Have your school shared VAT update?

[nearlylovemyusername]

Just heard from ours, total increase will be 15%. This is on the top of annual increase of 4%.
Significant number of kids moving to grammar

How do you keep a school place as a back up?

I hope the poster from a couple of weeks ago who was insisting that every school would add 20% and have no choice otherwise is enjoying this thread.

Important to remember-it's easy to forget these things when you're in panic mode-that when you're looking at a comprehensive school's results, they include the results of the middle and low ability children who don't tend to feature in the results of private and grammar schools. And talking about extra curricular activities-of course state schools can't provide the same level as private schools do! Private school parents pay for them in the fees. State school parents pay for them separately.

It's pretty common. Parents just apply for the state school place and don't let the school know that their child won't be attending. Obviously, it becomes clear at the start of the academic year that a child isn't attending so can't be held beyond that, but quite a lot of parents seem to keep them until the very last minute. Fair enough, I suppose, if the private school option is genuinely touch and go, but pretty selfish if the decision is already made.

I must confess, I am looking forward with interest, when in Q4 2025, the government have raised no revenue from the VAT, and have failed to deliver the promised additional 6,500 state school teachers.

Will they try to pin that on the previous Government too?

GCSE economics….

Can I just point out that private schools have no choice about what they “pass on”? They have to charge 20% VAT on fees; it’s whether they can reduce fees to the total amount charged to parents is reduced.

£50k per annum?? What on earth are you getting for that? Gold-plated loo seats?

Exclusivity, I presume.

Fees at that level keep outv the riff raff who can only afford £20k per annum.

Well, no. I just don’t think that we should be organizing education with the goal of “provide comfortably off parents with free private schools,” which is what the 11 plus system mostly does these days.

Those will be boarding fees.

@clarkkentsglasses "Many in our school will apply and accept Grammar and Top State school places as back up. I'm not sure how many will make the choice to leave / stay."

As is of course their right if they pass the exam and/or live in the catchment area. Not sure what your point is.

Not to mention a Local Authority with zero curiosity about house moves into the catchment (disposal of previous less advantageously-placed previous property). Or the school itself, if it's own admissions authority. Having been witness to one school's description of its procedures to establish where an applicant actually lives, I would be very wary of hanging on to an OOC now 'second home' which was previously the family's main address.

So that's the top 7% that got all As.

So nowhere near as good as the local selective independent that takes the top 10% of the ability range where 70% of students achieve this.

Oh, hang on ...

Nanana1
We are in the process of buying a second home that will become our primary residence smack bang in the middle of the secondary catchment we want.

No wonder you don't want to send your children to estate school if you live in such a ghetto!

I hope it works out for you as it sounds like your child will need a boost in life living in such a terrible area where is cheaper to buy a house and pay VAT.

Thoughts and prayers.

I think this will be the final nudge for a lot of people to realise that the emperor has no clothes, and that nearly £7k per term isn’t great value for money against a good state school. You can’t kid yourself that VAT is going to improve your child’s education in private school in the same way you could kid yourself that 5% on fees did.

Same in Bromley where you a) have many kids attending private prep school but also b) amazing (but highly competitive) selective grammar schools. The selective grammars (St Olaves & Newstead Woods) will be more selective than ever. I can’t help but feel that this will cheat children from state school settings, who are truly deserving of these places.

I work in one- big, local, academic day school with lots of doctors, NHS professionals, dentists, solicitors etc as parents. Fees going up 10% and significant numbers leaving after GCSE to go to local college rather than stay for a levels.

Various parents have already got side hussles, eg reducing NHS hours and increasing private healthcare work, teachers taking on extra tutoring etc apparently. Some are having to leave across all areas of school. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Well yes, I was assuming so, but that's still a huge amount of money. Most boarding schools don't charge that much, do they?

Completely agree
A Good State school can mean that Private school fees really aren't worth it.
However, a bad State school can make some people VERY glad they were able to pay fees and not regret their choice for an instant.

That’s why we are moving. We can afford the fee hike, but it is now not value for money, plus with our eldest we have seen pushback against some of his applications as he goes to a private school. It’ll only get worse now the current government have made PS kids the fly in the ointment of society.

We are finishing up GCSE’s next year, and applying for very good state 6th form college, if he can get in that is, because everyone I know is doing the same thing.

When they put up the fees yearly, this was to cover new projects, specialist teachers etc. There was always a reason, and a tangible outcome. The school improved over years and I didn’t mind the fee hike.

20% VAT, is IMO an illegal tax raid on my already taxed income, and a direct attack on my DC’s education. It’s a spiteful and malicious attack. It’s more tax, when we are already paying loads already.

Labour can GTF if they think I’m going to pay that money. In fact, since I am sending my DC to state, they will be paying for me for a change.

Would you mind sharing which region? boarding or day?

when you're looking at a comprehensive school's results, they include the results of the middle and low ability children who don't tend to feature in the results of private and grammar schools.

Huh? I've seen Ds, Es and Us in private and grammar results tables.

No, most do not but remember a large number of boarders are from overseas.

Hear hear.

That’s why we are moving. We can afford the fee hike, but it is now not value for money, plus with our eldest we have seen pushback against some of his applications as he goes to a private school. It’ll only get worse now the current government have made PS kids the fly in the ointment of society.

We are finishing up GCSE’s next year, and applying for very good state 6th form college, if he can get in that is, because everyone I know is doing the same thing.If you're thinking about university applications, they look at where you studied for GCSEs as well as A-Levels.

If you're talking about university applications, they look at where you studied for GCSEs as well as sixth form.