FT: Demand grows for private tutoring after VAT charge on independent schools

[nearlylovemyusername]

https://www.ft.com/content/300f07df-0126-46be-8470-544223cb7c35

Some extracts:

"Britain’s elite tutoring agencies have seen a boom in business from parents seeking alternatives to private school, a year after VAT was imposed on independent school fees. Top-end private tutors said they had witnessed demand shifting away from preparation for independent school entrance exams, as more families focus on securing places at competitive state and grammar schools."

"Lessons costing more than £60 an hour in subjects including maths, English and languages have risen by 56 per cent since 2022, and by 27 per cent since 2023, according to the data shared with the Financial Times.

Initially, parents were “aiming for independent schools and might have a grammar as a safety or backup”, but he added, for those affected by the VAT changes “it’s shifted completely the other way”."

"Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, raised concerns that a rise in private tutoring risks exacerbating inequalities in education. "

Surprise surprise...

Who could've thought that VAT will lead to wealthier families pushing out poorer ones out of grammars and best selective schools, whilst saving them substantial amounts to help kids with housing deposits instead spending on school fees.
And the same wealthier kids don't hold a tag of private education anymore so can't be discriminated by unis.

Win win for wealthy

Labour are idiots. They have played the existing status quo into the hands of Reform. How many of the penalised private school kids and their parents and grandparents are going to vote Labour in the next election? And let’s remember these DCs are going to unis.
All the threads are stating that uni educated kids won’t vote Reform. I don’t agree. I have heard from friends with DCs at big name public schools that this is now tribal.
Starmer is an idiot and should have never caved to the left in his party. They will hang him out to dry anyway.

I have never tutored my DC externally, apart from the standard 1:1 music lessons.

I am wondering what happens to DC tutored for GCSE and A levels as well? What do they do once they get to university?
My thinking was always to let them work it out themselves or they won’t be ready for the very independent learning and self start required by both A levels and unis.
Do some now have tutors at uni then?

Having said that, I do encourage them to use Save my exams and Seneca and those type of websites with past papers. But in their case it is provided through school (grammar). I guess some kids in state comps won’t get that and that is not OK.
My feeling is all children should at least be given free online resources to succeed, regardless of background. Central Government should fund this and oversee this. Especially against a backdrop of teacher recruitment issues and a SEND crisis.

I had tutors when I was at school, I think you are misunderstanding the role of a tutor.
When I arrived at university I was far less spoon fed than the children who had been at private schools. They were the ones who were floundering when left to figure things out for themselves, not the state educated children who'd had a bit of a tutoring top-up

As you get to sixth form and beyond at university you tend to have small group tuition sessions anyway. A tutor, for a state educated child, just give them a tiny amount of the kind of one to one or small group attention they would have had in a private school.

Yes. Very common IME.

First, this is a very central London-centric point of view. Most grammar schools have catchments, in many of which the academically selective places comprise 20%-25% of all state school places at Year 7. In many of these areas, parents might well prefer and expect places at the grammar, but apply to local independent schools in case they don't get the places.

Second, this is a very privileged point of view. If we define 'backup' as the less preferred feasible choice, taking into account all considerations, there have always been people who, if their DC gained places at both SPGS and HBS, or at both CLS and Latymer, chose HBS or Latymer, i.e., used SPGS as a backup to HBS or CLS as a backup to Latymer. They'd have made the tradeoffs to pay for SPGS or CLS if they hadn't got the place at HBS or Latymer, but their first preference was to use the money for other purposes. The addition of VAT has simply pushed more people into this category, where they'll make the tradeoffs for a private school if they can't get what they feel is an acceptable state option, but they'll take the tuition-free school if they can. And there are a lot more parents who have to think hard about these tradeoffs than for whom it doesn't really matter.

Aren't you making the same point as me? There have always been many people who preferred grammars to private schools (because of the fees and other reasons), my point is that not many people prefer private schools and then take a grammar because they did not get into any of the private schools (but into the grammar). Now as the fees are higher more people will consider a grammar a better option (as I wrote before). It may be that more people now move into catchment areas of "good" state schools, apply for private and take the good state option as a "back up". This would mean that the catchments of the good state schools would become larger over time so it will be interesting whether this balances out that more wealthy people want to buy there.

