Why a workbook, not just a calculator
Online fee calculators give you a single number for a single school. They are useful for first sight but useless for a real shortlist conversation. When a family sits down to choose between three or four schools, the question is not "what does it cost". It is "where do the totals diverge, and which lines are negotiable". A workbook lets you see all six totals at once, switch off a fee line to test sensitivity, and pull the conversation back to value rather than sticker price. Pair the workbook with our how to choose an international school framework and you have the financial half of the decision covered.
What is inside the workbook
The workbook is an Excel file with three tabs. The first tab is the comparison grid: rows for every fee line we have seen in the international school sector, columns for up to six schools. Tuition by year group, application fee, registration fee, capital levy or building fund, transport by zone, books and digital devices, learning support surcharge, exam entry fees, lunch and snack programme, uniform and kit, and trips and residentials. The second tab is a sibling modelling tab that lets you copy two or three children into the same calculation, with sibling discount fields where the school offers one. The third tab is a five year projection tab that applies a fee inflation assumption (default 7 per cent, the international sector average over the past five years) and shows the total cost of completion from current year group through graduation.
Get the workbook
Enter your email and we will send the workbook to your inbox within minutes. No spam, no school sponsorship, free to keep.
How to use it well
Start with current tuition from each school's official fee schedule. Do not use the figure quoted on a third party listing site, as these run six to twelve months behind. Add the school's published one off fees: application, registration, capital levy. Then ask the admissions office for the practical lines: transport for your postcode, the learning support tier you expect to need, the typical residential trip cost for your child's year group. Most admissions teams will share these openly when asked directly. Plug each line into the workbook and look at the totals row at the bottom. The first time a parent runs this exercise the gap between sticker tuition and real total usually surprises them. The point is not to be scared. The point is to compare like with like.
What the workbook reveals
Three patterns emerge in almost every shortlist. First, the school with the lowest tuition is rarely the cheapest overall once transport, capital levies and trips are included. Second, two schools with identical published tuition can diverge by 15 to 25 per cent on total cost depending on how aggressively they charge for the extras. Third, the all in cost compounds steeply across the upper years. Sixth form trips and exam fees alone can add the equivalent of three months of tuition. The workbook will not change the answer to "which school", but it will change the conversation about "can we afford it for the full duration". For a deeper view of fee escalation see our companion piece on why international school fees are rising faster than UK private.
Pair it with the cost calculator
The workbook handles the school side of the budget. The wider relocation picture, housing, healthcare, tax adjustment and remitted income, sits in our relocation cost calculator. Run the two side by side before signing a relocation package, because school fees are usually the second largest line after housing, and the largest line that scales with family size. If your employer offers an education allowance, the workbook also helps you push back with evidence when the allowance falls short of true cost.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free? Yes. The workbook is sent free to your inbox as an Excel file. No payment, no upsell, no school sponsorship. We are funded by an audience-supported newsletter and editorial partnerships disclosed on each piece.
Which currencies does it support? The workbook ships in GBP, USD, EUR, AED, SGD and HKD. Currency is set in a dropdown on tab one and applies across all calculations. Exchange rates are pulled from a single ref cell so you can override with your own rate if you prefer.
Can I use it for more than one child? Yes. Tab two handles up to three children. If you have more, copy the tab. Sibling discount fields are pre-built for the 5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent tiers most schools use.
Does it work on a Mac and on Google Sheets? Yes on both. The formulas are standard Excel. We have tested in Microsoft 365 (Windows and Mac), Excel 2019, and Google Sheets via upload. No macros, no add ins.