The new school term, which begins this week, marks the start of a 14-year spending spree for many Irish parents, or even more if your child goes on to third level education.
- Hibernian Life & Pensions revisits 2003 survey on cost of educating our children
The new school term, which begins this week, marks the start of a 14-year spending spree for many Irish parents, or even more if your child goes on to third level education.
The average parent of a five-year-old has no idea what the eventual cost of their child’s education will be. New research* from Hibernian Life & Pensions reveals that this year’s school entrants, assuming they attend state schools only and do not pay fees, will cost their parents €21,314** in uniforms, books and extra-curricular activities by the time they leave school at 18.
This contrasts to similar research undertaken by Hibernian two years ago, which put the total cost at €16,304. The 2005 research indicates an increase of 38% in the cost of educating a child at second level. Parents attribute this increase is in part to the rise in school administration and transport charges.
However it is third level education that really bumps up the cost. If you child has the brains the cost of college could end up putting a severe strain on the family purse strings. Despite the fact that tuition fees no longer exist, four years at university could end up costing over €30,000 when today’s five-year-olds to start thinking about CAO forms in 2019. This figure does not take account of situations where the student has to live away from home and pay rent, if this is the case the sky could be the limit.
Families with two or three children can simply double or treble the above costs.
Other findings from Hibernian indicate that over a child’s primary and secondary school lifetime – totalling approximately 14 years – parents will have to pay for over 20 school trips, 52 shirts or blouses, 39 pairs of trousers or skirts, 26 jumpers and 26 pairs of shoes. Parents of girls faced larger bills than those of boys as they spent more on books, trips and after-school activities. Costs increase when children enter secondary school, with increased costs of uniforms, sports kit and excursions.
Ian Veitch, marketing and product development director at Hibernian, said: "Unfortunately, many parents assume a free education means exactly that. However as our research shows the cost of sending a child to school and college can be a significant strain on a family’s budget, especially for families with two or more children. It is important for parents to allow for these costs when managing family finances. If parents do their school sums when their child first starts going to school and invest wisely it may not be such a financial drain later on."
For example: Investing €161.00 per month in a Hibernian Spectrum Saver now, assuming an average of 6% growth per annum, will provide €35,000 in 2020, hopefully enough to put your five year old through college.
| Monthly premiums required to fund €35,000 | ||
| Term of Hibernian Spectrum Saver plan | Monthly premium based on 6% growth and indexation | Monthly premium based on 6% growth and NO indexation |
| 10 year term | €216.88 | €266.30 |
| 15 year term | €116.50 | €161.00 |
| 18 year term | €85.67 | €126.98 |
-ends-
*Fieldwork for research undertaken by Hibernian Life & Pensions carried out during April 2005 by Behaviour & Attitudes Ltd. The total cost of putting a child through school and college was calculated by the following method: parents were asked to give the total cost of educating a child at various stages of schooling and the cost and frequency of purchase of various school related items.
**These figures have been adjusted to allow for inflation at 4% on a cumulative basis during the years 2005 to 2019
Press contact:
Kela O’Riordan, 01 617 8164, 086 606 8842, kela.oriordan@hibernian.ie
Notes to editors:
- Hibernian is Ireland’s largest composite insurer, ranked first for general insurance and top three for life and pensions
- Hibernian is part of the Aviva plc, the sixth largest insurance group globally
- Hibernian news releases are also available on www.hibernian.ie