I live in an essentially non-grammar area which has some excellent comprehensive schools (results on a par with grammar). Catchments very small.

Purely anecdotal but historically around 4-5 pupils (out of 90) from DC
primary school have gone on to independent secondary. This year DD is the only one who has even applied.

We know a number of families who have instead moved into the catchment of one of the excellent state schools, some purchasing a second home there (and genuinely moving into it with a view to moving back once their child has secured their state place). And others who had considered the independents, been on the tours but decided to grab the state place with both hands for financial reasons.

As I say, all anecdotal and yet I’m pretty sure it’s being replicated all over.

Indeed. And those who predicted this were shouted down.

This current government seems to be very bad at seeing the obvious consequences of their fiscal 'policies'. All the u-turns show that.

The only consequence they cared about was taking the children and parents down a peg or two and stirring up a bit of old fashioned division. They achieved their aims.

My bad, I got myself muddled replying to the wrong post.

I had to laugh at the idea that wealthy people had grammar schools as a back up in the past. Is there any area were it is easier to get into state grammar school than into private schools?

The answer to your question is: yes, in many areas (although outside of London) the more selective private schools can be more selective than the local grammar schools.

The education section of mumsnet can give a skewed view of education. I think posters who are private and grammar school users are over-represented.
Aproximately 6% of the pupil population in England attend private school.
Just over 5% of the secondary school population attend a grammar school. They are simply not an option for the majority of young people. Most counties have no grammar schools.
People with higher incomes can access private schools. The vast majority cannot. Since VAT the income you need is slightly higher. Tutoring is more accessible, but still not affordable to many.
People with higher incomes have always been able to access educational advantages (private school, tutoring, paid resources, buying a house in a particular catchment). Money opens up your options - this has always been the case. VAT has a direct impact on families for whom private education is no longer affordable, but I think the impact this has education more widely is overstated.

Two pupils have moved from my DD's year (comprehensive) to private school this academic year. We haven't noticed an influx in the oposite direction. There might be some impact in high income areas with selective secondaries, but I dont think it directly effects most users of state education. Obviously, it impacts private school users, but in most areas (particularly with a falling pupil population) there is minimal/no impact on those using state.

This is very London-centric again, but I'd say that the very competitive grammars (eg HBS and QE Boys) are the same level of competitiveness as the top indies - eg St Pauls, Highgate, South Hampstead etc. If anything getting into these uber-grammars is becoming even harder than getting into the top privates, because more parents are put off by the astronomical fees.

There's a second tier of very good state schools with that admit some pupils on academic selection - eg Camden, DAO - but these aren't nearly as academically competitive/demanding as the top privates. That can often be where a tricky decision lies for parents....

This is not correct at all. The state grammars eg Henrietta Barnet are MUCH harder to get into than any top private school. These have 3,500+ applicants for 120 spaces whereas last year St Pauls had 700 applicants for 120 spaces for girls.

This is all public information if you google search number of applicants and spaces.

Yes, who would have thought this, exactly what the PS parents spelled out time and again, would actually happen. Private school parents are well-organised and highly motivated in delivering objectives. Tutoring costs a drop in the ocean compared to private secondary fees. The only losers will be poorer kids, who will not be as persistently coached as many PS kids. Anyone hoping for a grammar place can thank Labour for this levelling down.

You may or may not be right, but you cannot simply look at numbers.

Near us there are (amongst others) two indie schools. School A gets 300 applications school B gets 500, for a similar number of places. So School B is much harder to get into.

Except it’s not, because School A is much more academically selective, and School B is not academically selective at all and is used by lots of people as a backup. School B has to make a lot more offers than School A to fill its places.

You can argue it’s different with a grammar but you have no way of knowing (I assume) if the 3500 grammar applicants are of the same academic calibre as the 700 St Paul’s ones.

I think the word wealthy is incorrect

Truly wealthy parents will continue at independent school as 20% increase is nothing to them. They don’t care about the rise in school fees.

it’s the middle class aspirations that are now shifting towards grammar school - as they now attend state primary they have the funds to divert to tutoring to boost their chances and also buying up houses in good catchments and crowded out the others.

