The cost of

after-school activities
in the UK: how much
do parents spend?

Research Report
September 2014

Market research and study conducted by:

  

The cost of after-school activities in the UK: how much

do parents spend?

The cost of raising a child in the UK, or “the cost of parenting”, continues to
soar with parents estimated to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on
their children by the time they’ve reached the age of 21i. Childcare and
education form the largest part of this expenditure and look set to continue
to do so, especially with the rising costs of university education.

Whilst childcare and education costs may seem like essential expenses that
cannot be forgone, there are a huge number of other costs associated with
children that collectively add up to put a strain on parents’ pockets across
the country. The rise in the number of families with both parents in full-time
employment, coupled with the culture of wanting children to excel in both
sport and academic subjects, have led to an increase in the amount of after-
school clubs and activities that children are attending. However, a survey
conducted by Save the Children ii found that after-school activities are
considered too expensive by almost two-thirds of parents in the UK.
Despite this, many are still forking out for these additional classes for fear of
their children being shunned at schooliii or missing out on a vital part of their
upbringing if they do not attend.

The prevalence of extra-curricular

activities is further highlighted by
the recent boom in the UK tuition
market. Despite ever-growing
expenditure figures, parents are
collectively still choosing to spend
an additional £6bn a year on private
tuition iv . The rising demand for
tutoring services is commonplace in
the news, with the media often emphasising the additional cost to parents
for this supplementary form of education. Whilst not diametrically opposed,
private tuition and other after-school activities such as sports clubs offer
very different value propositions but both sit within the same expenditure
bracket. So how does the cost of tuition compare with other after-school
activities and the various costs associated with school-aged children? Which
are the most popular activities and how does this spending on activities
differ according to age and location? Ultimately, how much are parents
spending on extra-curricular activities for their children?

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Tuition is often viewed as elitist and a luxury form of supplementary

education that provides an unfair advantage limited to the well-off families
that can afford it. Conor Ryan, director of research at Sutton Trust
comments: "While many schools offer a range of sporting and other
activities outside regular school hours, there is still a substantial advantage
available to those who can afford it. If we are serious about improving social
mobility we must narrow the gap in educational opportunities outside of
school as well as within the classroom."v

But for many children, the one-to-many classroom method of teaching is not
enough in order for them to succeed in the subjects they find most difficult
and tuition is, therefore, considered by some parents to be almost a
necessity. Parents are having to prioritise their spending when it comes to
extra-curricular activities which are becoming increasingly unaffordable for
many families. The desire to provide children access to the best possible
opportunities is conflicting with budgetary constraints. So just how
affordable is tuition in comparison to other after-school activity costs?
Maths Doctor, the UK’s award-winning provider of live online maths tuition,
wanted to investigate how much parents are spending on their children and
conducted extensive market research to gain a greater insight into the cost
of extra-curricular activities for children across London.

This initial study focuses specifically on the costs of extra-curricular activities

across London, with a general look to the rest of the UK. Subsequent
research will look to compare the costs of these activities at a nationwide
and, later, international level.

Methodology

There were two main stages involved in the collection of data for this
research project which took place over a period of six months starting in
January 2014. Firstly, a total of 1098 parents were surveyed with questions
relating to the after-school activities attended by their children. Then, in an
attempt to validate the data associated with costs, further research was
carried out, as detailed below.

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For the purposes of this study, definitions of key terms were determined to
help ensure the consistency of results:

After-school activity - an extra-curricular, paid-for programme for

school-aged children which is not organised by a child’s school and is
externally funded (primarily by a child’s parent or guardian).

Primary school – based on the British state-school system, children attend

primary school between the ages of 7-11, starting in Reception aged 4/5
and continuing to Year 6, aged 11.

Secondary school – children attend secondary school between the ages

of 11 and 16 before making the optional decision to further their education.
For the purposes of this study, secondary school children are defined as
those in Year 7 or later up until and including the age of 18.

Survey

Maths Doctor commissioned a survey of parents of children aged 4-18 living

in London postcodes and received a total of 1098 qualified respondents. To
qualify as respondents, parents had to have one or more children who
attend at least one after-school activity; those who do not spend on extra-
curricular activities were excluded from this study. There was limited data
for children aged 4-6 so where Primary school children are referenced
henceforth, this relates to children in Years 3-6. As well as providing an idea
of the costs of after-school activities, the survey also revealed information
such as the most popular activities amongst children of different ages and
how many they attend. A vast amount of qualitative feedback was also
collected and used to provide additional insight when analysing the
findings.

Because the qualitative feedback proved so valuable, 20 parents were

invited to take part in individual focus groups which allowed for any
outstanding questions to be answered and a greater understanding of
parents’ attitudes towards both tuition and the overall cost of parenting.

