Mid to late August is A-Level and GCSE results time and a fraught time for many 16 and 18-year-olds who will be nervously waiting for the results of their last two years of hard work. And though you can’t do much to assuage their fears around the A’s, B’s or C’s you can certainly help with the cost of university tuition. 

The cost of university fees alone in England can be up to £9,250 a year and, according to the Times Educational Supplement, average student debt in 2020 is between £35,000 and £40,000 after a standard three-year degree. So, how can you help? 

The first thing you can do is start thinking long-term about how you can support your child. It’s natural for a parent to want their child to ‘do’ better than themselves and, along with your love and nurture, a nest egg can certainly help. At the Children’s ISA, we’re experts at helping you make the right decisions for your child’s future, and by linking up with some of the largest names in asset management including Prudential and Aberdeen Asset Management, you can rest assured that you’re in safe hands. 

We’ve produced two handy tools to help you understand how a Junior ISA can help your child. Our savings calculator illustrates that if you were able to save £100 per month from birth, based on an assumed 5% growth, your child could have saved over £34,000 by the time they become an adult. Of course, investments can go up as well as down, and like many things in life (very much like A-Level grades), there are no guarantees. However, we’re experts at investment here at the Children’s ISA and, it’s worth bearing in mind, that we invest our own savings in the funds we have chosen for you. We never forget that your family’s future successes are our top priority. If you want some more information, please check out our Little Book of Savings. 

Saving for your child’s future, especially if you are a new parent can be daunting. So a top tip is you should always have a destination in mind, and an important (and expensive) destination is Higher Education. As you can see, the cost of a university degree is high, but there’s no need for you to shoulder the weight of saving by yourself. Friends and family can also pay in too, so no more need for Christmas presents that are played with once, sensible, long term savings might not come in wrapping paper, but some things, like a potentially debt-free education, are worth waiting for.