Independent schools in Courier country are seeing a rise in the number of parents seeking help in paying fees.
The state of the economy is making it difficult for some families to meet the hefty cost of educating their children privately.
Fees for a day place can often be £10,000-plus per year, while boarding can cost upwards of £25,000.
Schools often have special funds set aside to assist parents when they get into difficulties.
A spokeswoman for Dundee High School, which charges £10,000 a year for senior day pupils, said it had a long-standing tradition of providing financial support for families.
”We feel strongly that financial circumstances should not be a barrier to being educated at the High School,” she added. ”Over 100 children currently benefit from means-tested fees.
”The economic climate has inevitably affected all our current families in varying degrees and, as a result, some have experienced a significant change in their circumstances.
”For such families, the ability to apply for temporary bursary support has provided the means to allow their child to remain at the school, which otherwise might not have been possible.”
She added: ”The school is also seeing an increase in the number of parents concerned about the changes taking place in state education and who feel their only alternative is to consider independent schooling.
”There are limited bursary funds available and so we take a great deal of care and devote every effort into ensuring that, based on financial need, as many families as possible are supported where such funds permit.”’A mixed picture’Glenalmond College in Perthshire charges £27,000 a year for a boarding place.
Warden Gordon Woods said: ”It is a mixed picture. Despite the current economic climate we have recorded an overall increase in inquiries about pupil placements at Glenalmond.
”We work hard to widen access to the college by raising awareness of the means-tested financial assistance available to parents. Partly because of this, more of those applying are seeking help with fees from the reserved funds available.
”Paradoxically there has also been an increase in the number of parents choosing to pay full fees in advance.”
St Leonards School in Fife also offers bursaries of up to 100% of fees for prospective pupils and operates a financial assistance fund to help parents manage a downturn in their personal financial circumstances, either short or long term.
The Scottish Council for Independent Schools said its members were being careful with their financial planning and many had an additional pot of money available to help families in financial difficulties.
However, it pointed out that, despite the problems in the econony, pupil numbers in the independent sector fell by only 0.4% last year the same drop as in the state sector.