Whitehall “braced for private schools collapse” 4

[ICouldBeVioletSky]

Continuing the discussion about the impact of VAT on independent schools…

Something I hadn’t thought of-are any new private schools opening?

How long do you think Labour are going to be in power to do that?! Starmer's son only sat his GCSEs last summer.

Maybe. Depressingly

The amount of posts claiming a 20% doesn’t damage a sector when anyone can see the amount of action over 25% or even 10% tariffs.

In that case we know it means damages and job losses. But for education for some reason, people buy it’s immune.

Labour have used this for red meat obviously and people believe it. But what an unforced mistake, doing it to ourselves.

So he will do his A Levels next year. Next election is '29 - he'll be largely unaffected. Maybe Starmer will move onto Grammar schools first.

His daughter hasn't even sat her GCSEs - two years younger than his son. So she would not be finished Oxbridge degree until at least 2031.

Who knows if she is the less academic anyway, it may not matter. I suspect she will be going to one of the top London State schools or Grammars? Guess they have to rinse that system before demolishing it though, I agree.

The only ones that have opened are specialist SEN ones

No because that's based on confidential info given to parents by schools before it has been publicly announced so I can't name individual schools until they have come out publicly themselves

No doubt. But like you say he will take advantage of the privilege for his own kids first

If she is 'the less academic' she is not going to be at one of the top London Grammars. It's tougher to get into those than many independents.

You don't think they would use their privilege in some way? I bet she's being tutored within an inch of her life!

I do wonder what they'd do if she failed 11+. Rough comp?

@CurlewKate The Light Christian School in Thurrock, Nuqtah Primary School in Rochdale, Apex secondary school for girls and Apex secondary school for boys both in Redbridge, and Talmud Torah Yetev Lev D'Rabbeinu Yoel in Hackney have opened this academic year according to the government’s school information. All independent, albeit all religious.

Highly religious!

Is it called “flooding the zone” when someone keeps repeating the same falsehood until it becomes accepted as true? Nobody has said that the levying of VAT will have no impact on private schools. Nobody. A surprising number of people seem to think that plummeting rolls have no impact on viability, though. Funny, that.

@twistyizzy i acknowledged they were religious. I was answering the pp’s question about new independent schools. They are still independent schools so are still relevant to the question.

Interestingly this court case has thrown up that Academies are also classed as independent schools. Just the cost is covered state and not parents, but they are nonetheless independent

@StrivingForSleepThank you. A quick google tells me that 12 new private schools opened. I wonder what the character of the other 8 is.

When government documents seen in court acknowledge that they expect the policy to directly result in closure of 100 more independent schools than initially predicted yet they then appear on TV saying they "don't accept that any school will close" tells a story in itself.
They are admitting that VAT will have a direct impact on school closures and have massively upgraded their predictions on the number.

How else would VAT have an impact on private schools other than by reducing rolls? Isn’t that what its purpose is?

This is from ISC:

All schools bar 4 that have opened since 1 July 2024 are special needs schools. Many are classified as “independent schools” but you need an EHCP and fees are paid for by the LA.

The ones which arent SEN:
Apex Boys and Apex Girls
The Light Christian School
Open Air Education
Sikh Heritage Girls School:

Barraclough Hall is listed at independent but fees can only be paid for by LA

Nuqtah and Talmud are actually state not independent Ie fees paid for by LA

What is this referring to exactly?

I doubt it as there haven’t been falsehoods repeated. Not by those you seem to be aiming this at anyway.

Nuqtah Primary School and Talmud Torah Yetev Lev D'Rabbeinu Yoel are officially recorded as other independent schools.

Over 50 other independent special schools have opened this academic year.

Some independent special schools accept self funders. Not all but some, and they can be very expensive.

They may be officially recorded as independent but fees are paid by LA

All the others are SEN other than the list I have provided and the reason they have opened is due lack of LA provision for SEN

They may have fees paid for by the LA, but the pp asked about independent schools and they are still independent.