Extra curricula activities ‘costing parents a packet’

Children heading back to school this week could be giving their financially-stretched parents more debt management worries by signing up for extra curricula activities, a new report has suggested.

Enthusiastic British kids keen to become a football star of the future or a musical maestro leave their parents paying billions of pounds in total to keep them happy, according to figures from Alliance & Leicester.

And the financial services firm notes that these extra curricula expenditures are in addition to the amounts parents already spend making sure their children have the essentials they need to go back to school.

“Of course, every parent wants their child to be able to take part in extra curricular activities on offer inside and outside of school and to support their every ambition,” said Ross Dalzell, manager for savings at Alliance & Leicester.

“But costs will mount up on top of the price of compulsory uniforms, school dinners and school trips…[and] parents will feel the pinch if they have not made financial provision for their child’s extra curricular activities.”

Citizens Advice reported last week that three-quarters of all parents in the UK find it difficult to meet the financial demands of sending their children to school.