School Book Rental

westendgirlie

I can't see a section for this so posting here.

I have just received letter from school stating return dates and cost of renting books for the coming school year. The charges are as follows;
1st Year €200, 2nd Year €120, 3rd Year €100,Transition Year €200, 4th Year €200 & 5th Year €100.

The above includes photocopying, insurance, yadda yadda yadda.

I was chatting to a work colleague and she said that her sons school charge a €120 rental charge in 1st year that covers up till Junior Cert (as same books used thoughout) then a charge again in 4th year to cover up till Leaving Cert. She doesn't think there is a charge for TY as they dont do typical lessons. My daughter is heading into TY and I was a bit shocked when I saw the charge.

Could anyone here explain how these charges are worked out? Has anyone else a list of their charges for me to compare with?

Thanking you

Logical Fallacy

The principal sits down and thinks "Right, how can i gouge more money out of parents" then pulls numbers out of his ass.

At that rate it would be cheaper to buy the books! and at leas you could re sell some of them when your child was finished with them.

I though the book rental scheme was suppose to make book cheaper.

westendgirlie

mariaalice wrote: »

At that rate it would be cheaper to buy the books! and at leas you could re sell some of them when your child was finished with them.

I though the book rental scheme was suppose to make book cheaper.

I don't even know what books she needs as she is heading into TY. One thing that I have come to realise is that there is no such thing as Free Education in Ireland!

joshrogan

It was 40 euro/year in my school.

westendgirlie

40 euro? for TY or yearly book rental?

orourkeda

school is for losers

up for anything

It cost €120 to buy books for my daughter last year for TY and then there were the photocopying and other charges on top.

Just finished paying the bones of €100 for her music books/scores for 5th year. No matter how high the rental scheme seems it is still cheaper than buying them outright and because the teachers change the books most years you can't resell them to the next class. Rip-off at work.

ETA: and you don't have to search high and low for the bloody books either and go back time and time again because they're out of stock.

teol

Buy the books 2nd hand. Probably cheaper. Books on the school rental scheme are usually already in a wreck when you get them.

westendgirlie

Gonna email for list of books required and see if cheaper 2nd hand.

Wouldn't mind but I will be landed with a further bill in the first week back for School Trip No.1

westendgirlie

And why does the rental of the exact same books change from year to year? Any principals/teachers on here care to respond?

starbelgrade

Is there a reason why this thread is in AH?

chopperbyrne

Transition year in my school was treated as a regular year, but also had some extra modules like sound and video engineering.

All that equipment costs money. Most of your leaving cert books will be bought in TY too.

westendgirlie

starbelgrade wrote: »

Is there a reason why this thread is in AH?

No one else will have me :(:(

westendgirlie

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Transition year in my school was treated as a regular year, but also had some extra modules like sound and video engineering.

All that equipment costs money. Most of your leaving cert books will be bought in TY too.

So, instead of renting books for Leaving Cert which will cost a total of €500 (if you include TY) I could buy the same for alot less?

chopperbyrne

Is TY optional in that school?

Would the rental not cover for both TY and 5th year and then an extra €100 for what's needed in 6th year?

westendgirlie

Yes, TY was an optional year.

I've just emailed them requesting they forward a book list. Also asked them would same books be used when she goes for Leaving Cert. Interesting to see what purchase price will be.

You pay 200 for TY then another 200 the year after then a further 100 the year of leaving cert

mahamageehad

pfft. get them all on amazon second hand. At least 50% of the ones you buy can be sold/passed on to younger siblings. And for the vast majority of the books it goes in cycle- eg. english book and music scores- it changes every three years or so. Don't throw the books away just because they can't be used the following year! That book rental scheme seems to be a joke!

chopperbyrne

westendgirlie wrote: »

Yes, TY was an optional year.

I've just emailed them requesting they forward a book list. Also asked them would same books be used when she goes for Leaving Cert. Interesting to see what purchase price will be.

You pay 200 for TY then another 200 the year after then a further 100 the year of leaving cert

In that case, buy them instead.

When we rented, we got them for the duration they were needed.

Haelium

I remember in Primary school we had to buy a new maths book one year, the only difference was that it had € instead of £

Schools just don't think things through, they hardly get anything out of making the parents buy new books every year when each book is meant to cover the whole syllabus.

Mom34

My child is starting secondary school this year. I got letter outlining costs as follows: Book rental €120 - 1st year, €40 - 2nd year, €50 - 3rd year. Book list was included for 1st year if I wanted to purchase them. A number of the books they are given in 1st year contain the full Junior Certificate coursework for a particular subject others do not therefore some additional books will need to be rented in subsequent years.

An additional €50 is required to cover homework journal, locker rental, insurance, photocopying/art materials/library etc.

