Admissions
School Fees
DORSET HOUSE SCHOOL
FEES AND CHARGES: 2024-25 (from January 2025)
A. Registration Fee and Deposit
To register your child for a place at Dorset House, you are required to complete the Registration Form and to pay a non-refundable registration fee of £120 including VAT.
If a place is available and if it has been determined that Dorset House is the right school for your child, an Offer and Acceptance Form (which includes the school’s terms & conditions) will be sent.
Once a place at the school has been offered, parents are required to:
(i) complete the Offer & Acceptance form; and
(ii) pay a deposit of £750 (incl. VAT) to secure the place.
The deposit is held by the school and is carried over from term to term until the pupil leaves the school. The deposit (without interest) will then be refunded by means of a credit to the pupil’s final bill; If there is any remaining credit balance of the deposit, this will be refunded.
Further details on the school’s Admissions process and procedures (including templates of the Registration Form and the Offer and Acceptance Form) are described in our “Admissions, Policy” – a copy is available on our web-site or on request from the school Office.
B. Termly Tuition Fees
Termly tuition fees for Spring Term 2025 and Summer Term 2025 are as follows:
Gross Termly Tuition fees
(incl. VAT)
Reception £4,435
Year 1 £4,435
Year 2 £4,830
Year 3 £6,890
Year 4 £7,485
Year 5 £8,055
Year 6 £8,335
Year 7 £8,685
Year 8 £8,800
Payment of fees is due in full on or before the first day of the term for which they are due.
Any parents who foresee difficulties with making payment are encouraged to contact the Bursar (Andrew Owens) as soon as possible.
Parents are reminded that, should they wish to withdraw their child from Dorset House, one full term’s notice in writing is required. As per the school’s terms and conditions, if such notice is not provided one full term’s fees will be due in lieu.
Sibling discounts apply to tuition fees as follows:
• For two children, a 10% discount applies to the younger child whilst the elder child is at the school.
• For three children, a 10% discount applies to the second eldest child and a 10% discount applies to the youngest child whilst the eldest child is at the school. When the eldest child leaves, a 10% discount applies to the youngest child while the second eldest is at the school.
• For four or more children, the same principle applies as described above for three children.
C. Boarding Charges
The school offers flexi boarding from Monday through to Thursday:
Charge per week
(incl. VAT)
1 night a week £45
2 nights a week £87
3 nights a week £128
4 nights a week £163
Flexi boarding is billed termly in arrears. If you have advised that your child / children will be boarding on any given evening, 72 hours’ notice must be given to the Office or the Housemaster if you wish to cancel. In the absence of such notice, charges will still apply (save in the event that cancellation is due to illness, adverse weather or, in the reasonable opinion of the Bursar, exceptional circumstances).
D. Learning Development
Additional learning development sessions are charged for termly in arrears at £37 including VAT per hour for an individual session. Group sessions are charged at £37 including VAT per hour for the group (i.e. the cost is split equally between the pupils in the group). A full term’s notice is required for withdrawal from learning development sessions.
E. After School Club
Our After School Club is available for children in the Pre-Prep from 3:30pm – 4:30pm or from 3:30pm – 5:30pm and for children in year 4 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm. Attendance at the After School Club is billed termly in arrears and is charged at £7.00 per hour. For those children with an older sibling at the school (whose school day finishes later), the After School Club will be charged at £3.50 per hour (no VAT).
For further details on the After School Club, or to book your child into the After School Club, please contact Sarah Posnett (Administrative Assistant).
F. Morning Minibus Pick-Up
We run four morning minibus services:
• Minibus 1: Covers Lodsworth, Petworth and Fittleworth
• Minibus 2: Covers Wisborough Green, Adversane and Pulborough
• Minibus 3: Covers Storrington and Amberley
• Minibus 4: Covers Fontwell, Barnham, Yapton and Arundel
Charges are £4 per day for the first child and £2 per day for a sibling (billed in arrears). VAT does not apply. Please contact the school Office for further route information or any other queries.
G. Extra-Curricular Activities
We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities for your children to participate in; some run throughout the year whilst others vary by term. Parents are provided with a schedule of activities and charges for the forthcoming term and are asked to sign up for activities on or before the first day of term. Charges for activities are billed termly in arrears and a full term’s notice is required to withdraw your child from an activity once it has been committed to.
Please contact Sarah Posnett (Administrative Assistant) for a copy of the current activities schedule or for any other queries regarding extra-curricular activities.
H. Music Lessons
We are able to arrange individual music lessons across a wide range of instruments for your children. Lessons take place during the school day and the peripatetic music teachers bill parents directly. The cost varies by teacher / instrument, but is typically £190 – £210 per term. A full term’s notice is also typically required for withdrawal from music lessons. Please contact Jason Marconi (Director of Music) for further information.
