How many kids have left the school? (VAT)

[limeandwater]

It's been long enough now that I think we can make a reasonable conclusion on how bad it has hurt school.

To be honest at our school I only know 3 pupils that have left because of the VAT so not as bad as many feared.

Still heartbreaking for the kids though.

And then for 2029 when we will all be rid of Labour. Can't come soon enough for anyone

which party has pledged to unfreeze the tax bands?

Its actually quite a poorly thought through decision as the benefit of the VAT take is not that high. Its not just the children leaving or not starting who may be squeezing other children out of the leafy comps and being tutored to the nth degree to get into grammars. If a lot of parents are having to really tighten their belts to pay the fees then it is often small local businesses and trades that lose out - eg they get rid of the cleaner, the car valet, the gardener, the gym membership etc etc. That reduces the tax take and I imagine by more than the VAT on fees. I know that that is not the actual point of the VAT but it is a consequence.

I know that that is not the actual point of the VAT but it is a consequence.

But surely it’s also a consequence of annual fee increases.

The biggest constraints of people’s income is housing which has far more impact on the wider economy

If you think Reform will improve your life I think you’ll be disappointed.

Even people like Boris Johnson admitted that taxes would have to rise if we left the EU.

It’s a shame a lot of people didn’t believe it would affect them.

Everyone left: my kid's school closed as a result of the VAT changes 😢

I'm guessing they're not necessarily telling you how they're paying for it though? It doesn't have to be their income from their job (and if they're junior nhs doctors it is v unlikely to be).

The schools that are popular will keep going. The ones failing will fail. The Tory dream really of the markets will decide. If you can't afford the fees wether it's the actual fees of the popular schools or the vat increase then you have to go State. Come 2029 I don't think you'll find any Party pledging repealing VAT on school fees as part of their manifesto.

I’m not in an MC firm. They can’t ALL have grandparents paying those kinds of sums surely?!?

What would it be then? Onlyfans?

None from my dc school. Both are selective with long waiting lists so I guess they will always have their numbers

The schools tgat are closing around here seem to be the ones caring to SENDs kids with lower needs (ADHD, ASD, anxiety). Parents of these kids generally couldn’t really afford private, but had the choice between no education and private, so made it possible.
Now they have to choose no education (yes, there are some state schools with a decent offer for these kids - but it is very, very rare).

@SALaw I worked in private schools, gps paying is really common. Also some people who got on the ladder early/right time have very low mortgages or none at all which helps hugely.

I know lots of people in accountancy/consultancy/law etc paying private, but they are mainly from well off backgrounds, and had huge family input/inheritances when buying property, so mostly have much lower mortgages than would be typical. They also tend to be in roles where they've had large bonuses along the way that they've used for things like cars, so they tend not to have finance on those.

As pp have said it is incredibly common for grandparents to be paying or at least contributing.

DH and I have gross earnings well over 300k but are also saddled with a big mortgage, commuting costs & childcare bills. We lose a lot of what we earn in tax. We could afford private but it would consume every spare penny we have.

The ones I know have GPs who pay, (sometimes for whole sets of cousins), one couple inherited a property and they use the income from renting it out and others received inheritance early and invested it for the purpose of paying the fees. None of them are earning it and paying from in year income at all.

There’s no way anywhere near the majority of the people I know have grandparents paying fees. They aren’t all “from money”. Many have ordinary parents that could not afford multiple school fees for all their grandchildren in their retirement years.

It will be heartbreaking when the state schools are overflowing with the ex private school children.

Why? I think the more parents who have a personal stake in state education being good education the better.

I prefer small classrooms not ones with over 36 children in them.

I think most parents do, so now more people will put state education on the list of things that influence how they vote. Excellent.

Most parents wont move their kids midstream. It will be falling intakes year after year that will kill the schools. That, and the parental anticipation thst this is a possibility.

more than 93%?
so these 93% are so useless that remaining e.g. 2-3% which will move from private to state will make a difference?

Yes I hope so.

None of our peers would ever think we'd be able to fund school fees for two DCs. They all know we're the ones who buy second hand uniform, walk everywhere to save money, buy yellow-sticker food etc.

What they don't know is that because of lucky investment decisions decades ago, extremely frugal living and a few inheritances, we can pay secondary fees for two DCs in full, up front, from savings if we wanted to. As it happens, even the investment income will pay any likely fees.

Id be pretty insulted if an ex private school parent came into a state school and started suggesting that they could magically change something. Again, the parents who may need to move their kids are not the movers and shakers of industry and business. Their kids are untouchable at secure schools. Its the just barely making it work parents who are probably working 50 hour weeks to afford it. Not sure what impact you thi k they could hsve, especially at secondary.