Tag Archives: costs

The Economics of Education

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education

You may not realise it, but schools run a bit like businesses. Aside from the task of teaching children, instilling key values and ensuring that children are knowledgeable and rule-abiding adults by the time they leave at 18 years of age, schools have to balance the books. It costs a lot of money to run our nation’s schools, and while the aim isn’t to make a profit, it certainly pays to not overspend. Here’s a little bit of insight into the economics of education in the UK…

What is the average school spend per pupil?

The average spend per pupil in a local authority maintained school for 2014-2015 was £5,212. This figure accounts for spending on school supplies, staff, support staff, other employees and running expenses. Sadly, many teachers feel that it’s becoming more and more challenging to deliver the kind of teaching and results they want to after recent cuts to the budget by the government.

And what about unforeseen spends?

The BBC recently reported that schools in England are having to spend £1.3 billion per year on supply teachers because of chronic shortages. The average school spends a little under £60,000 a year on supply agencies, which of course is a high cost to be factored into already tight budgets.

Where does the funding for schools come from, and is it apportioned equally?

Well, the short answer is that, for the most part, funding comes from the government. And no – funding is not equal across the country. In fact, last year the Telegraph reported that there is a serious discrepancy in the amount of funding that schools receive across the country.

The Association of School and College Leaders carried out an analysis, and found that the ten best funded areas of the country received grants of £6,297 per pupil in 2015-2016.

However, in the ten most poorly funded areas, grants were only £4,208 per pupil. Ultimately, it’s a ‘post-code lottery’ (according to the Association of School and College Leaders), meaning that it’s really a question of luck whether or not children will get to benefit from the maximum grant available.

This is concerning when you think about the fact that more funding tends to equate to higher chances of success – especially for children from poorer backgrounds.

So what about the top private schools? How do they spend their money?

Well, prestigious private schools such as Eton face some of the same spending issues that state schools do (such as staff costs), as well as some that are unique to them (such as the cost of boarding children and safeguarding boarders’ welfare).

In 2014, the Guardian reported on this, explaining how private schools spend their money. Here is an excerpt for Eton’s accounts in the year to 31st August 2014:

Total income: £62m (£56m – 2013)

Expenditure: £59m (£55m)

Gross school fees: £44m (£42m)

Fee remission: £5.8m (£5.2m)

Fee reductions: 21% of pupils (20%)

Number of pupils: 1,300+ (aged 13-18)

Overall, it’s clear to see that whether pupils are attending state schools, private schools, academies or grammars, educating children is an expensive business.

 

By Patrick Vernon.

High Costs Putting People Off Higher Education Courses

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An educational charity have outlined that the high cost of further education has prevented almost half of UK adults gaining advance qualifications. This comes as figures show that the average graduate debt is now £53,000 after tuition fees rose in September 2012.

The NCFE (Northern Council for Further Education) surveyed 2,000 adults across the UK and found that being too old (36%) and family commitments (24%) were also factor when deciding to undertake a further education course.

university cost too much education infographic

Despite there being a demand for degrees over the past 20 years, with a 140% increase in the number of people studying medicine, and 162% increase in degrees in mass communications and media studies between 2000 and 2012, there is currently a lack of graduates in technical disciplines which has led to a significant skills gap.

With an average of 250 people applying for each corporate job, and with 20% of graduates unemployed in their first 6 months after completing their University course, there is an increasing demand for vocational courses.

In the past couple of years, the Government has put more money into apprenticeships than ever before, and with the demand for vocational courses predicted to peak in 2050, there is an ever increasing demand for more practical and vocationally led courses.

 

 

How To Cut The Cost Of Booze At Your Wedding

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Wedding bride and groom1) Avoid champagne. A glass of ‘bubbles’ doesn’t have to be genuine champers – and for those on a budget, I’m reliably informed that a decent sparkling wine tastes better than a cheap bottle of ‘real’ champagne. Most caterers will pre-pour the wine into glasses ready for guests to scoop up, so only connoisseurs will notice that their glass hasn’t been filled up with something that’s actually come from the Champagne region of France.

(Perhaps they will also be too polite to mention the fact that they are in fact drinking cava, the Spanish version, or Prosecco, from Italy.)

2) Mix it up. There’s no need to offer exclusively wine or champers at the reception. Ask your caterer for mixers like Buck’s Fizz (orange juice and bubbles) or more unusual concoctions such as peach juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice or elderflower cordial. Mixing one of these with that sparkling wine will make your alcohol go twice as far – and potentially help prevent any embarrassing scenes if a few guests are a bit too, um, thirsty . . . Name the cocktail something personal to the bride and groom and you’ve got an individual tipple with which to wow everyone.

3) However, don’t have too much choice . . . Offer guests beer, wine, soft drinks and that signature cocktail and you’ll keep most people happy. Don’t worry about spirits or other specific drinks.

4) Keep the reception short. Think of your own drinking maths: go to a bar for half an hour and you’ll have one drink, possibly two. Go for an hour, especially in a bar with not enough chairs, and you’ll easily knock back four drinks or more, right? Keep the reception brief and people will need a lot less booze to get by.

5) Do your sums. When making your bar sums, think about volume as well as price. How far will your alcohol allowance stretch? How much do you think your guests will drink in an evening? Those who are pregnant or driving home that night will consume less, for example,
so you can work out a rough drink-per-head figure. After that, talk to the wedding coordinator at your venue to work out your options.

