A checklist for parents sending a child to summer school
Safety, supervisor ratio, health, flights and communication: a practical guide for families sending a child abroad for…
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An itemised breakdown of total cost using a 12-week London programme as an example.
Thinking about the price of studying abroad only as the school fee means budgeting about half too low. The real cost is made up of tuition, accommodation, living, insurance, visa, flights and exchange-rate differences. Below is an example based on a 12-week London programme.
An itemised example
- Tuition (€380 a week × 12): €4,560
- Registration and materials: €120
- Homestay (€230 a week × 12): €2,760
- Living costs (€120 a week × 12): €1,440
- Health insurance (€14 a week × 12): €168
- Visa/permit cost: about €150
- Flight (return): about €250
The total is about €9,450, or about 491,000 TRY at a rate of 52.
Overlooked costs
- School and accommodation deposits (refundable but needing cash flow)
- Phone line, transport card, student discount card
- Course books and exam fees (IELTS about €250)
- Exchange-rate difference: over a 12-week period the euro rate can move 5-10%
- Weekend trips and social activities
Ways to reduce cost
- Early registration discounts of 5-10% and lower weekly rates on long courses
- A shared student house instead of homestay (about 10% savings)
- City choice: cities like Brighton or Bristol instead of London
- Off-season courses in summer
Budget plan
Add a 10-15% allowance for unexpected costs to your total budget. Staging payments by opening a euro account reduces exchange-rate risk. You can run the numbers with your own country and duration in our cost calculator.
Three budget scenarios
- Malta, 4 weeks: tuition €1,160, registration €120, homestay €720, living €360, insurance €56, visa €150, flight €200; a total of about €2,770.
- Germany, 12 weeks: tuition €3,240, registration €120, accommodation €2,280, living €1,200, insurance €168, visa €150, flight €250; a total of about €7,410.
- Canada, 24 weeks: tuition €8,160, registration €120, accommodation €4,800, living €2,640, insurance €336, visa €150, flight €600; a total of about €16,810.
These figures are country averages; the school, city and season you choose will give different results. Ask for a written quote for a definitive budget.
Mistakes families often make
The most common mistakes are looking only at the school fee and forgetting living costs, not accounting for exchange-rate risk and not writing deposits into cash flow. Setting the budget out item by item in a table prevents most of these mistakes.
Try it in the calculator
Change the country, duration, accommodation type and programme intensity to see how the budget changes, then share the result with your adviser. Comparing different scenarios is healthier than fixating on a single number.