School Fees (2025/26)

Note: Our Junior and Senior School fees include a daily lunch, prepared by our catering team.

Junior School Fees

Kindergarten	£3,480 per term
Infants	£3,780 per term
Junior 1 and Junior 2	£4,440 per term
Junior 3 and Junior 4	£5,820 per term

Senior School Fees

1st and 2nd Form	£7,380 per term
3rd to 5th Form	£7,650 per term
VI Form	£7,650 per term

A reduction of 5% is made against tuition fees (excluding meals) in respect of the second or more siblings who are simultaneously in the School (excluding Pre-School).

Fees shown are inclusive of VAT.
Termly fees are calculated on an annual fee divided by three, to create three equal termly payments.
The lengths of terms vary in length and the amount of face to face teaching will depend on the stage of education a pupil is at.
These factors are taken into account when calculating the annual and thus termly fees.

Pre-School Fees

Hourly Rate	£7.90
Lunch	£2.50

Free Early Education (FEE)

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The universal Free Early Education (FEE) is available to all children aged 3yrs and 4yrs from the term following their third birthday. The FEE must be claimed for a minimum of 2½ hours per day, up to a maximum of 15 hours per week. If the full FEE entitlement of 15 hours is to be claimed then this must be done over a minimum of two days per week.

Austin Friars also offers eligible parents funded places of 30 hours. Parents can check whether they could be eligible for the 30 hours via Childcare Choices at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or the Childcare Calculator at www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator. Those who could be eligible for the 30 hours will be directed to the digital childcare service to apply.

To start the application process you will be required to create a Government gateway account (if you do not already have one). The childcare application will then ask for your personal details to create a childcare services account. Once you have this you will be sent a secure message via your account regarding your eligibility.

Those parents that are eligible will receive an 11 digit ‘eligibility code’. Parents will be required every three months to reconfirm their details to ensure they are still eligible and those that miss the reconfirmation deadline will receive a message telling them their eligibility has lapsed.

To process the funded hours, the School must obtain a signed grant declaration form and view a copy of each child’s birth certificate. Please note that children attending more than one Pre-School can only claim a combined maximum total of eligible hours per week over all settings.

Assistance With School Fees ('Bursary' Support)

The School aims to reach out to the wider community irrespective of social and/or economic circumstances, and where necessary provide assistance with School fees for children in the Junior and Senior sections of the School.

The level of 'bursary' support is dependent on family circumstances and will require full exposure of the family’s financial circumstances, as well as funds being available from the School's bursary scheme.

Once parents have met with the Headmaster/Head of Junior School, discussions can take place with the Bursar, who administers the bursary scheme for the Trustees who will make any decisions on bursary support. Further details are available from the Bursar with requests initiated through the Admissions Office on 01228 528042 or email admissions@austinfriars.co.uk.

The bursary application process requires that parents provide up-to-date information about their financial circumstances, including documentary evidence. (The process can appear quite intrusive but is necessary to ensure that assistance is given where it is most needed.) All information is treated in the strictest of confidence and, with the exception of the Trustees involved, the Bursar and finance staff, other staff and parents are unsighted as to who is being given assistance.

Bursaries are awarded on the understanding that parents similarly respect the confidentiality of the award.

Carlisle Cathedral Choral Scholarship

Carlisle Cathedral choristers qualify for a 30% Carlisle Cathedral Choral Scholarship for entry into the 1st Form (Year 7). Scholarships will be valid for the entire time the scholar remains at Austin Friars provided that Cathedral and School expectations continue to be met; including membership of the Cathedral Choir until the end of 2nd Form (Year 8).

For more information contact the Director of Music at the Cathedral, or the admissions office at Austin Friars.