Interesting! Thanks heaps for being so open about your fees and experiences.
N2L - we are at a public primary but in a really well off area. Interestingly DH and I are probably some of the lowest income earners given the cars/houses/holidays /SAHP's about however it was interesting to note that many of the families we know are choosing not to pay the voluntary fee. TBH I am a bit naive and assumed that if you can afford it you would pay - as after all surely the kids would benefit from the extra services it provides??
There seems to be a large expectation that the kids will access extra services like a kitchen garden, ICT in the classrooms with laptops/ipads in the senior years (blows my mind really). The school also covers 2 extra teachers in terms of library, sport and art positions from memory.