A Dad has asked for a hefty tuition fee bill of around £8,000 for his children to be waived at an elite private school in Reading.

St Joseph's College is a co-educational Catholic private school for children aged 3-18.

The school is highly rated by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

But a dad has reached out in distress over being charged for tuition fees, despite the fact that his children no longer attend the school.

The man, whose two children used to attend St Joseph's College, said: “I am a single earner for my family and was unemployed for over eight months since September 2023.

“I have faced tremendous financial hardships due to the prolonged unforeseen unemployment. My 2 children were studying in Year 3 and Early Years at St Josephs College since 2019 and 2023 respectively.

“Despite my best efforts to manage our expenses, it became increasingly and immensely challenging to meet my financial obligations and make ends meet including the school fees without having any monthly income.

“However, even though we have been financially distressed as a family, we have always made our school fees payments on time and have tried to keep our kids in the school as long as possible with dignity without causing them any disruption.”

But problems arose when he was offered a job in the United Arab Emirates, which led to him relocating there in April.

Despite the move, he has still been charged tuition for his children called Fees in Lieu of Notice (FILON), which are payments liable to be made when children are withdrawn from a school without giving the required notice.

It is estimated that he will be charged approximately £8,000, with term fees costing £4,817 for Years 3-6 and £3,869 per term for infants up to Year 2.

He said: “We have for months been humbly requesting the school to waive off the FILON burden on us, but they keep refusing.

“In fact, in their first email it in May and continuously thereafter they have been threatening us with debt collection.

“Their last email has stated that the only route to challenge FILON would be a legal one, which they know I cannot afford.

“This harassment has had a toll on my and the family's mental health and well-being.”

St Joseph’s College has been asked whether it will waive the FILON in recognition of the family's circumstances.

But the appeal appears to have been dismissed.

A spokesperson for the school said: “When we offer a place at St Joseph’s College, parents receive an offer letter and our terms and conditions and are made aware that these documents form part of a legal contract with the College.

“The terms and conditions are clear that a full term’s notice must be given to withdraw a child and if this is not received, fees in lieu of notice are charged. This is standard practice across the independent school sector.

“In the current economic climate, we are acutely aware of the financial challenges that may be faced by some of our families and are very sympathetic to these.

“We always try to offer financial assistance or a payment plan whenever families approach us for support.”