Introduction
The 1988 Education Act brought into force on 1 April 1989 a new statutory framework for charging. This affects educational visits, e.g. Geography Field Trips or a visit to a museum lasting one day or less; Residential Visits, e.g. First Form Camp; it may affect educational 'holidays' organised as a school party, e.g. Ski Courses; the framework also clarifies the position on charging for individual tuition or optional extras, e.g. Music instrumental tuition.


Policy on Charging

All education provided at the School during school hours or for a prescribed public examination shall be free, except in the following circumstances:

Lessons
1. Where the lesson provided is outside the school day and is an optional extra.
2. Individual, instrumental tuition.
Residential Trips
3. Where these fall wholly or mainly in school hours, a charge shall only be made to cover board and lodging,
except to those pupils whose parents are in receipt of income support or family credit.
4. Where a trip falls wholly or mainly outside school hours, the full cost of providing the activity shall be passed on to those parents who wish their child to participate. The cost of any separate contract with a teacher at the School may be included.

Examinations
5. Fees may be passed on to parents where the child has not been prepared for the examination by the School.
6. The cost of a re-marking or query of an individual result may be passed on to the parent.
7. Where a parent wishes a pupil to be entered for an additional, parallel examination, e.g. for an RSA certificate as well as a GCSE in the same subject, the additional charge may be recovered from the parent.
8. Where a pupil fails to complete the examination requirements for any public examination without good reason, and for which a fee has been paid, that fee may be recovered from the parent.
9. Examination re-sits where no additional preparation has been provided by the School may be charged for. This fee, or a fee arising under Section 5, may include an element for the invigilation of the examination where this involves extra cost to the School.

Voluntary contributions
10. These may be sought from parents for the benefit of the School or to underwrite the cost of an activity providing that no pupil shall be excluded from it because the parent(s) has not contributed.

Breakages
11. Full or partial costs of breakages or losses arising in the Head's opinion from bad behaviour may be passed on to the parents.

Remission
12. The general principle shall be that no pupil should be prevented from undertaking any course or taking part in any essential activity because of inability to pay. Partial or full remission of fees may be granted at the Governors' discretion accordingly.

Governors' Annual Review: Autumn Term