To be glad that the VAT on school fees

[Shaketherombooga]

Is now going to be happening in January? what’s the point in stalling it? I think it’s one of many decisions that we just need to get in with.

YABU - it’s SO unfair. Labour hates ‘strivers’ etc etc

YANBU - Yup, Labour said they are taking away tax breaks for private schools, so let’s get on with it.

Honestly. What is one suppose to say to privileged people claiming that they’re suffering in some way for their choices? Being discriminated against? It’s beyond parody. IMHO.

And it is not spiteful to say that you don't believe someone when they say that they could afford private school and they must be jealous because there could not possible be any other reason for their negative feelings? Maybe they are not jealous at all and they just find all the entitlement and 'woe is me' insufferable. Has that not ever crossed your mind? I can't be the only one who finds this attitude bewildering.

It doesn’t cost anything like that where I live.

Yet here you are, with more than one degree and have never learned how to write a complete sentence.

I'm also afraid to inform you that many of your written thoughts, while certainly not the least coherent I've seen, would struggle to be defined as, 'put together.'

So, this may be another lie.

I'm absolutely sure that you can't afford private school but choose not to do so-there is no doubt that is a lie. However, your several degrees may be sadly true. I don't think it is but if it is, what an sorry state of affairs.

Again, liars don't admit they've lied-they usually double down and ,as I said a couple of posts before, I expect you to remain true to type.

Have never voted Tory. Will never vote Tory. I pay high rate tax in the full knowledge that I contribute more to public services than many others do.

Myself and my partner are state school educated. Our daughter endured 2 years of bullying and social isolation at her state secondary school. We had her on a waiting list for other local state schools for 6 months before we decided to move her to private school. We’re fortunate we had that choice. My parents didn’t and I’ve endured a lifetime of low self-esteem as a result of the bullying I encountered at secondary school.

People like you remind me of the vile bullies I encountered in my teenage years. Total lack of empathy and so full of bitterness and bile.

Oh, ours are good ones!

Ours are very good too.

Honestly the entitlement is shocking.

I couldn't care less how hard your father worked.

I seriously believe that this proposed VAT introduction is a good thing as it has shown in so many ways how selfish so many people are.

There's nothing really more to say. So many people are showing their true colours and it's massively eye opening.

I had no idea so many private school parents thought in such awful ways about the parents and children who have no choice but to send their children to state school.

Good news for those staff - there are quite literally thousands of other schools in the country looking for all sorts of teachers, support staff, arts staff

Op I thought you said the private school teachers are unqualified? In which case how will they get jobs in state schools?

VAT registration for the institutions affected can happen fairly quickly, but they would be inundated with requests all at the same time, which would slow things down a bit. Drawing up complex VAT legislation and getting it through parliament takes a good bit longer. And when you consider that most schools will have already sent out their bills and possibly even already been paid for next term's fees, they can hardly bring this in straight away.

OK, so a day school in the North is probably, what, 6k a term? So that's only 36k a year spare for 2 which I guess is doable if you are both working and don't have a huge mortgage.

I had no idea so many private school parents thought in such awful ways about the parents and children who have no choice but to send their children to state school

Well, that's a bit dramatic. But I understand that you see the VAT as a punishment.

It's not dramatic. It is obvious from many of the comments on this thread. Yet you choose not to see that and instead condescendingly minimise it. The lack of self-awareness on this thread is really quite something.

the stress and responsibility with high paid jobs is reflected in the pay.

A number of years ago a large study was done of the civil servants looking at stress and pay. It was found lower ranking civil servants had more stress as they had less control over their work environment.

@SherrystrullYes well how hard he worked continues to pay those extremely high taxes he pays even as a pensioner....

And it's entitled to want to spend my money how I chose?!

As I have said before, add the VAT. I couldn't give a rats arse. Happy to pay because I can and so I do. By not having my children in state means more services for others. But this thread shows the joy people are seen to be taking when kids lives are disrupted for those that can't and the short sighted nature of the impact on the state system when it becomes less able to cope. So, take joy in that. Feel free. But I will take joy in not having to spend time with people who spout bile.

I had no idea so many private school parents thought in such awful ways about the parents and children who have no choice but to send their children to state school.

I mean on this thread the nasty comments, insults and judgements are directed one way...and it isn't towards those in state schools.

I had no idea so many private school parents thought in such awful ways about the parents and children who have no choice but to send their children to state school.

I have seen unpleasant comments go both ways. It’s embarrassing really to make such sweeping nasty judgments based purely on where someone chooses to educate their kids. Private or state.

Absolute rubbish. My children went to wonderful state primary. I chose private for secondary for the sport. I know of no state school that does an hour of sport 7-8am, during lunch then an hour after school plus weekends. If it hadn’t been for that I would have chosen state in a heartbeat. I also believe passionately in single sex schools and there are barely any state ones near me. My children are still best friends with the children who went to the local state school plus the ones who went private. I don’t personally see any difference. I had my reasons for private. Wasn’t anything to do with the quality of the teaching or the people they would be with. Demographically they are mixed in both state and private. My husband went to a pretty average comp and has done exceedingly well career wise. My point is that people who move to an expensive home right by an outstanding comp are far more privaileged than someone who sends their kids private as they get all the benefits of having a school that is selected by house prices so no doubt having their children not hanging with the undesirables but to go on about how privileged private school children are. They then bank the money saved and give it to their children or go on holidays. I’d you can afford to move into a catchment area of a good school then you should have to contribute to improve the ones that need help and pay for the extra teachers

When someone says that they were ostracised as children by neighbours when their mum sent them to private school, I think the following is unnecessarily sarcastic and spiteful. You clearly don’t.

ah of course, the big ostracism of ‘89, I think I remember reading about that in the press at the time… and still, parents bravely carry on sending their children to private schools, undeterred by the consequences…

ah of course, the big ostracism of ‘89, I think I remember reading about that in the press at the time… and still, parents bravely carry on sending their children to private schools, undeterred by the consequences.

Yes, that’s incredibly spiteful even by mn standards.
I wonder if the poster who wrote that encourages their dc to share such views with any ex privately educated children who may attend their school.

Why can you not afford to educate your children privately? That is your failing as a parent, why can you not see this?

@Shaketherombooga I think you've misunderstood. I never claimed to have suffered in any way and certainly didn't say I was discriminated against, perhaps check the definition. I didn't care what others thought of my situation and rose above it as a child - as I do today.

To this day I am grateful for the sacrifices my parents made, and their choices.

We should play "private school VAT bingo"... I would include the following phrases...

1. "hard working parents are being punished"
2. "politics of envy"
3. "state schools will be oversubscribed"
4. "what about SEN kids"
5. "I don't care, I am rich. The lower middle classes will be punished"
6. "Labour are disgusting"
7. "It's not a tax break"
8. "spite"

FYI, I am a hard working parent and could not afford to send my kids to private school. I have 3 of them and there's just no way. I know people who work harder than me and get paid less. In fact, the harder you work, the less you get paid.

Argue your case all you like, but do not assume that people who are not rolling in it are lazy or not "hard working". OK?

Some people manage to communicate their point without resorting to that kind of unpleasantness but still get their message across.