To think good school places will be even harder to find next year because of the VAT on school fees

[Nesca1]

We are are looking at secondary schools for DS. We have our eye on a decent school bang in the middle of a solid middle class area . The school is always over subscribed; this year we would have gotten a place but last year we would have missed out because of how far we are from the school.
Usually, the school offers places to children living 1600m away, last year it was 1400m due to a large number of sibling applications.

Due to the whole VAT issue, i think more parents from the local area are going to be sending their kids to this school, rather than sending them to private schools.

Is this a reasonable assumption? I don't think parents will wait for the policy to be enacted, but they will move their year 6 children into this school.

While I think OP is correct, I actually can't believe that there wasn't always VAT on private school fees! Private education is 100% a luxury!

It's only going to affect a few areas because I'm most places the numbers going to private are minuscule. Here everyone sends their kids to the local state school it seems even a couple of championship (I think, not into football ) footballers and a Hollywood movie star. It's a good school and seems to have broad appeal (mine were past school age when I moved here). Private schools tend to only attract those who won't notice the 20% in my experience

When you're used to privilege equality looks like disadvantage.

The actual school is irrelevant as most people probably wouldn't
recognise it unless it was one of the very big names and even then I think it is only really Eton that has the widespread "toff" analogy across the country. If it were and they thought that mattered then leave the name off at a push but you said they lied and changed the school. That is absolutely not ethical.

I agree!

They are the wealthiest ones, so lots.

It's an education market. 93pc of the market is a state monopolist. I don't care what authoritarians want to talk about, it's not reasonable to talk about market conditions in 7pc of the market without including discussion of the other 93pc.

@Allnormalhere - do you mean influence on the curriculum? Or influence on how much is spent on Education? What exactly do you mean?

There already plenty of very influential and connected people in the state sector, including many of our current politicians. So what exactly do you mean?

Really gotta stop saying state schools are "free" guys. They don't grow on trees. They actually cost taxpayers 3-4x the imaginary subsidy to independent schools you all want to talk about.

And that actual cost is paid for disproportionately by higher earners, and even more disproportionately by those using independent schools.

Those are the facts of life in this debate. If you don't like it, make up other reasons like "all children must be educated by the State".

Yes, everyone performs a public service who sends DC to private school.

It's a bi-product that is not based on altruism. It's insulting to people's intelligence that it be dressed up as such.

Read it and tell me what you think about the contents first.

IFS junk is by an economist. A really really bad one.

Nonsensical that market force arguments be applied to the state sector when it is a public service and there is no direct monetary transaction for the provision of the service. The only free market element is the private one which is characterised by direct choice based on money changing hands.

Facts, logic and economics. Looking forward to hearing a single argument from you guys, just one, or actually engaging with our side.

Or you can keep stating your opinions and biases and getting cross.

And you really should stop splitting hairs over phrasing state school as free in a discussion about private school fees – it’s rather boring.

No priority given to feeder primaries where I live.

I just don't respond well to loaded rhetoric and conjecture about what might happen tied into what suits the agenda of those not wanting to pay extra. The truth is you have no idea what will happen. Ask three economists a question and you'll get six different answers. My hunch is that there won't be earth shattering fallout but time will tell. Frothing about a policy that is going to happen when Labour gain power isn't really going to get anyone anywhere. I have no skin in this game but the more I read posts like yours, the more I switch off and turn my thoughts to important issues like Gaza.

I find it so distasteful that anyone tries to pretend there's a reasonable argument for this policy, when it's about anger and envy.

Happy to admit this tax is bad for me. I might pay up and grumble about paying more tax on top of the £30k tax that's already paid when we do school fees, or very likely I will home school and pay no tax at all. Mrs Chips is looking into moving abroad, then neither of us will pay any UK tax. Now you can all have a go at "I don't like you so good riddance" but it will be good riddance and the government lost £90k a year.

In parallel, this dumb policy is no good for the public finances or for state schools for reasons we keep stating.

You should stop pretending you have an argument. Just say you hate private schools on principle and want to harm them regardless of the unintended consequences. Thanks.

When you have your equality blinkers on it's easy to lose track of family, choice, diversity, respect, efficiency, costs, benefits, fiscal impact and "not being educated by the state" as being other matters of importance.

Ah, the old envy rhetoric. Check out the multiple threads on this topic, full of posters who can afford private school fees but choose not to – me being one of them. I choose not to contribute to what I believe is the most contributing factor in societal inequality – simple.

I don't hate private schools. I absolutely don't hate private school parents and wouldn't have many friends if I did. My children had a very privileged education and are now at top universities. I have no personal axe to grind at all of this. Had we been in a situation where VAT hit, we would have just accepted it and paid up. I am not angry at all. My issue is more with insulting and imperious posts pushing scenarios which are unknown quantities at the moment. I also object to posts telling people what they have to think and dressing it all up as altruistic concern and then turning offensive if they do not concur. If such posts wish to garner sympathy and support then they are very misguided indeed.

Influence over everything! Money is the language of everything in this country unfortunately.

Well, yes, you'd think the unis are doing something intelligent like that, wouldn't you. But what I can see with the families all around me is a switch to state for A levels, specifically to have a better chance at uni. Of course, noone will ever know whether it made a difference either way. Doesn't change the impact on house prices.

VAT has to be paid on all luxury items in this country - private school education is a luxury so why shouldn't you pay VAT on it? The only reason it isn't currently a thing is because politicians don't want to pay it. I hate Labour, but for once I actually agree with one of their policies. And it isn't envy at all - my children are both at good state schools and mixing with a variety of people from all walks of life, rather than just one "type" of person. I always said since I was a child that if I had all the money in the world I wouldn't send my children to private school and I still feel that way.

More the fool them. The universities will be looking at their GCSEs in context so it will have been a futile move.