A BOARDING school has been named among the most expensive in the UK.

Roedean School, which overlooks the cliffs between Brighton and Saltdean, charges £47,040 boarding fees per year, or £15,680 each term, according to research by online toy shop PoundToy.

This made the girls' school the tenth most expensive boarding school in the UK, with Cherwell College in Oxford's £58,500 annual fee taking the top spot.

PoundToy claim that, in order to send A child to Roedean, a household would need a yearly income of £88,483.

Eton and Harrow, which have produced 33 UK Prime Ministers between them, were ranked in 25th and 26th respectively, with both schools charging just over £14,000 per term.

A PoundToy spokesman said: "Locations of the most expensive boarding schools are certainly concentrated in the south of England, as all but one of the top 30 most expensive are located in that area.

"The only exception is the priciest school in Wales, the Cardiff Sixth Form College. Moreover, the highest-ranking northern school is the 55th ranked Yorkshire-based Queen Ethelburga’s which charges £13,345 per term.

"There are currently eight schools that would require an estimated household income of more than £90,000 to send a single child to board, and across the entire list of private boarding schools in the UK, you would need to earn an average of over £72,000 per year."

The cheapest boarding school, according to the PoundToy study, was the Abrar Academy in Garstang, Lancashire.

This charges £2,502 for a year, or £834 per term.

PoundToy also found a slight difference in the fees of boys only, girls only and co-educational schools.

The company's research found that boys' boarding schools with co-educational sixth forms charged the most, with an average of £11,669 per term.

Next came girls only schools, such as Roedean, with average costs of £11,577 per term.

Boys only schools averaged out at £10,428 per term.

A PoundToy spokesman said: "Boys only boarding schools charge an average of £10,428 which increases to £11,669 when they also have a co-educational sixth form.

"The most expensive boys only school is the highly specialised Westminster Abbey Choir School who charge £14,854 per term.

"Westminster is also the location of the most expensive boys only day school. The Westminster School charges pupils just under £10,500 every term.

"The most expensive girls only boarding school actually charges more than any of its male only equivalents.

"Roedean School in Brighton charges girls £15,680 per term which makes it the tenth-ranked boarding school in the country, and the estimated income needed to send a child there is more than £88,000."

A spokeswoman for Roedean school said fees were lower than those reported by PoundToy, adding that financial support by way of scholarships, bursaries and awards was available to the parents of prospective pupils.

She said: "At Roedean, we are dedicated to widening access for local families via scholarships and bursary awards.

"Each year we offer significant financial support to parents of pupils whose circumstances would otherwise put Roedean beyond their reach.

"We provide more than £3 million each year to support girls and families through bursaries and awards, which ensures the opportunity of attending Roedean is open to girls of all backgrounds.

"Without any bursary or scholarship discount, fees vary depending on the year group and on boarding status, but as a guide, they start at £5,670 per term for a day pupil in Year 7.

"Boarding is more expensive, and starts at £10,990 per term in Year 7 and rises to £13,305 in Year 12.”

Click here>>>to see the PoundToy research in full