By Pallavi Singhal & Sarah Keoghan
Fees at some of Sydney's most expensive private schools will exceed $38,000 a year for the first time, as parents face hikes of up to 4.3 per cent for the 2019 school year.
Parents of year 12 students at SCEGGS Darlinghurst will have to pay $38,214 in tuition next year, after the girls' school in Sydney's east announced a fee rise of 2.5 per cent, up from $37,282 for 2018.
Fees at one of Sydney's most expensive private schools, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, have exceeded $38,000 per year for the first time.Credit: Louie Douvis
Over the past six years, fees at the top private schools have gone up by more than 25 per cent, marking a dramatic increase for parents whose child entered year seven in 2013.
David Zyngier, a senior lecturer in education at Monash University, said fees have gone up at a much faster rate than the cost of living, with the consumer price index rising 1.9 per cent over the 12 months to September 2018.
The CPI has risen 9.1 per cent over six years between September 2013 and 2018.
Over the same period, year 12 fees rose 27.7 per cent at King's, from $28,905 in 2013 to $36,900 in 2019.
At St Andrew's Cathedral School, fees rose 26.6 per cent, from $25,665 in 2013 to $32,480 in 2019.
Other schools have announced fee rises of more than 4 per cent on 2018 figures, including Moriah College in Sydney's east, which will charge $34,770 for year 12 students next year, up 4.3 per cent from its 2018 fee of $33,680.
Fees at The King's School in Parramatta have risen by nearly 3.4 per cent, from $35,697 for year 12 students in 2018 to $36,900 in 2019, and fees at Newington College have gone up 3.5 per cent from $32,841 in 2018 to $33,984 for next year.
"Parents are spending $500,000 over the life of a child in private school fees," Dr Zyngier said.
"But private school students don't outperform public school students when you take socioeconomic status into account so these parents are not getting any value for money."
Eight of the top 10 schools in this year's HSC were selective public schools, while two were private schools.
SCEGGS Darlinghurst was ranked 25th in the state this year, while Moriah College was ranked 32nd and King's was ranked 41st.
The highest-ranked comprehensive school, Willoughby Girls High, was ranked 50th.
Dr Zyngier said that the top private schools are charging more than twice the amount required to educate the average student, according to the needs-based formula that underpins the Gonski reports and determines state and federal government funding levels for all schools.
"It's a private industry and they can charge as much as they want but they shouldn't expect the average taxpayer who can't afford these fees to subsidise them," Dr Zyngier said.
The King's School had a net income of $46 million, or $28,207 per student, in 2016, according to My School data.
This included $28,690 per student in fees and contributions and $5398 per student in combined state and federal government funding.
In comparison, the nearby government school Cumberland High had a net income of $9.6 million, or $14,831 per student, in 2016, including $1263 per student in fees and contributions and $13,541 in government funding.
Cranbrook, which has not announced its fees for 2019 but had one of the highest year 12 fees of $37,230 in 2018, said it is expecting to announce "a modest increase" early next year.
"[It will] assist us with maintaining and improving school facilities and educational programs for students," Cranbrook's headmaster Nicholas Sampson said in a statement.
Mr Sampson said school fees will also help fund a major redevelopment of the campus, including the installation of a new Olympic-sized swimming pool, indoor basketball courts and underground car park.
"Parents who choose Cranbrook for their child’s education are investing in the opportunity to expand their son’s intellectual growth and personal development beyond the remit of what is expertly taught in our classrooms," Mr Sampson said.