UK: Muggle parents keen to follow Harry Potter's lead
21 December, 2001
Hogwarts school of wizardry and witchcraft undoubtedly fires the imaginations of children and adults alike and research by Norwich Union has shown that 60% of parents would consider sending their children to boarding school.*
Surprisingly 10% more men than women would be prepared to pack their kids off to a boarding school.*
"As part of our study into the public's perceptions of wealth we discovered that sending children to private schools was one of the biggest signs of defining whether someone had money", said, Rob Davies, brand manager at Norwich Union.
"When questioned people felt that in order to fund a boarding school education they would need a household income of around Ł46,000*. Over 80%* of people don't know what it costs to send their children to boarding school.* Unlike Harry, not everyone has an account at the goblin's bank - Gringotts."
But with boarding school fees starting at around Ł3,400** a term you no longer have to be a financial wizard to fund a private education for your child. As for an increasing number of people it is possible to fund a child's private education through simply recognising that there are more effective ways of managing your money. Such as doing it online, as more and more people are discovering the wealth of information to be found on the web."
Davies continued: "Our research shows that 70%*** of online Britons describe themselves as financially comfortable. With only 2% saying they're struggling. So for the majority with some good financial planning private education is not unrealistic."
Across the country three per cent of parents currently send their children to boarding schools; although there are significant regional variations - in Wales the number is more than twice the national average - 8 per cent, while in Scotland the figure drops to just 1%.
www.norwichunion.com offers free access to a range of interactive financial planning tools and impartial money guides to help people make better financial decisions to become better off.
-ends -
Press contact:
David Ross at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 67
* Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres November 2001
** Source: British Education Online
*** Source: Wired Wealth 2001 - Taylor Nelson Sofres
Notes to Editors
- Norwich Union's online personal finance service was launched in May 2001 and provides a comprehensive range of free, interactive financial planning tools and impartial money guides, designed to help people make better financial decisions by making complex money matters simple.
- A fund supermarket ISA and share dealing service are the first in a range of products that will subsequently include a number of banking products.
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer offering a comprehensive range of long-term savings and general insurance products.
- Norwich Union’s news releases are available on this internet site
- A selection of images are available from the Norwich Union Newscast site at www.newscast.co.uk
- An ISDN facility is available. Call the press office on 08703 66 68 68
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