11 Plus Exams Forum

from welcome pack i have a form for donation to the school, what if u decide against it? my friend who's daughter is in year 9, said it was compulsory ? just come back from holiday so not had the chance to send the forms off. is it required?

Donations are voluntary; but your school definitely needs it.
At Tiffin, they ask for £520 p.a and I believe, at TGS, it is bit less.

Donate whatever you can; your dd will benefit.

Schools 'needing' the money may be pushing it a bit - if all they got was their state funding (which is all they are entitled to expect, really), they would have to cut their coat accordingly, so to speak. However, the 'voluntary' donations do go to pay for things like insurance for school trips and just to make life a bit nicer for everyone and of course the 'nicer' schools will normally have a much lower extra income from the Pupil Premium than the average state school due to having a lower number of pupils entitled to free school meals etc.

If you just can't afford what they are asking for - which does seem a lot compared with the schools I am familiar with - just offer them what you are comfortable with.

that does sound like quite a lot of money - best to give whatever you feel happy with.

At our local GS the requested amount was £15 at the boys' school and £0 at the girls' school. They don't seem hard up.

I think both Tiffin schools ask for about £40 per month. I've always been happy to pay it as I feel it is important to help the school and I appreciate how tight state school budgets are. But it is a voluntary contribution so you absolutely do not have to pay it if you can't afford it or if you object on principle.

Thank you all, have sent the forms off, with our monthly contribution,

It is voluntary but does benefits the pupils.

One more thing, remember to tell tax office or include it in the gift aid section of a tax return, if you pay higher rate tax will get 20% rebated to you