This was always expected but Labour are just too stupid to realise the implications of adding VAT to education. And also standard are lowering for all as class sizes have increased.

And where are the 6.5k teachers this was supposed to raise?? This policy has done nothing for education.

Going to an independent school doesn’t make you wealthy or mean you are wealthy. Some parents save, double income and don’t go on fancy holidays to afford this.

Thing is, the Labour party said the policy would lead to 6.5 k teachers being employed in the state sector. Since then they have claimed the money instead has gone to breakfast clubs and Kier Starmer himself said on his own X account that their investment into housing was paid for by the VAT on private schools. Absolutely extraordinary - makes you feel like it was a policy devised by the Ministry for the Magic Money Tree.

They blatantly lied about the 6.5k more teachers in the state sector because they knew there was no way they could achieve that. Breakfast as a priority over good education is daft if you ask me.
I know there are many fantastic state schools but there are also many that are not and with the increase in SEND etc surely a way to improve teaching provision should have been kept.
The attainment gap is going to get wider as parents buy in better catchment areas/grammar schools so others will miss out. All for their ideology, but it won them votes so achieved it's aim.

They cannot get enough teachers but they are going all out on AI. I am surprised they have not yet claimed that the private school VAT is paying for the AI tutoring for some kids on FSMs.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/450000-disadvantaged-pupils-could-benefit-from-ai-tutoring-tools

They do not want state school kids suspended and on social media at home, but for teachers to babysit in school and put them on AI.
They also want everyone doing Maths and STEM pretty much, even if their brains are wired towards more verbal based disciplines (like politics!)

The new magic money tree is AI. AI will solve everything, did you not know?

I have skin in the game here. We live in a large grammar school county. I am an ex-teacher and now tutor for the 11+. My DS is in state grammar, DD is in an independent school. So I see many sides to this issue. I am also a traditional Labour voter.

Without a doubt, many families are working really hard to avoid private fees for secondary education. I know families at independent preps who are desperately trying to get their dc through the 11+ test despite previously planning on keeping their dc in private.

Church attendance has increased in case the 11+ isn’t positive. I am also seeing an up tick in Year 11s looking to move to state 6th forms.

I predict even more dc will be heavily tutored to scrape the 11+. Once in the grammars, they will struggle to keep up and will need a range of tutors from Year 7. So a boom in KS3 and GCSE tutoring which in turn will tempt much needed state teachers to go part time (or quit) and earn through tutoring.

More families will also opt to move to independent for Year 9 rather than Year 7. Then back to state for 6th form. 3 years fees rather than 7 is a very attractive prospect.

House prices near the grammars and v good, local church school will continue to climb faster than other areas. Pricing out even more middle income families.

More and more independents will be targeting the bright, ND kids who struggle to fit into mainstream. We will see an increase in wellness spaces, sensory hubs, pastoral provision etc. But only for those who can afford it. Some independents might become a bit more fluid and amenable in their approach to ND pupils.

The whole VAT policy has completely back fired but in lots of small ways rather than one big jolt. With lots more to come. The full extent won’t be truly felt for another 2-3 years. With still no sign of the extra 6,500 teachers for state schools.

Totally agree, but unfortunately it will be too late to help a lot of children.

Surely we’ll see more & more teachers leave to tutor.

The best charge £200 ph via elite agencies. Or some even more! Not sure what cut tutors get but prob a decent chunk.

I always think the maddest thing about the Labour policy is that they have completely muddied the water around identifying who has had the advantage of money to achieve their successes. Any stats around State school pupils going to Oxbridge or getting other lucrative and highly desirable opportunities won't be worth the paper they're written on. Inequality will still exist but it will now fly under the radar through the usage of private tutors and it will be much harder to monitor and put in any kind of measures designed to reduce it.

I honestly despair! The policy is crap for everyone. I feel so bad for all the staff impacted by the inevitable private school closures. Not just the obvious teachers etc but all the support staff. I think some valuable legacies and community and cultural elements will be lost. I think the same when any school closes. You take away a bit of the fabric of a community.