I. Extra Teas
If your child is not a boarder but needs to eat at school one evening, extra tea will be charged at £3.50 including VAT. These charges will be billed in arrears on the fee statement.
J. Trip, Events and Outings
A wide range of trips, events and outings are organised each term to enhance your children’s learning. Parents are provided with full details, including cost, in advance of the trip and are asked to provide written consent for their child to participate in the trip. In respect of payment for these trips, our policy is as follows:
• For those trips, events or outings where the cost per child exceeds £50 or where the school is required to pay a deposit in advance of the trip, we require parents to pay for the trip in advance (this can be by online bank transfer or by cheque to the school office).
• For those trips, events or outings where the cost per child is below £50, we will add the cost to your fee statement for payment in arrears.
K. Other Charges
Other expenditure that may occur during the course of a term is for items such as exam charges, textbooks / software licences and stationery. These charges are billed in arrears.
L. Uniform
The school uniform is currently stocked and sold by Stevenson’s and can be purchased online only (www.stevensons.co.uk). Items for exchange or return can be sent to them easily by Freepost. Stevensons will visit the school termly and parents can buy uniform in person then. Please contact Sarah Posnett for a uniform list or for any other queries on this matter.
The school also has a second-hand uniform shop. Items bought will be added to your statement. Monies raised go to the Parents’ Association. The shop is located in the Pre-Prep and is managed by Sarah Posnett – please contact Sarah with any queries.
M. Insurance
Through our insurance broker, Marsh Ltd, we offer Pupils’ Personal Accident Insurance, Pupils’ Personal Effects Insurance and a Pupil Absence Insurance Scheme. The Personal Accident Insurance is provided on an all-inclusive basis whereby all pupils attending the school are covered and is incorporated within the school fees.
Marsh Ltd have advised that parents who already have their own personal accident insurance would be able to claim on both schemes in the event of an accident.
The other two insurances are optional. If you wish to opt-in to either of these, please advise the Bursar (Andrew Owens) or Jenny Lloyd (Bursar’s Assistant) and the costs will be added to fee statements. Cover cannot be applied retrospectively and parents should check their fee statements to ensure that they have the required cover. The premiums have been set for the academic year 2024-25 and are as described below.
Further details of all three schemes are available on our Parent Portal. If you have any queries, please contact the Bursar.
(i) Pupils’ Personal Accident (incorporating dental) Insurance (all pupils automatically covered)
This insurance covers the risk of an accident happening to an insured person that causes bodily injury resulting in death, permanent disability or dismemberment (loss of limbs or sight) and injury to teeth requiring treatment. The personal accident insurance provides a lump sum payment that is calculated with reference to a specified table of benefits based on the severity of the injury. The dental insurance provides payments for fees charged for dental treatment resulting from dental injury or emergency dental treatment up to specified limits. Cover applies on a worldwide basis, 24 hours a day – in and out of school, and during holiday periods.
The maximum benefit under the scheme is £600,000.
(ii) Pupils’ Personal Effects Insurance (opt-in)
The school will normally be unable to accept responsibility for loss of or damage to the personal property of pupils. For this reason, the school has arranged an insurance policy under a group arrangement through which parents are able to cover the pupil’s property by paying a termly premium of £8.31 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax at 12%).
(iii) Pupil Absence Insurance Scheme (opt-in)
This insurance allows parents to make a claim for school fees in the event the pupil is absent from school due to illness or accident, for a period of at least eight consecutive days. The charge for 2024-25 is 0.55% of termly tuition fees.
N. Bury Manor Pre-School at Dorset House
Dorset House has a partnership with Cootham Pre-School (a long-established and Ofsted rated “Outstanding” pre-school) under which Bury Manor Pre-School operates on the Dorset House site. All aspects of the pre-school are managed by Tracey Brooks. For further details or any queries relating to the pre-school, please contact Tracey directly, as follows:
Telephone: 07813 141 705
Email: coothampreschool@googlemail.com
Web-site: https://coothampre-school.co.uk/bury-manor/
O. Payment
Our preferred method of payment is by online transfer to the school’s bank account:
Account name: Bury Manor School Trust Ltd
Sort code: 60-20-35
Account number: 41502051
Alternatively, fees may be paid by cheque – made payable to Dorset House School.
Payment in cash will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances. Our Anti-Money Laundering Policy contains details of checks that may have to be done before the School can accept a substantial cash payment.
P. Contact Details
Andrew Owens
Bursar & Clerk to the Governors
01798 831 456
aowens@dorsethouseschool.com
Sarah O’Brien
Headmaster’s PA and Registrar
01798 831 456
sobrien@dorsethouseschool.com
Jenny Lloyd
Bursar’s Assistant
01798 831 456
jlloyd@dorsethouseschool.com
Sarah Posnett
Administrative Assistant
01798 831 456
sposnett@dorsethouseschool.com
If parents’ contact details change at any point (address, telephone or email), please advise the school Office as soon as possible.