– Some venues will let you bring in your own alcohol to stock the bar, meaning you can choose what you want, and usually secure it at a much cheaper price. If so, a bar that’s free to your guests might be more achievable. (See below for cheap alcohol-sourcing ideas.)

– However, if you have to pay bar prices, and they’re expensive, an all-night free bar might not be an option. No one is going to think any less of you if you can’t afford it, or can put up a bit of cash but not enough for the whole night. If there will be a cash bar, be sure to let people know in advance.

– For another idea, you could consider providing free wine, beer and soft drinks to guests all evening, but ask those who want to have (pricier) spirits or champagne to put their hands in their pockets.

– If you’re having some guests just coming to, say, dessert and dancing or the evening celebration, it’s worth thinking if there’s a way of offering these guests a drink on arrival – perhaps with a waiter holding a tray of wine, beer or bubbly as they walk through the door.

6) Booze cruise. If you are allowed to supply your own alcohol, there are lots of ways to cut the cost. If you’ve time, book a booze cruise to Calais as a pre-wedding day
trip to test wines and load up the car with the best ones to kick off your celebrations. The strength of the euro put the skids on this trip for a few years, but now there are bargains galore once more. The ferry is usually the cheapest way to get to France, so look up ticket prices via a ferry aggregator site such as ferrysavers.com or AFerry.co.uk. Use these to find out who operates the routes you want, and when, and how much cheaper they are
at particular times of the day, week or year. Then, when actually booking, check the direct price first as doing so often triggers a saving as you avoid agency or booking fees. If you have flexible working hours or can take time off work, weekday crossings – especially in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – tend to be less expensive than weekend ones, but avoid the school holidays if possible. Be aware of HMRC’s tax rules: ‘When arriving into the UK from an EU country you can bring in an unlimited amount of most goods. But you transport the goods yourself; and the goods must be for your own use or as a gift.’

7) Bargain hunt. If you’re buying booze in this country, there are still ways to do so cleverly and cut the cost. Start scouting for bargains as soon as possible – if you get
engaged at Christmas, for example, seek out bargains in the January sales, as long as you can keep the booze in a cool place that will prevent in from spoiling. It’s also worth
having a look at the offers at wine clubs and online retailers such as Virginwines.co.uk.

8) Be vino-savvy. Remember, there’s a difference between cheap wine and good wine and you’ll have to do your research (including tastings, obviously – possibly one of the best bits of wed-research around), as supermarkets and wine discounters will boast about bargains even when you can actually get the same stuff from elsewhere for far less. The experts in specialist stores such as Majestic Wines (majestic.co.uk) will be able to advise you on the best deals and wines to suit your planned meal and budget – and if you’re buying a large number of bottles, they may be able to cut you a deal too. The website quaffersoffers.co.uk also lists current deals at supermarkets and other wine-sellers, as well as having extensive expert reviews which will help anyone who feels nervous about picking drinks for all their guests, courses, etc.

9) Look out for bin ends. Shops are often trying to get rid of last year’s stock for no other reason than they want fresh bottles on their shelves. This also means you can
serve lesser-known bottles of wine, which has another benefit if you’re worried about snobbery. While any vaguely wine-interested people might know that, say, a particular vineyard or vintage was going cheap, an alternative coming from, say, an Australian vineyard might be trickier for them to price.

10) Bulk buy. Make the most of discount stores and cash ’n’ carries such as Costco (costco.co.uk), Booker (booker.co.uk) and Makro (store.makro.co.uk) plus the likes of Aldi and its rivals (aldi.co.uk, lidl.co.uk). These often have decent deals on wine, spirits and mixers. Always try a sample before you buy a large quantity to make sure it suits your taste.

11) Become a vintner. Alternatively, if you’re really into money-saving, you could try making your own wine. Buy a kit – the very specific, extensive instructions, are fairly easy to follow. I once made some of my own red wine that was really drinkable. I admit not being brave enough to serve it at my wedding, but if you’re good at it, can make the wine
(or ale) in advance and find others like it too, it’s an easy way to serve up booze at a fraction of the normal cost.

 

FROM YES TO I DO by Lucy Tobin is published by Heron Books, £9.99.

Published in Kindle or hardback.

 

Dear Royal Mail.

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Dear Royal Mail,

 

I would have posted this letter but your prices are getting expensive. Anyway, let’s not quibble. I am writing to you today because I am worried. I am worried that the once great institution that was is the Royal Mail has become a shadow of it’s former self. I am worried about our relationship.

When I post something now I always do it recorded delivery. As you can imagine, your service is already overpriced so the extra security nags at me. Why do I have to do this? Well, the thing is, every-time I post something it is like a leap of faith. I never know if it is going to get to the other end, and in what condition. Actually, scrub that, it is more like gambling or Russian roulette. I have never posted a boxset of DVDs and had it reach the other side if it was not posted recorded delivery. Let’s not blame this all on you, we must be fair, sometimes people on Ebay can be unscrupulous. But it happens even when I post things to my family.

When you started charging by size as well as price I was frustrated with you. It just made things even more difficult.

Then there was the atomiser I posted – wrapped perfectly- that was broken. The CDs that, although the stamp was on the right side, ended up being posted back to me because they were STAMPED on the wrong side further on. What an expensive mistake that was.I wrote to you about these and you replied saying it was my fault and you couldn’t do anything. I must admit, I was a little upset.

It is fair to say that we have had a love/hate relationship, but let’s not kid ourselves, we cannot break up. There is no-one else out there if I want to post a letter. You have a monopoly. If only you used it with more love and care.

Yours faithfully,

Catherine