As more Catholic parish primary schools prepare to drop their school fees in 2021, one family is already reaping the benefits.
Catherine McAuley School reduced their fees at the start of 2020. They were one of three schools in Adelaide’s north to do so.
A further 65 Catholic Primary schools will now follow as part of Catholic Education SA’s Making Catholic Education More Affordable initiative.
Sara and Aaron Young of Craigmore say the fee drop at Catherine McAuley School has eased the financial pressure on their family of five.
The couple has three children - Bethany, 9, James 7, and Oliver, 4 - and are paying off a mortgage.
“There is less pressure on us and now the money we were setting aside each week for school fees is spent on more activities for the children and fun stuff. Our son James has just started Scouts and the lower fees have really helped with that,’’ Mrs Young said.
“Oliver is starting school next year, so we were looking at three lots of school fees. But now, where we were paying more than $5000 for two kids, we will have all three at school for less than that,’’ Mrs Young said.
“When I heard the fees were going down, I was super excited as it takes the extra pressure off the budget, however, I was a bit concerned if it would mean the education quality would suffer as a result. But I can say there has absolutely been no compromise to the quality of the education we get for our children at Catherine McAuley School. It’s just a great education.
“We love the community feel of the school and I feel the teachers all know the students here.
“It’s been very worthwhile having our children at Catherine McAuley School. I come from a Catholic family while my husband is an atheist, but we find the school is a nice middle ground. My kids like to learn about God and their faith and it is done in an open and inclusive way.’’
The South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools recently announced that it will make Catholic education more accessible and affordable by lowering the school fees of every Catholic parish primary school in the state in 2021.
Read more about fee reductions.
Catholic Education South Australia has announced the unification of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish School and Mount Carmel College to form a new R-12 College.
