To be gleeful that most of us were right

[Wranglestar]

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/adding-vat-to-private-school-fees-has-had-no-obvious-impact-on-state-sector-applications-390546/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2ATdaVlNkJsbtC-KizuW4Fw41obnpvezxnFv4IAFwzJPHXmU90Awr5eqAaem9tMIsn9I0vHSC4jrdYONIA#0rd9makyd4264nstc4us9j77yk5kaoswtLondon Economic

And that private schools has had no impact on state school places. The rich have simply - paid more. Excellent news!

Lol, no grammar schools and the best state schools benefit whilst DC from lower income families get pushed out of those schools.

There is 1 sixth form college in our area. 1 state school out of 4 offers 6th form. The rest don't.

In addition- state schools were told - what , 2 weeks ago?- that there is no longer any funding for the IB programme. So if your DC wants to do the IB (or, if they are currently in the middle of it? ) then that's the end of that. Labour is actively and wilfully reducing educational opportunities for state school students as well.

Yes, that too. Plus the poor but bright kids that will no longer get the private school bursaries which increasingly no longer exist.

It’s not going to state schools. Here’s a tweet from Keir Starmer. Wake up and smell the coffee!

Precisely. Most independent schools have cut bursaries to bare minimum due to VAT, mainly now for existing pupils.

Yes, they hate the IB because they can't control the content and assure ideological compliance.

Yep. And the parents that used to contribute monthly to the bursary fund no longer do so and are using that money to pay the VAT.

Of course the irony is now that the only schools guaranteed to offer IB will be independent schools 😆

I can’t belive the pettiness and chippiness on this thread @MyKhakiPanda have you heard yourself. IB further maths and Latin have been cut to make our education dumbed down even further. What you chippy socialists don’t seem to grasp is that those children leaving public schools are now costing the UK tax payer is that a good thing ? Clearly not that’s why education is not taxed

Heaven forbid that anyone in the UK has access to a world renowned education system that universities love and produces well rounded, well educated adults that know how the world around them works.

In my area we have 2 very good state grammar schools. Our small primary school has had 15 children from the local independent move their children in the last year so that they are in catchment for the state grammar schools because the fees for the independent secondary were always high, but now 20% higher. That’s going to be 15 children now taking places from state school children.

So you might not see immediate effects, but it’s definitely had an impact on the less affluent parents who were making sacrifices. They will now take up places at the best state options.

Not so well renowned in a few years time thanks to Labour. Look what they've done to Welsh education yet they continue to call that the blueprint.
Wales keeps slipping down PISA rankings etc.

Oxbridge already dropped from #1 due to DEI initiatives, the universities won't stand for that so will quietly ditch it.

This version of Labour's first instinct is always to destroy, never improve. Scorched earth policy.

@Peridoteage we’ve chosen to keep our DC at independent schools. We’ve managed this by pre-paying 7 years worth of fees upfront before the VAT came into effect. The schools scheme has been looked at in detail and given how it was set up, looks unlikely that VAT can be retrospectively clawed back.

Clearly we were fortunate to be able to do that, thanks to an inheritance. It’s not the wealthy paying VAT on fees, who will have done similar. It’s the people just about managing to pay fees who are either having to find several hundred of pounds a month more, or have had to make the upsetting decision to move their children.

You aren't the only ones and Labour never accounted for that in their initial or subsequent calculations.
Many parents at the top independent schools did exactly the same so will never pay VAT.

As always it's the parents like us ie scrimping and saving, who are hit most. Plus the really low income households who now won't have access to bursaries etc.

Only if those 15 children perform better in their entrance exam. Missing out a vital detail there lol.

DUE to DEI initiatives, are you ok? 😂😂 you obvs read too much GB News and apply zero critical thinking.

@twistyizzy what it’s also meant, is now we’re not paying fees out of monthly income, DH and I have both been able to hugely increase contributions into our pensions, so less tax paid on our earnings too. They didn’t think that through either.

I was referring to the IB.

I dont think the British education system has ever been world renowned, or not for many decades and even then it was based on a lot of brutality.

We've chosen to keep our children at the independents they were at (originaly because the eldest didnt get a reception place due to the bulge year crisis - remember that?) and pay the VAT because we can, because I valued education and have a well paid job and because it seemed cruel to disrupt them and their friendship groups and their exam results when they were already in the A level and GCSE years. I no longer give money to charity or the bursary fund and shop exclusively online at Amazon and the like to save money to pay the VAT. Not sure how any of that is a win for the British economy or for people less fortunate than me.

Who is it a “win” for?

For those families who’ve left the private sector to move abroad, that’s a loss to the UK economy.

For those families staying in the UK, it’s not a win for the taxpayer, who now has to find a state school place for those children who’ve switched. It’s not a win for the child who’s moving from a school where they were happy and thriving. It’s not a win for the state school they’re switching to.

I no longer give money to charity or the bursary fund and shop exclusively online at Amazon and the like to save money to pay the VAT.

This is what many people seem to be missing. Parents need to find the VAT from somewhere. They are cutting spending on things which previously helped the wider economy. It’s of no real hardship to cut back on charitable giving, spending in local shops, restaurants, cafes, car showrooms etc. However, decreased spending does affect those smaller businesses and charities.

@Another76543 I think many people don’t understand private school parents don’t have an unlimited supply of money. If they suddenly have to find maybe £800 a month in extra fees (if they have 2 DC at private), that extra money has to be diverted from spending elsewhere. Our inheritance was earmarked for some work on the house, that’s obviously not happening now.

But the VAT money is also going to 'buy' things - it isn't disappearing.

There's an overall shift in the aggregate from local shops/restaurants/cafes/car showrooms spending (h/t @Another76543) to defence spending, via government.

The long-term commitment is for defence spending to be 150% of what it currently is, which is a huge increase.

Why? Do you feel the same about private healthcare?

Also - state school parents tend to have even less money! And are also seeing their money diverted from hospitality spending/activities for children/holidays to essentials.

We're all in this together, even if it feels as if we're individually unique victims and others are having it easier.