousands of extras for the whole school, but we would not claim that mistakes are never made - perhaps at source, or perhaps by the Bursary. If you have any queries, a note to the School Bursar will result in investigation and a reply and correction if appropriate.

ISIS Campaign Fund  

The Independent Schools Council information service (click here to visit the ISCis website) performs valuable work in campaigning on behalf of independent schools against threats such as removal of charitable status or addition of VAT to school fees or even, at times, attacks on the existence of independent education. In common with many other schools, it is Eton’s policy to contribute to the funds that are necessary for such campaigning by charging a subscription of £1 per boy per half to the "Friends of Independent Schools", but if you would prefer not to subscribe, please let me know.

Julian James