Signing up for luxury kids' clubs

IT'S ONE OF London's newest and most exclusive clubs. Purple Dragon, which has just opened in Battersea, caters for children aged 12 and under. For an annual fee of £2,500 (€2,990, with a reduction for a sibling), children enjoy unlimited access to a wide range of activities supervised by qualified teachers, writes Alanna Gallagher.

There are music classes in a real recording studio where you can also burn your own CD. There's a science pod, a kitchen for kids to do cookery classes, magic lessons and language courses - Mandarin anyone?

Meanwhile, parents can enjoy a meal in the restaurant or indulge in a manicure in the nail bar.

While there is nothing in Ireland of the Purple Dragon standard just yet, the indications are that we are heading in that direction - and there is demand for a similar facility despite the credit crunch.

David Lloyd Riverview, a private leisure club in Clonskeagh, in Dublin, has 4,000 junior members. All the staff at Riverview are qualified and Garda-checked to work with children, says sales and marketing manager, Taryn Casey. Riverview emphasises fitness, while Purple Dragon emphasise play. But it is launching DL Kids in January, a programme emphasising the importance of kids within their leisure programme.

Simon Stokes, who runs the exclusive Residence Club on St Stephen's Green, and a father of two, is getting in on the kids' club act with "Supervised Sundays" starting at the end of January in the basement of the club premises. Parents have to be members to avail of the service, with an additional cost of between E20 - E25 per child. This covers their lunch and cost of the entertainment.

Membership for a first child at Purple Dragon costs £2,500 (€2,990). A second child costs £1,750 (€2,093). Parents are free, so the total costs for two parents and two children a year is €4,740.

A Riverview membership for two adults and two children under five is €5,083 per annum. This includes pool, tennis courts, football halls and a gym. Classes at Purple Dragon are included in the membership fee. Language, dance and drama classes at Riverview are extra.

Both options sound extravagant, but tot up how much you spend on extra-curricular classes and activities for your children. A friend is currently spending €7,000 on her two boys' activities this year.

But over to the kids. I asked some pupils from the Star of the Sea school in Sandymount what they would like to see in their very own private members club.

Micheál O'Kennnedy (10) loves the idea of having the option to learn a new language such as Mandarin. He would also like a place where older kids could read to younger kids "with big comfy sofas rather than a library setting".

Cian McGettigan (eight) is already a junior member of Riverview, where he can swim 10 lengths of the pool. What else would he like? "A chocolate factory," he replies. Cillian McCarthy (eight) is into sports but would like to expand his cooking skills. "I'd like to learn how to make a full dinner, like stew or roast chicken," he says. His older brother Shane (10) would like to get football and rugby lessons from professionals such as Robbie Keane, Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan. "I'd also like lessons with really good musicians, like guitar classes with the Edge,"

Purple Dragon is opening a further three clubs in the London area. It then plans to roll out the idea nationally and internationally. Dublin is top of the list.