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1 November 2017
Dear Parents
School fees for 2018 and finance in general
School fee increases are never popular with the consumer. How Iwish I could communicate a zero or, at the very least, a minimal fee increase to the parent body. However, this is just not possible in this day and age. Despite stringent cost cutting and excellent budget control, we have continued to raise school fees by 10% across the board.
Some background to the decision
The business plan that the School Board has been working on for the past three years has factored in a 10% increase x 3 years. 2018 sees the final 10% increase being implemented after steady increases of 10% in 2016 and 2017. This carefully considered increase is based upon a number of factors: such as the need to repay our loans for the new Pre-Primary campus, conversations with all our suppliers [such as HALT security] for their annual increases and where we need to provide additional finance to ensure that the education your children receive is internationally benchmarked. [An example of this would be the need to upgrade our software in the computer rooms to purchase the latest “Creative Cloud” Adobe licenses. This all comes at a cost as it is paid in US dollars]. I can assure you that this budget is the result of days and days of work by Susan Böhler – we honour her for the manner in which she provides much more than just oversight of the school’s finances. She is acutely aware of the tension caused by an increase of this magnitude.
Pupil numbers
An obvious, long-term solution to the school fee increase would be the addition of pupils into classes where we have space. Just adding 5 extra pupils makes a significant difference to the monthly financial picture. On average, the occupancy rate from Grade 00-12 is 73% for 2018. This varies from classes, which have plenty of space [Grade 4 Afr] to others, which are over subscribed [Grade 5 Eng]. We thus have space in selected grades to easily raise the occupancy rate to 85%, which is where I would like it to be. I would dearly love to add a few extra pupils to the ± 400 we will have at ESCS in 2018.
We have found that 9 out of every 10 new pupils come to the school because of word of mouth from the parents. In other words you are my best marketers! Please could you help me by having conversations with like-minded families who would also desire to have a top quality, internationally accredited education, with a deliberate focus upon inculcating a Biblical World-view so as to send out Kingdom minded people into the world. The obvious point of entry into the school is the Grade 00 Eng / Afr classes as well as Grade 7 which is the start of ESCS High School or Grade 8 – we have space in all these grades at the moment. After midway through Grade 9 it is too difficult to move across as we switch from the state curriculum to Cambridge International Examinations.
Fee structure Comparisons
The school has deliberately positioned its fee structure as being the cheapest of the three private schools in the Durbanville area. With around 20 pupils in a class, which is ideal for discipling, and even much less in Grades 9-12 when subject choices come into play, it is good value for money. No private school will ever be able to compete with neighbouring state school fees as their initial infrastructure and a good portion of their salaries are paid for by the state. However, ESCS offers an emphasis on the family, each child being treated as a unique creation of God with gifts and talents, which need to be nurtured and released as well as top-quality teaching. Rarely will you find a teacher at other schools being prepared to reassure an anxious candidate the night before an external examination. These solid pupil–teacher relationships are priceless.
Discounts offered?
As regards school fees, the school has also seen a growth in the number of parents who have availed themselves of the discount offered when the fees are prepaid in advance for the year. This amounts to a 5% discount in fees if paid by 11 December 2017. This is by far the cheapest option for parents who can afford to follow this route.
For most, the debit order is probably the next most affordable option. If you have not gone down this route please can I encourage you to contact Karl Bohler who manages the debit order option from our side at He will also help you if you have any questions regarding the interpretation of the various fee-paying options [debit order, EFT, cash and card].
The most expensive option is credit card / cash but this might be an option for families who wish to earn loyalty card points.
The accompanying table explains it all.
Bursary Fund
Going hand in hand with a fee increase should be an increased opportunity for needy families to apply to the Bursary Fund for assistance. Unfortunately the inflow of funds into this Section 18A compliant, Trust has significantly declined over the past five years. In 2018 we have enough funds to offer bursaries to our existing bursary holders for another year but we are not able to add new names to the recipient list. We encourage parents who are financially able, to either consider donating to the bursary fund on a monthly or once off basis. These donations are tax deductible subject to SARS limits. The gift of an education to a less fortunate recipient is a blessing which lasts a lifetime.
Music fees have again seen a minimal fee increase of <5% which is good news.
As always, the school is committed to offering quality education within a discipling framework and the scarce Rand will always be allocated to these two core areas above all else. We can assure you that we will not cut key educational corners for the sake of balancing the budget.
Karl and I will happily meet with any parent who needs to be accommodated in someway in order to meet the 2018 school fees. If a suitable payment arrangement can be made, then we will by all means consider any workable option.
Yours sincerely
Erith Budge
Headmaster