School fees
Since 1848, parents and guardians in financial difficulty were exempt from paying school fees right up until when all school fees were abolished in 1925.
| Year | School fees |
|---|---|
| 1848 | The Board of National Education recommended that school fees should range from 1 penny to 1 shilling per child per week, and that local school boards were to set the rate. |
| 1853 | The Board of National Education recommended a minimum of 3 pence per child per week. Any school fee above this amount was to be decided by local school board. |
| 1867 | The Council of Education recommended that local school boards set fees according to local economic conditions. Generally fees ranged between 6 pence and 1 shilling per child per week. |
| 1880 | The Public Instruction Act 1880 reduced primary school fees to 3 pence per child per week, and to a maximum of 1 shilling per family per week. From 1881 to 1884 fees for post-primary pupils in superior public schools were 1 guinea per quarter, with the money divided among the teachers involved. From April 1884 these fees reverted to 3 pence per child per week - a little more than ½ a guinea a year, which was a small fraction of the 8 guineas a year it cost to attend a high school. |
| 1883 | High school fees were set at 2 guineas per child per quarter, and were then increased to 3 guineas in 1893. |
| 1906 | Primary and superior public school fees were abolished from the 8th October 1906. |
| 1911 | High school fees abolished from the 1st January 1911. |
| 1923 | High school fees of 2 guineas per quarter were reintroduced from the 1st January 1923, but were subject to means testing. |
| 1925 | High school fees finally abolished. |
| 1995 | Voluntary contributions were introduced to enable parents and guardians to enhance educational and sporting school programs. |