blonde poker forum

This afternoon I got a phone call from my sons school. It was his maths teacher telling me he had good news and that they had found his maths exam paper. I didnt even realise that they had lost it but apparently he hadnt put his name on the front  ::) He went on to say that you will be pleased to know that he has made a grade 7. Oh thats good I said having no idea what a grade 7 meant. Yes he said, we are all very proud of him, he is the only child in his year that has score so high. He then went on to explain that a grade 7 is equivalent to a GCSE "C" and hes only 12 years old  ;gobsmacked;

This has got me thinking.

Presuming that he continues to do well in school there is a possibility that he might want to go to university one day. I know I have left it a bit late but I would like to start some kind of savings plan that will help him out. I have never been a saver and havent a clue which kind of account would be best. I have done a bit of googling but I am non the wiser ...any advice?

PS Blatant my son is as bright as a button and im very proud of him brag :-)

ship

Congratulations :) 

Cash ISA FTW, reasonable interest rate with no risk to your money (and tax free).

Stanford Wong ftw.

Sigh!!!

It is a serious question :-(

I cant afford too much but what im thinking of is savings plan over 5 years where I am not allowed to take the money out (preferably able to in case of emegency), tops I can afford is 2k a year which would give him 10k as a starting point. Can I open an ISA in his name?

You have to be 18 to have an ISA (16 for a cash only), but being 12 there might be a range of tax free products that you could consider.

Thats what I was thinking..an account in his name and he wouldnt have to pay tax

Im sure Nationwide have a very good child savings account...

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/rates.htm

Its called Smart Account about 3/4 of the page down..

Apologies Suze, for my flippant reply.

I can't help with financial advice, but I'm very happy that you have such a talented son.  ;hattip;

Have a look at this (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/student-finance) Suze. It's a PDF on student finance from Martyn Lewis's (the TV money expert) MoneySavingExpert.com website.

Also here (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account) is his article on savings in general.

Good links.

Spot on,,thank you kind sir, that is exactly what I wanted to know x

well done that boy, my eldest has just done virtualy the same as yours wooohooo obv they get it from their parents lol (just wish i could get him into poker he'd kick ass)

but funnilly enough i wa thinking the same about him going to uni,,,

does anyone know roughly how much it would cost to put him/them through uni???

HAHAHA funnily enough I was thinking the same about poker :-)

I have no idea how much but im thinking a lot more than I can save in the next 5 years.

I recall there being a big uproar a few years back when grants were knocked on the head and kids having to take out huge loans to cover the cost...is it still the same?

Most students still get the fees paid for them. The students parents need to earn a fair amount before any fees have to be paid.

Sadly yes, it's still the same.

2006 was when they changed the rules for fees, and it's had a major impact on many people (including myself). There will be loads of info about it on any Uni website, just look for financial services/student services/funding etc in the undergraduate section.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3013272.stm

If he's that good at maths get him playing poker - he can pay for uni himself then.

I will study that link tomorrow when im not so tired...thx Andrew.

I have thought about getting him into poker but he is such a bad loser that he would go on life tilt at a bad beat LOL.

Looks like he wont have to pay fees but still a worry how he would support himself, hes not the sharpest tool in the box when it come to ordinary day to day stuff.

Bath has a very good Uni though so hopefully that wont be a problem.

Sheesh..im planning the lads whole future and he might decide to be a bloody monk!!

The country would be a much better place if there were more parents like you im sure

If only it were that easy..we can all make plans when they are 12 years old but unfortunatly when they hit 14/15 they decide that mum knows f**k all and they will do what they want..been there and done it with my oldest and errr did it myself  ::)

any ideas on figures?

Haven't recently looked and they changed the requirements regularly. Was a mature student myself a few years back and even then it was all up in the air.

The Student Finance (http://www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=53,1259548&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL) site is probably the best starting point.

Non-Repayable Grants - the facts
Students from lower income families could be
eligible for a non-repayable Maintenance Grant of up
to £2,765 per year to help with the cost of studying.
Around half of all new full-time students are
expected to be eligible for a full or partial grant, with
all students with a household income on a sliding
scale of up to £38,330 receiving some financial
support.
To calculate your child’s entitlement you can use
the ‘Student Loan and Grant Calculator’ available on
www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance

hey ho  ;whistle;

Im an economics student @ Man uni,

My advice to you is to either go to norwisch union and start an account there they have specific account s for this, or buy him premium bonds, and leave them there until he goes to uni and what ever they have made withdraw and give to him, but its what kind of saving you would like to do...