Market research

It was important to validate the results of the survey in terms of the costs of
after-school activities with accurate data because, based on qualitative
feedback, many parents did not know the exact cost per session or only

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knew a rough estimate. This was often due to payments being made on a
monthly or termly basis, rather than per individual session. At this stage, the
list of activities for which validation attempts were made, was reduced due
to a lack of data for less popular activities. The most popular after-school
activities were determined to be (in alphabetical order):

• Dance • Piano
• Drama • Singing lessons
• Driving • Speech & elocution
• Guides/Scouts • Swimming (1-to-1)
• Guitar • Swimming (group)
• Gymnastics • Tennis
• Horseriding • Theatre school
• Karate • Violin
• Language learning

A number of methods were employed for validation purposes and to find an

average of the costs of different after-school activities in four areas of
London and the rest of the UK. These included searching company websites,
online forums such as Mumsnet and netmums.com, and calling service
providers. The hourly costs from up to 50 providers of each activity were
found and an average then calculated for the four corners of London and the
rest of the UK. The London areas were defined as N&NE, E&SE, S&SW and
W&NW and suppliers were categorised into one of the four sectors by
postcode.

For both group activities and those that are conducted in a one-to-one
setting i.e. where a child receives individual tuition/attention from a single
instructor/teacher, the cost of an hour-long session was found so that
comparisons could be drawn across the board. Where figures were given as
monthly or termly rates, the data was normalised to provide figures for an
hourly session. A distinction was made between group and one-to-one
sessions as this significantly affects pricing.

After gathering this data from both the survey and the various other sources,
the average cost for each activity was found for the four areas of London and
suburban surrounding areas, and the UK. The UK data was found to be
similar in nature and was thus grouped together. Comparisons were then
drawn between activities and locations.

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Summary of findings

It was found that primary school children engaged in an average of 3.2

activities per week, which decreases to an average of 1.7 amongst
secondary school aged children. Among the reasons cited for this decrease
the most common were:
• Having less leisure time due to an increased amount of homework
• Preferring to spend time with friends rather than attending organised
activities
• Spending more time online
• Needing to dedicate time to studying and revising for the increased
number of exams and class tests at Secondary school

The types of activities that children engage in also varied between Primary
and Secondary school children, with sports clubs becoming much more
popular amongst older children. This also applied to age-dependent
activities like driving, replacing those such as swimming and drama which are
far more common amongst Primary school children.

Most popular activities amongst primary school children:

1. Swimming lessons
2. Musical instrument tuition
3. Drama clubs
4. Dance
5. Guides/Scouts

Most popular activities amongst secondary school children:

1. Sport clubs
2. Musical instrument tuition
3. Dance
4. Driving lessons
5. Guides/Scouts

Interestingly, the day of the week in which children attend extra-curricular

activities also varied across the Primary and Secondary school age brackets.
Primary school children are much more likely to attend activities after school
during the working week, with many parents citing necessary “down-time”
as the reason for keeping the weekends free. Other common responses also
included a desire to keep weekends free for visiting relatives and going to
children’s parties which often take place on a Saturday. In contrast, older
children tend to be more likely to attend clubs or, for example, schedule
driving lessons at the weekend when they have more free time.

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The average cost per hour session of an after-school activity in London is

£21.79. Despite the overall average cost being 36% more expensive in
London than the rest of the UK, prices still vary significantly across London.
South & South-West London is the most expensive place in London for after-
school activities with an average hourly cost of £24.18, compared to North
& North-West London, which is the cheapest area with an average cost of
£18.40. These price differences in someway reflect the differences in house
prices across the city, with the UK’s most expensive borough, Kensington
and Chelsea, situated in South-West Londonvi.

Average hourly cost of after-school activities in London areas

Average hourly
London area
cost/session
S&SW £24.18
E&SE £20.38
N&NE £19.35
W&NW £18.40

Based on a cost per session of £21.79 and a child attending 3.2 activities
per week, parents in London spend a weekly average of £69.73 on after-
school activities per child, with some parents spending in excess of a
staggering £1,000 per month if their child were to attend 7 clubs (this was
the maximum number stated in the survey results). If the parent has two
children attending the same amount of activities, this weekly average cost
could rise to £139.46, and a monthly cost of £557.84 respectively. This
contrasts to findings for the rest of the UK, where the weekly average is
30% less with an average spend closer to £50 per child.

W eekly spend on after-school activities in London and the UK

Number of activities Average weekly Top weekly

Age attended spend spend
Average Range London UK London UK
Primary 3.2 1-7 £69.73 £51.46 £273.84 £228.69
Secondary 1.7 1-5 £37.04 £27.34 £195.60 £163.35

M onthly spend on after-school activities in London and the UK

Number of activities Average monthly Top monthly

Age attended spend spend
Average Range London UK London UK
Primary 3.2 1-7 £278.91 £205.82 £1,095.36 £914.76
Secondary 1.7 1-5 £148.17 £109.34 £782.40 £653.40

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These figures are surprisingly high considering they incorporate only the
hourly rates of each activity and do not take into account additional costs
and fees such as those required for equipment, outfits/costumes and
examinations/competitions. In general, activities that require a subscription
or membership such as karate and gymnastics work out to be better value
than activities that are paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis such as musical
instrument lessons or language tuition. This is often because sessions are
flexible and there is the opportunity to attend more sessions per week rather
than a single regular weekly slot. Activities where the child receives one-to-
one attention from an instructor are on average 173% more expensive than
group activities which reflects the additional value that the one-to-one
attention offers.