The school has asked for a voluntary contribution of €100 per family but stated in the letter that it recognises that many families may not be in a position to pay this and therefore would be grateful for any contribution they can make.

parker kent

Haelium wrote: »

Schools just don't think things through, they hardly get anything out of making the parents buy new books every year when each book is meant to cover the whole syllabus.

Often the school has little choice, they are told that there is a new textbook and they must use it.

As for the "no free education in Ireland" type lines, do you expect publishers to print books out of the goodness of their hearts? Sure the constant new editions of textbooks is ridiculous, but somebody, somewhere has to pay for the books.

It was £50 for book rental when I did the Leaving in 2004, seems that was a pretty good deal. Although countless people never brought back the books or brought them back in a woeful condition.

MGMTea

My book rental for 5th year is €60, not too bad but also have to pay a "contribution:rolleyes:" Thank god dont have to buy the books !

TheZohanS

Transition Year?

Soon my pretty....soon....

westendgirlie

Update: I sent an email last week but received no reply so I gave the school a call today. The secretary gave me correct email address and below is transcript of converstion.

Hi <secretary>,
Please provide a breakdown of the €200 "Book Rental" charge listed on return to school letter.
Thanks,
<Me>.
?

Dear <me>,
 
Thank you for your e-mail.  I would be delighted to furnish you with a break down of what exactly is involved in Transition Year.  This had already been given at the Transition Year Information Night, perhaps you were unable to attend this?  However, should you wish <wrong daughters name> to continue with her enrolment into Transition Year and would like to go through what exactly is involved please contact <secretary> to make an appointment and I can go through the details with you.  Should <wrong daughters name> not be intending to take up her place in Transition Year we would however need to have this confirmed by Wednesday, 29th as there is a waiting list.
 
Regards,
 
<Principal>

<CORRECT DAUGHTERS NAME> will be attending Transition Year. The reason I asked for a breakdown is on your start of year letter, received last week, it states a cost of €200 for book rental. As this was also the cost for first and fourth year I was enquiring as to what books would be needed. If these were books that would also be used in 4th & 5th year it may be cost effective to purchase rather than rent.
<Me>

Thanks for getting back to me so soon.  The initial cost to parents for TY is €200.  This is not to cover the cost of books as explained but for the many activities TYs are involved in as well as their Journal and insurance. TYs do use some books but we provide these. There is another payment of €100 due in January for the same.  As explained in the earlier e mail I would be happy to go through these with you if you missed the TY night last term.
 
Regards,
 
<Principal>

Thank you.

Anyone else think she could of answered my query in the first email? Her dig at me for not attending meeting would have worked much better if she had named the daughter who actually attends the school!

El Weirdo

westendgirlie wrote: »

Anyone else think she could of answered my query in the first email? Her dig at me for not attending meeting would have worked much better if she had named the daughter who actually attends the school!

You should have gone to the meeting.

westendgirlie

Well I'm standing in the corner facing the wall right now. If that's any consolation.

Asphyxia

I did a course and they wanted to rent the books to use for 50 quid for the year, I got all my books on Amazon for under 15 quid!

fontanalis

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

The principal sits down and thinks "Right, how can i gouge more money out of parents" then pulls numbers out of his ass.

Because schools don't cost anything to run.

Tayla

I would have thought that transition year would have cost more.

I didn't do it myself but friends of mine did and they did self defence classes etc. all that costs extra money.

MagicSean

Perhaps your childs school is full of scumbags who wreck and lose books.

The Scientician

Tayla wrote: »

I would have thought that transition year would have cost more.

I didn't do it myself but friends of mine did and they did self defence classes etc. all that costs extra money.

Maybe if the cost had been broken down as "Extracurricular charges for TY" you'd have a point but the school was asking for €200 for textbook rental.

By the way, I don't know what school the OP is talking about but those rental charges sound exorbitent. You literally could buy the textbooks for JC new at about the same price as the rental and then there's some scope for trading in the old textbooks at the end of the three years.

smk89

Seanbeag1 wrote: »

Perhaps your childs school is full of scumbags who wreck and lose books.

No those are just regular kids

Mike 1972

parker kent wrote: »

As for the "no free education in Ireland" type lines, do you expect publishers to print books out of the goodness of their hearts? Sure the constant new editions of textbooks is ridiculous, but somebody, somewhere has to pay for the books. .

In just about every other country in the "developed" world the state pays for them -Even the US.

Tayla

I know people get annoyed because we're told it's free education but it's not completely free but when you compare it to the cost of other things I think it is pretty good value for what you actually get.

It cost me around €150 to send my senior infant to school this year...

Imagine what people spend on holidays or even going to a wedding. You can bet most adults spend more than that on alcohol each year aswell.

Now I know some families have much higher costs and that not everyone can pay and I can completely understand why they are angry about that but even during the celtic tiger I always heard people complaining about how expensive it was to send their kids to school!!

