UK parents sending their kids to private schools in Spain - is this a thing?

[user1477391263]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/news/parents-put-children-spain-boarding-school-labour-tax-raid/. Paywalled, so I can’t actually read this, but now I’m curious.

My experience (living outside the UK) is that most international schools are nice enough but not at the level of a selective London private school, and altogether probably offer a similar level of education to what you’d get in a nice comprehensive on a posh area, so after factoring in all the airfare costs I do wonder how many people would actually do this when push comes to shove. Maybe people who came from families where boarding was always the expected norm and they just can’t conceive of any other way of raising a teenager?

"altogether probably offer a similar level of education to what you’d get in a nice comprehensive on a posh area"

Comprehensive school is state school, on a posh area or not, doesn't get more funding (if not less) on average than other state schools.

Comprehensive school is state school, on a posh area or not, doesn't get more funding (if not less) on average than other state schools.

But posh area parents can afford to support their children via extra curricular activities & tutoring which add to their academic success. They can also afford to support the PTA (or whatever equivalent method of fundraising) which will help plug gaps in funding in the school.

Posh area will also tend to mean fewer pupils from deprived backgrounds which in turn tends to mean fewer pupils with behaviour issues.

I'm sure a few do it, but it is realy quite niche because boarding is itself so niche. Most people want to see their kids.

It sounds a bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face, sending yur kid abroad.

This is no difference to a state selective school.

I think the article is talking about a different kind of school choice. The parents who chose boarding private school in UK vs overseas. They would rarely consider private day school or even state school options.

To be honest, I think the main thing is that it's looking increasingly likely that Labour will get in so the Telegraph is in full on attack mode re VAT on school fees. Although, to be honest, it's getting hard to keep track, because we're being told simultanously that kids from the private sector will flood the state sector AND that they will all be sent overseas or homeschooled or something.

I doubt VAT on private school fees will have any noticeable beneficial effects on the state sector, frankly, but the apocalyptic predictions from the Telegraph et all seem a bit hollow and hard to credit.

Yes, the Telegraph has an agenda.
However, the type of family pictured, international, possibly Asian outlook etc massively values education. And if it is going to go downhill or be way too expensive, I really do think they will send their DCs to Spain or Switzerland or wherever and also seek to move there themselves. People who come for a better life will only stay if it translates to a better life. If other countries are going to offer more aka better salary, housing, health and education options, then they will go there. And if they pay 40 or 45% tax and add to the economy, then that isn’t great for us. Especially if they work in the NHS or other skilled areas with labour shortages.

Lots of people who have skills, are still youngish and have options will be leaving the UK because the economic outlook is not great, nor is the long term outlook regarding the British pound. Until now UK Education has been recognised worldwide as stellar. But I think for foreign born skilled workers who are highly paid that has usually translated to private education. So if word gets around private education is under some sort of idealogical attack (is it?) and the healthcare is abysmal, pretty sure these people will go to other European countries or the US instead. Most people will say they don’t care and think it won’t affect them. However, internationally Britain is out of favour and who really knows what the real long term consequences will be? We saw with Brexit how much we were dependent in certain sectors on European labour but Covid muddled the waters and exacerbated the problem.

So yes I agree, The Telegraph have a Conservative agenda, but who actually knows what the long term consequences will be for UK Education. Personally I already worry about our over reliance on higher paying foreign students for the survival of many of our unis. And quite a few Chinese and Indian students have been complaining about lack of quality and strikes and issues in Higher Education already. I am sure lots of European unis will be all too happy to welcome higher fee paying students if they look elsewhere.