State schooling ‘costs parents £22,500’

Parents are forking out more than £22,500 on average to put a child through school, researchers claim.

The total bill of educating a child in a state school has soared by more than £6,000 in the past five years, according to Aviva, which sells savings products.

It claims that families are paying out more than £1,600 per child per year for school lunches, out of school care such as breakfast clubs, transport, uniform, shoes, textbooks and sports kit.

This adds up to parents spending £22,596 on sending a child to school between the ages of four and 18, compared with almost £16,000 in 2008.

Aviva spokeswoman, Louise Colley, said this showed that state schooling was far from free.