From Stuff:

For a child born today, the cost of 13 years of “free” schooling has risen to more than $38,000, up 15 per cent on 10 years ago.

Shoes, stationery, uniform, class trips, textbooks, school donations, bus passes, and laptops – they all mount up as parents prepare to send their children back to school.

Research by ASG Education Programmes shows that, for a child born in 2017, 13 years of school will cost parents $38,362.

For parents considering private education, that bill is now $345,996, or 48 per cent more than a decade ago, while integrated schools will cost $109,354 over 13 years.

READ MORE:
* Families struggle to afford the rising cost of back-to-school requirements
* Schools bring in $11m more in donations during 2015
* Kids dip out as cost of school trips rises
* School costs pile up for parents
* Parents told: Work out how much kids really cost

ASG said the figures are the “average estimated costs and represnt the highest amount parents and families could expect to pay”.

Secondary Principals’ Association Sandy Pasley says schools do what they can to help parents suffering financial stress at the start of the school year.

On top of standard stationery requirements, the 16-year-old Tawa College student needed a graphics calculator, and art supplies. Fees for sport and school trips would add to that. The school also asks for a voluntary donation of about $200.

Ostler-Malaulau recently finished working as a teacher at Porirua College, a decile 1 school, where she saw how stressful the start of the school year could be for families.