7sr2z3fely84g5

Tayla wrote: »

Now I know some families have much higher costs and that not everyone can pay and I can completely understand why they are angry about that but even during the celtic tiger I always heard people complaining about how expensive it was to send their kids to school!!

its a pantomime,the following things gets mentioned in the news,the ministers say they will look into it,nothing gets done-

Cost of books.
The grant system benefiting the children of some rich self employed parents.
Child benefit going to the well off.

AgileMyth

Tayla wrote: »

I would have thought that transition year would have cost more.

I didn't do it myself but friends of mine did and they did self defence classes etc. all that costs extra money.

They'll look for more money when activities like these are arranged though.

Tayla

AgileMyth wrote: »

They'll look for more money when activities like these are arranged though.

You're right, I didn't think about that......actually if you look at some of the online school book shops a lot of the schools have either no book lists or very small book lists for transition year, I think I saw one with books around the €200 mark but that was all!

Mike 1972

Tayla wrote: »

It cost me around €150 to send my senior infant to school this year...

Imagine what people spend on holidays or even going to a wedding. You can bet most adults spend more than that on alcohol each year aswell.

And you can bet that many adults dont spend on any of these things.

You can throw in as many irrelevant comparisons as you like (Up to and including the AH old reliables Coke n' Hookers) it doesnt alter the fact that education in Ireland is a bloody rip off.

Tayla

Mike 1972 wrote: »

And you can bet that many adults dont spend on any of these things.

You can throw in as many irrelevant comparisons as you like (Up to and including the AH old reliables Coke n' Hookers) it doesnt alter the fact that education in Ireland is a bloody rip off.

The comparisons aren't irrelevant as they apply to many people in Ireland, not all...but some.

It might be expensive but it's not a rip off.

The Scientician

Madeleine Petite Self-help wrote: »

its a pantomime,the following things gets mentioned in the news,the ministers say they will look into it,nothing gets done-

Cost of books.
The grant system benefiting the children of some rich self employed parents.
Child benefit going to the well off.

Full disclosure, I made my living out of schoolbooks for many years, but I think as a yearly part of a family's budget schoolbooks are a pretty small percentage. Is the minister also going to abolish mandatory school uniforms?

I find that most people begrudge the price of necessities but rarely bawk at the price of luxuries. I'm not talking about people who are genuinely struggling here, I just think a lot of people lack perspective.

I think it's lousy though that the schools couch rising fees in euphemisms like "voluntary contribution". Also even when I was in school my parents paid a fair whack for photocopying for the year. I think I got a maximum of a dozen photocopied sheets in any given year.

westendgirlie

Just to clarify some things.....

The "start of year" letter came out was two pages long. Welcoming the first years, school uniforms, days school would be closed, etc. There was a 2 row 6 column table underneath the heading Book Rental..

I was always fully aware that I would be paying for the in school activities and out of school trips as and when payment of same would arise. I had a conversation with a teacher last school year and she told me that books would rarely be required. This is why I was dumbfounded at the cost of book rental for TY as outlined in the letter sent from school. As the principal has now explained that the €200 is NOT for book rental, why did they put it in the table? She also stated that there will be another €100 charge in January so even the ifigure on the table was inaccurate.

The response I got to my 3 line email requesting a list of books really took the p1ss. In all honesty, it was a downright nasty reply. I never mentioned anything about not paying nor keeping my daughter away from school. So why did the principal take it upon herself to write what she did. Did I hit a nerve with her? If I had a requested a list for any of the other years, would I of got the same type of response and, would I still be waiting for a list of the books?

@TheScientician (or anyone else that may know)...... If you look at the OP there are 3 different values to rent the same books in Years 1-3. Is this normal practice?

Mike 1972

Tayla wrote: »

The comparisons aren't irrelevant as they apply to many people in Ireland, not all...but some..

But youre applying them to all

Therefore irrelevant.

The Scientician

westendgirlie wrote: »

@TheScientician (or anyone else that may know)...... If you look at the OP there are 3 different values to rent the same books in Years 1-3. Is this normal practice?

Most schools I've encountered have the same fee for rental for each year.


Those figures in the OP seem to roughly mirror the budget for buying the books. In first year a child will typically have in excess of €300 worth of books, in second year the figure should be a lot smaller as most first year textbooks are for the three years although the precise figure depends on the school and the subjects the student's doing. Similarly in the third year there shouldn't be too many extra books needed (although exam papers are and not sure in your case if school provides those).

To be a bit clearer, the books the child rents in 1st year won't be exactly the same as what a 2nd or 3rd year rents.

Screaminmidget

westendgirlie wrote: »

One thing that I have come to realise is that there is no such thing as Free Education in Ireland!

The Education is free,The materials arent though...

Tayla

Mike 1972 wrote: »

But youre applying them to all

Therefore irrelevant.

But i'm not applying them to all.

Therefore relevant :rolleyes: