If you're pregnant now and start putting away £100 a month today, assuming you've tucked it away in an ISA earning about 5% a year you should have a lump sum of around £15,500 by the time your child is ready to start secondary school.

With school fees in London running at about £10,000 a year and £8,000 a year outside London, that's is only enough to see you safely through the first year.

Scary? Independent Financial Adviser Tony Brown of Clarke and Partners in Winborne in Dorset has some words of comfort.

'There is no magic solution to finding the money for school fees, but there are things you can do to make it less of a nightmare,' he says.

Ask granny
If your children's grandparents offer to help, accept gratefully and graciously. More and more grandparents are finding that this is one way they can really help their grandchildren's future. Not only do they often have savings but they are often basic rate tax payers too ­ a winning combination

Max the tax-free savings
Use up every last tax free saving you can, using both parents' tax allowances. Max up on everything and if you have a lump sum to invest; do it. The sooner the better. £10,000 will grow to £16,000 if you stick it away for ten years at 5%.

In case of emergency
Get some emergency back up ­ you can use your home to get a draw down mortgage, which enables you to borrow enough to pay for fees as and when you need it. The beauty of it is that you only pay low interest (the same as your mortgage) and you don't need to borrow a huge lump sum ­ you pay interest on the fees as you spend it. It's a good safety net in case of job loss but the worry is that you will have to pay it back eventually.

Find out more at www.schoolfeesadvice.co.uk

Disclaimer While every effort has been taken to ensure accuracy at time of publication, this information may be subject to change. Always consult your financial advisor.