Easter GCSE/A-Level Revision Courses - cancelled due to VAT

30 replies

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 21/11/2025 13:44

School have just cancelled them as they are apparently economically unviable after the introduction of VAT [which also applies to organised courses like this not 1:1 tuition.]
Are others seeing the same trend?

OP posts:

redskydelight · 28/11/2025 11:54

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 28/11/2025 11:30

It's irrelevant really which option it is. I simply asked if people were seeing if Easter revision courses which have historically been run were being preemptively cancelled widely.

I assumed they would not be free of charge because I've never seen that where I grew up. On the basis that they appear to be provided free of charge by many schools that doesn't appear to be the case so I have my answer.

It is however the case, that the course provider I have seen advertised for years locally has decided not to do so this year. I can only speculate as to why, the reason given was it would be uneconomic due to the vat changes.

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It sounds like the provider is using VAT as a convenient excuse. As you've said, they have no idea if customers might pay the increased cost if they haven't actually tested the market, although they may, of course, have carried out some user research in advance. I am wondering if they have found their target market is expecting more of their private school (if using private education) or thinking that 1:1 tutoring might be a more effective use of their money if revision is needed.

Bambamhoohoo · 28/11/2025 14:01

clary · 28/11/2025 11:46

Ah OK – I guess it must be a private provider (so not a school?) just finding it is not economic to run them – there is not the take up bc of the high costs. It’s a pretty unusual thing where I am for fee payign revision courses to be run at all apart from by individual tutors, but maybe it’s common in some parts of the country (tho also not where any PPs are). Fair enough.

Edited

It’s got to be a private provider though- a state school can’t be VAT registered in order to charge anyone tax

clary · 28/11/2025 14:16

Bambamhoohoo · 28/11/2025 14:01

It’s got to be a private provider though- a state school can’t be VAT registered in order to charge anyone tax

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Yes indeed. I mean I suppose a private school could do this but I would be surprised if anyone was willing to pay on top – surely revision classes for exam candidates would be included? Maybe not tho. Hence I assumed it was Mr Bloggs Exam Catch-Up Co that was hiring out the school facilities. I was confused by the OP saying school.

Comefromaway · 28/11/2025 14:26

I enrolled my dd on an external Easter GCSE revision course back in 2019 (there were some issues with the maths teaching at her school) and it was cancelled for lack of interest.

Everything was free at ds's state school. The private school he used to go to didn't run them.

AlohaRose · 28/11/2025 15:09

Sounds like an excuse to me. My kids are out of education now and I can’t remember how much we paid for one of these courses for A level biology but an extra 20% on top certainly wasn’t going to be the determining factor. We could either afford it or not. It’s entirely possible however that all the other associated costs have increased – rental of facilities, costs of printing and copying, payment to tutors, etc. and combined this means the courses are no longer economic to run. From which source are you receiving the information that that is the reason for non-running of these courses? – was it a passing comment or an actual printed document for example?

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