Dear Parents

First I would like to thank you all for your patience in allowing us to work out the maximum help we can give you and calculate the exact figures. We are grateful you have given us the time to analyse the situation in depth, and wait for feedback from the Government and Examination board before calculating the maximum reduction we can possibly give you to help you all through these difficult times.

At Wingate we have always considered ourselves a large family, not only inside the classrooms but also in our relations with parents, many of whom are ex-wingate pupils themselves. The kindness shown by parents lucky enough not to be affected too much by this situation, in offering to pay the fees upfront, is heartwarming, and shows that this family ethos certainly works both ways. We have always said internally that we are a centre of education first and a business last.

With the above in mind and after long and careful consideration, we have come to realise that the reduction in school fees should not solely reflect the difference in how the education is being administered, it should be related to, and reflect, the difficulties most parents are going to be facing over the next few months. We have therefore dedicated over 360.000€ to a newly formed "solidarity allowance" towards helping parents with the payment of their fees.

Therefore we are pleased to announce that we are able to offer the following help to parents:

• Discounts on Summer terms fees
• Solidarity Discount on Autumn 2020 term fee
• Reincorporation plan for school leavers
• Deferred payment option of 100% of the school fees
• Structured repayment scheme

Discounts
After extensive analysis of the ongoing financial situation in Tenerife, government subsidies and exam board rules, we have calculated the best possible discount we are able to provide. This is taking into account the prediction of the long term effects of this crisis and this discount distribution will allow parents to save as much as possible, and at the same time allow Wingate School to continue to give our highly acclaimed online education during the lockdown and resume to normal classes as soon as it is over. They are as follows:

Summer 2020 term fees discount
These discounts will be applicable to the WHOLE TERM regardless of when the lock down ends and school resumes as normal. No additional school fees will apply, even when we resume normal classes (except for school leavers who then enter into the Sixth Form).

• Nursery: 70%
• Reception and Y1: 50%
• Y2 - Y6: 30%
• Y7 - Y10: 20%
• Y11 (School leavers): 90%
• Y12: 20%
• Y13 (School leavers): 90%

EXTRA: A 15% discount on Autumn 2020 fees for all students!

Solidarity discount for Autumn Term 2020.
We realise that, as it will be a long time before many parents will be able to get back on their feet, we would also like to offer a 15% discount for all parents for the Autumn 2020 term school fees. This will be for all children of all years regardless of longevity at the school.

School leavers 90% off & Reincorporation plan.
After long consultations by both Edexcel and Cambridge, we have been told that final grades for this year will be based on predicted grades provided by the school. These grades must be based on evidence gathered from assessments, classwork and previous exam grades. Although there will be no actual exam it is imperative that Yrs 11, 12 & 13 remain on task and focussed, providing their teachers with work they are asked to complete. The staff are already busy behind the scenes carefully preparing each and every students file, compiling all their documentation, assessing the work, collating the relevant materials should the exam boards require the evidence to support a student's predicted grade. The grades given by the exam boards will be real, convalidated and accepted by Universities and Colleges exactly as before. Both the examination boards and the school will actually be doing more work than normal on the examination process to ensure the integrity and credibility of the qualifications remain unchanged.
Those students invited into Wingate Sixth Form, once lockdown is lifted, will come back to school and start studying their A Level subjects. This will allow students to catch up on missed work and give them massive head start to obtaining the best grades. This will be charged on a pro-rata basis, depending on the date we get back to school and will be a requirement for starting the A Level course.

Deferred Payment and Structured repayment schemes
At the same time, we are offering two repayment strategies: Parents who wish can apply for a Deferred Payment of 100% of this term's fees until June and a structured repayment scheme for all parents who request it. The second option will allow parents to divide up the payments into monthly parts to be paid over the following year. Please speak to Mrs Thompson directly to arrange this. (Please request either of these options only if you really need it, as cashflow is important to the smooth running of the school at this crucial time.)


This has been a difficult decision to make as the long term survival of the school had to be taken into account. As well as putting in place massive austerity measures for the next academic year, and securing emergency loans, we have had to use the money we had set aside for the new grass playing fields and classrooms for this summer, and we hope you will all be patient for the arrival of these new facilities. The good news is that as we have been continually investing heavily behind the scenes in new infrastructure and top of the range school-wide WiFi, we are more than up to date with our classroom technology and can slow down a year without any reduction in quality of teaching. We have solar panels and LED’s in every classroom, reducing our electricity consumption to almost zero. Our bathrooms are fully modernised with instant hot running water. We can survive strict austerity measures and continue to give the same top quality education we are renowned for.

For all the parents who have paid the Summer terms fees up front and have asked for no discount; we are extremely grateful for this offer, however we feel it would be unfair to keep you to your word when we are offering everyone else a discount: We ask, as a form of solidarity during this time, if you could consider giving your consent for us to postpone the applicable discount to a term next academic year (or till the final year your child is at school). Anyone who also wants to pay this term in full and defer the discount, can do so, as a discount when your child is higher up the school will work in your favour :-). This will help us in our immediate plans. Please let us know if you would like the discount to apply Summer 2020 (now), or postpone to another term next academic year or your child's final term at school. Also if there are any parents who could pay the whole academic year upfront; that would be very helpful. Remember: if any parents decide to leave, we need to know numbers for next year so we can plan properly; the final date to inform us is the 7th May if you wish to use your deposit towards the fees.

If parents could pay their exam fees as soon as possible, it would also help the school by covering this negative balance on our accounts. Thanks!

Again, we are grateful that we have been given the time to analyse the situation carefully, speak to all the relevant people and formulate a range of discounts and payment plans that will help all parents in the immediate and mid term future. We hope that these measures mitigate somewhat the unfortunate circumstances we find ourselves in, and by sticking together we can all grow as this crisis subsides.

Warm regards

Jonathan Green
Wingate School