Fees and Scholarships

Fees

The fees we charge enable us to invest in the best teachers, state-of-the-art facilities and the vital infrastructure shared across the school network. School fees are reviewed regularly by the GDST Council, who remain committed to maintaining the high standards of our education and facilities.

We work hard to keep fees as affordable as possible, so that we can reach as many girls as possible who might benefit from an education at one of our schools. In addition, in recent years, we have allocated the equivalent of 5% of the GDST’s overall fee income to funding the GDST bursary programme.

For this coming school year (2022-23), our fee increases remain below the rate of inflation and prior to January 2022, the GDST held fee levels flat for over two years.

To find out the current fee levels for our individual schools and what is included, please use the drop-down list below.

School fees

Direct Debit forms

• All schools

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• Howell's School, Llandaff

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FAQs

• Fees
  • Who do I contact regarding school fees?

    For payment of school fees, including annual pre-payment but excluding Nursery fees, contact the fees administrator for your daughter’s school. Find a school.

    For enquiries relating to nursery fees, childcare vouchers and Early Years grants, contact our Fees Admin Team at feesbilling@wes.gdst.net.

    For queries relating to GDST school fee pre-payment plans (two years or more) retained deposits and staff bills, contact Ms Jacqui Ruane at jacqueline.ruane@wes.gdst.net.

    To tell us about any changes to your email address, home addresses or telephone number, contact our Fees Admin Team at feesbilling@wes.gdst.net.

  • How do you invoice for school fees?

    School fees are billed on a termly basis, prior to the start of each term, in August, December and April. Your invoice will confirm the total amount due for the forthcoming term, the collection date(s) and amounts depending on the frequency of the direct debit mandate completed.

  • How can I pay school fees?

    Our required method of payment is termly in advance by direct debit, as a concession we do offer a monthly direct debit scheme. A direct debit instruction form should be completed and returned to the Fees Department to establish the arrangement or to change Bank details for an existing direct debit. Please ensure that two clear months are given for any new instruction (although in some circumstances we can effect a change in less time).

    You may also pay school fees annually in advance by cheque and should contact the Fees Department for information on this method of payment along with information on our pre-payment scheme which allows you to pay a lump sum to cover all or part of the estimated future fees for a specific period.

  • How does the direct debit scheme work?

    For payment by termly direct debit one-third of the annual fee due will be debited to your bank account on or within the first 7 days of each term. For payment by monthly direct debit one-twelfth of the annual fee due will be debited on the 5th day of each month. If the 5th falls on a bank holiday or weekend the payment is collected on the next working day. Monthly payments commence at the beginning of the academic year in September and the last payment of the academic year is due in August.

  • Do I incur a charge if an item is unpaid by my bank?

    You will incur an administration charge of £12.00 if your direct debit is unpaid by your Bank. The Trust will write to you to confirm that the item has not been paid. If the unpaid item is due to an error made at your Bank you should contact your Bank directly upon receipt of our letter.

  • Can you re-present my direct debit if it is unpaid?

    We do not currently re-present an unpaid direct debit and you would therefore need to arrange to send a cheque/bankers draft for the sum in question (along with any charge incurred) to this office. Alternatively you may transfer the funds direct to the Trust Account but must ensure that your deposit quotes your child’s unique pupil reference number.

  • Can I pay by cheque or credit card?

    Our required method of payment is direct debit, however, if a direct debit is unpaid you should send a cheque to the Fees Department at 10 Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DH  Cheques should be made payable to The Girls’ Day School Trust. We would also ask you to note your child’s unique pupil reference identification number on the reverse of the cheque.We do not currently have the facility to accept payment by cheque, bank transfer or credit card as a regular payment option.

  • What is a pupil reference?

    A unique pupil reference identification number is allocated to your child when they start at a Trust School; this reference will stay with them throughout their time at the school and should be quoted on all manual payments and correspondence. It would also be also useful if you could quote this reference when calling the Fees Department with any query.

  • When will I get my retained deposit back?

    For all pupils leaving during, or at the end of a term, retained deposits will be refunded (less any monies due to the school) within 8 weeks of the schools official last day of that term, providing the GDST hold valid Bank account details.

• Childcare vouchers
  • Can I use childcare vouchers for the payment of reception fees?

    No, childcare vouchers can only be used for care. Therefore they can only be used for the payment of nursery fees and schools may accept them for afterschool care clubs. You would need to contact the school directly to find out if they accept the vouchers for after school care.

  • How does the childcare voucher scheme work and who do I contact to set this up?

    Childcare vouchers are a Government-supported scheme, designed to make childcare more affordable for working parents. Employers typically provide childcare vouchers through salary sacrifice, with employees receiving their vouchers instead of part of their salary. You would contact your employer in order to join the scheme and would then need to contact the Fees Department by email to confirm how much you intend to pay each month towards fees so that we can log this information. Please note that any shortfall owed in relation to the monthly fee should be paid by bank transfer.

  • Where do I find the voucher code to pass onto my voucher provider?

    Each company has a different code. View our Childcare Voucher list to obtain the correct voucher code for the company you intend to use.

  • Can I pay the lunch charge with vouchers?

    No, you cannot use childcare vouchers to pay for lunches.

• Early Years grants
  • How does the Early Years grant work?

    The government provides funding for all 3 and 4-year-old children to attend early years provision for 15 hours per week.

  • What is the criteria for receiving the Early Years grant?

    All 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for the Early Years funding starting from the term after their third birthday until they start school (usually at statutory school age – the term following their fifth birthday).

  • How is the Early Years grant entitlement calculated on places that aren’t full time?

    The childcare allowance will be calculated as a pro-rata amount based on the number of hours of attendance.

  • Will the Early Years grant be the same every term?

    No, the amount of the Early Years grant will be based on the number of weeks in the term and will therefore change each term.

  • Are all GDST schools part of the school to provide the Early Years grant?

    No, this is optional. Please contact the school directly if you wish to check if a particular school is part of the Early Years grant scheme.

  • What is Headcount week?

    The Local Authority uses 3 set dates in the year to collect data on children claiming Early Years Entitlement. The dates fall within the 3 academic terms, one in the summer, one in the autumn and one in the spring. Data collected on these days is used to calculate the Early Years Funding paid out to childcare providers by the Local Authority. It is also used to cross check whether children are claiming more than their entitlement.

  • When is Headcount week?

    There are 3 Headcount weeks a year. The headcount week is normally the 5th week after the start of the academic term in the summer and autumn term and the 2nd week after the start of the academic term in spring

  • What happens if a pupil starts mid-term after the termly headcount day?

    Early Years Entitlement cannot be given in a term, where the pupil was not included in that terms headcount submission. Early Years funding will be applied to the first term where the pupil has been included.

• Government Tax-Free Childcare Account (TFC)
  • Can I use my tax-free childcare account to pay Reception fees?

    No, tax-free childcare account payments cannot be used to pay for Reception fees. TFC accounts can be used to pay for Nursery fees, schools may also accept the payments for afterschool care clubs. You will need to contact the school directly to find out if they accept TFC payments for after school care.

  • How do I set up a Tax-Free Childcare Account and what do I need to provide to GDST?

    Tax-Free Childcare Accounts can be set up via the government website. All GDST Schools are registered under, ‘Kensington Prep’, the postcode SW5 5PA. Please select ‘Kensington Prep’ when registering, regardless of which GDST school your daughter attends. You will be assigned a TFC reference number when you register, which you will need to pass on to us so that we can allocate your TFC payments to your Nursery fees account.