FAQ's: Payment Terms

RM Drama Payment Terms

Term Fees for 2025-2026

Fees for 2025-2026 are as follows (inclusive of VAT):

Class Type	1 hour	Half an Hour
Private class (1:1)	60	30
2:1 class	40	20
3:1 class	30	15
In-school classes *	-	16

• For John Lyon in-school classes you can select a 1:1 or 2:1 class as above

• Twice annually in Jan and June we charge an admin fee of £15. 

• When applicable we will give you the option of booking LAMDA examinations and will invoice you for the exam fee

• We will also give you the option of booking additional festival and showcase performances and bill for these as booked. 

We ask for fees half a term in advance, with half a term’s notice if you decide to cancel classes. 

Initially you may pay for a standalone trial class before committing to the regular classes. 

Your first payment is for a full term upfront, and thereafter we ask you to top up your fees half-termly, paying for the next half term as we begin the current one. 

So, for example, if you begin classes with us in September, you would initially pay for September - December.  After the October half term, as you begin the second half of this term, we will ask you to pay for the first half of the spring term; topping up your fees to pay for the January - February half term. So you are effectively always paying half a term ahead. 

We ask parents to kindly make payment within 2 weeks of the invoice date

If after 4 weeks, we have not received payment for the invoice, a £10 late processing fee will be applied from the 5th week. 

If we still have not received payment by the end of the half term, your place will be offered out to the waiting list and you may need to reapply for a new class time for the next half term. 

Why do we ask for fees ahead?

Payment in advance is crucial for us to maintain reliable, good quality classes for your children. 

From the admin side, I need time to replace any students that leave .  Across the school, I have halls and teachers to pay, and we need some security/a built in notice period. If a student leaves, it takes time for me to arrange a replacement pupil due to the nature of the classes - I have to match up a child of similar age to the student in the current class - this is particularly important for our 2:1 and 3:1 classes and as the parents pay based on the size of the class. It is in your interests for us to have advance payment as it protects your class - giving me 6 weeks to find a new partner for your child to share with if their current partner leaves. It also helps ensure that I can provide high quality teaching as we have much better staff retention when teachers who operate in a freelance environment have some security that the class time they have allocated is guaranteed for a reasonable period. If other children in your group were to stop classes with a week or so's notice, it wouldn't be fair to you if I  suddenly doubled the price of your class, because it's become a private session.  But, nor is it possible on my side, when it comes to paying hall hire and my teachers, for me to run the classes at half the price they should be running, and essentially run your class indefinitely at a loss to the business - so this time is crucial on my side to provide security for parents, pupils, teachers and hall managers and maintain the long term health of our company. . 

What if I am struggling to pay?

We ask that parents do their best to transfer the fees within 2 weeks of the invoice being settled. However we allow a grace period of one month, to allow all parents to spread payment across the month/wait till your own pay day -  where helpful. If you are struggling to make payment, do let us know the date you are intending to pay and we will always try to be considerate if we know the circumstances. 

Late payment fee;  from  1st September 2023

Having said that, we do need a built in notice period and as discussed above, it is crucial that we have time built in to replace any outgoing students for the smooth running of the classes and the benefit of both parents and teachers across the board. So, as of September 2023, if payment is 5+ weeks late, there is a £10 late processing fee applied to your invoice.

If by the end of the half term we haven’t received payment for the next half term we will assume you do not want to keep this place and the space will be offered out to those on the waiting list in the last week of that half term. If you do wish to continue you may need to reapply at that point for a new time slot for the next half term. 

Can I pay termly?

Some parents prefer to make less payments across the academic year and so at the beginning of each term, I will send a payment breakdown with the total due across that term. If you prefer you can pay it all upfront and thus make just 3 payments across the academic year. 

Or you can wait to receive the invoices and pay every half term - 6 payments in total for the class fees, plus any exam fees/festival/showcase fees that you book. 

The invoices across the year are:

Fees due in Autumn

Autumn part 1: Paying for Oct HT - December, due first week of September

Autumn Part 2: Paying for Jan -Feb HT, due first week of November

Winter LAMDA exam fee -payable by 1st December to be eligible for the winter exams

*You can also sign up for the Ruislip Festival, Watford Festival and Winter Showcase and pay for these as you book them. You’ll be sent information on each of these in the Autumn Term. 

Fees due in Spring

Spring Part 1: Paying for Feb HT - Easter. Due first week of January. Admin fee included in this payment. 

Spring Part 2: Paying for Easter - May half term. Due first week back after half term. 

Summer LAMDA exam fee - payable by 1st May to be eligible for the summer exams, 

Fees due in Summer

Summer Part 1: Paying for May half term - Summer. Due first week of term. Admin Fee included in this payment. 

Summer Part 2: Paying for September - October half term. Due first week back after half term. 

*Summer Showcase - you can book this and pay for it when you sign up. You’ll be emailed information on the showcase in the summer term.