19/08/2026
Helping the next generation often starts long before the first major financial decision is made.
New analysis from Weatherbys Bank puts a clear number on just how significant the cost of private education has become. A child starting private school today could face total fees of around £393,500 as a day pupil, £512,000 as a day pupil at a boarding school, and nearly £797,000 as a full boarder over 13 years, assuming fees continue rising by 3% a year.
For parents and grandparents, the takeaway is simple: planning early matters.
That means understanding the full cost in today’s terms, allowing for inflation, structuring gifts thoughtfully, and thinking carefully about how assets should be invested over time. Weatherbys also makes a useful point on sequencing, keeping money for nearer-term school fees in lower-risk assets, while funds set aside for later years have more time to stay invested for growth.
But good financial planning goes well beyond school fees.
At its core, it’s about deciding how best to support the next generation, whether that’s through education, university costs, a first home, investments, or simply building greater financial flexibility for the future. Every family’s priorities differ, and the right structure should reflect that, rather than follow a standard formula.
At Open Oceans Group, we see intergenerational planning as fundamentally about giving families more choice. The earlier these conversations start, the more options families have to support the people who matter most to them.
A financial legacy isn’t only what you leave behind, it’s what you prepare for in advance.