The tables below show the cheapest and most expensive after-school
activities in London, with the corresponding UK price for each activity. These
figures highlight the vast price differential between group and one-to-one
activities.

Cheapest after-school activities in London and the UK

Average cost
Activity
London UK
Gymnastics £9.10 £7.73
Theatre school £9.00 £9.00
Dance £8.92 £7.50
Karate £5.67 £3.00
Guides/Scouts £3.00 £3.00

M ost expensive after-school activities in London and the UK

Average cost
Activity
London UK
Horseriding £46.25 £33.00
Swimming (1-to-1) £36.10 £18.17
Piano £35.00 £30.00
Language Learning £33.00 £20.00
Guitar £32.00 £20.00

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Tuition

The additional value associated with one-to-one teaching or instruction was

also the most commonly cited reason for parents choosing to get a tutor for
their child: the belief that individual, personal attention is what children
require in order to reach their target grades. With infant class sizes in state
schools now reaching highs of 36 children per class, it’s no wonder that some
children are failing to get the individual attention they require at school
alone. Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said the size of these infant
classes, with just one teacher, was damaging pupils’ progress.vii On top of
this, it seems parents are becoming increasingly sceptical of the traditional,
one-size-fits-all classroom teaching approach and, not being familiar with the
curriculum themselves, are finding supplementary tuition to be the best
solution to support their children’s learning. A separate survey carried out by
Maths Doctor revealed that 40 per cent of adults find their child's homework
too hard to understand, adding that it was too difficult to keep up with their
child's education and be able to help them with their homework.

This may also go someway in explaining the finding that the number of
children receiving tuition increased significantly at the Secondary school level
compared to children still in Primary school. That said, tuition for the 11+
entrance exams is a growing market and accounts for the majority of those
having tuition at the Primary school level in London. Qualitative feedback
suggests this increase in tuition between Primary and Secondary school
levels to be a result of a desire to get into good schools and universities and
the exam pressure that accompanies this.

Interestingly, a large proportion of the surveyed parents were not averse to

spending £50+/hour for a tutor if the quality of the tuition justified the cost
and enabled their child to reach their target or required grades. Despite an
overall consensus amongst the surveyed parents that tuition is considered to
be expensive, many felt that it was a worthwhile, if not necessary, outgoing
and would not be willing to sacrifice tuition in favour of other non-academic
after-school activities. However, most parents classed tuition as a separate
category to after-school activities and felt that, if required, it should be
conducted in addition to any activities their children wish to pursue.

So how does the cost of tuition compare with other after-school activities?
With the cost of tutoring in the UK varyingly hugely from as little as £5 per
hour right up to £100+ for the expertise of a so-called “super tutor”, it is
difficult draw meaningful comparisons to other activities in terms of price
alone. Instead it may make more sense to consider that the average London

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parent of a primary school child already spends almost £300 per month on
after-school activities. With the gains made possible through one-to-one
tuition and the opportunities that good grades can open up for children, we
should view tuition, where required, not as expensive, but rather as great
value for money.

Conclusion

With a commitment to improvement, parents could be required to invest

almost £1,200 per year per academic subject in private tuition fees -meaning
that London parents could be spending more than £3,000 per year, per child
on private tuition and after-school activities. This excludes additional
activities such as cinema trips, theme parks, holiday spending or other
ancillary expenditure. Whilst costs decrease outside of London, Maths
Doctor data also shows that the likelihood to spend on tuition is higher
amongst families living in London. This spending trend adds a cost of living
factor differential to living in London. Parents are likely to have to pay more
for after-school activities as well as spend on tuition of some sort, especially
in certain areas of London.

The results of this study demonstrate that where parents do spend on

discretionary after-school activities for their children, the outlay can be
significant. With private tuition becoming more commonplace in what is
becoming an increasingly competitive education system, parents could be
spending in excess of £3,000 per child each year, with many spending much
more. This spending on private tuition and after-school activities is turning
into an entry level cost for parents in the capital looking to give their children
diverse and the best opportunities in life. The study shows that whilst
parents across the country are equally likely to spend on their children, the
earning capacity of parents living in certain areas of London needs to be
significantly higher to cater not only for the cost of living, but also for the
“cost of parenting”.

                                                                                                               
i
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/24/cost-to-raise-a-child-compared-
to-decade-ago - data
ii
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11110060  
iii
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-28803455
iv
http://www.edplace.com/blog/parents-spend-a-staggering-6bn-a-year-on-private-tutors
v
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29031871  
vi
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jun/29/kensington-london-tops-uk-house-prices  
vii
Evening Standard, 18 August 2014, p.10  

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