Another private school in Suffolk announced closure by the end of the summer term

[twinsyang]

Not only students have to find another school, but also teachers, employees. Eg cook, gardeners, support staff all have to look for jobs. :p
i feel sorry for the families affected.

There is a private prep school near us closing too as numbers were dropping etc and I know 4 families at our school who have moved to our state school following rumours of closure etc
I think for a lot of people, even the wealthy - the costs are just too much plus one Mum who has a daughter in my class said she’s actually happier in her new school!

That aside it is disruptive for kids, families and the job loss situation for the staff. I can imagine in the next 5-10 years a lot will close tho.

Absolutely, but how does the government collect the VAT if a lot are closed

There won’t be any VAT to collect when kids move to state

I think they are still quids in. Schools have closed and many people have withdrawn their children but the fee paying model is alive and kicking.

From Gemini “ Government funding for state schools in England averages £8,580 per pupil (ages 5–16). Core funding guarantees minimum levels of £4,610 per primary pupil and £5,995 per secondary pupil, though average operational spending is around £6,700 for primary and £7,400 for secondary students” , The government breaks even on its private school VAT policy as long as the student displacement rate remains under 10% to 15%. At this threshold, the gross VAT revenue collected from the remaining private school pupils perfectly offsets the funding required to absorb transferring students into the state school system. Note, the 10% is The 10% to 15% break-even mark is the total displacement rate, representing the final, cumulative reduction in the private school population after the policy settles. It is not a 10% drop happening year after year.

A lot of these private schools have done very little to help themselves. I would have sent my dd privately but she wasn’t considered bright enough because of her dyslexia. She got a first last year from a Russell group university.

They want an easy life with easy children.

I’m sad for the people losing their jobs but these places are outdated and resting on their laurels.

There’s been a drop of about 30,000 pupils I believe
Thats not over 10%

Many of the private schools that have closed in the last 2 years were struggling for a long time with falling pupil numbers and therefore they were losing money over many years. The VAT may have brought the problem to a head but their financial accounts show they'd have gone in the next few years regardless unless they suddenly had a significant influx of new pupils.

Added to which, many occupy old/historic buildings that require expensive maintenance.

Rendcomb in Gloucestershire is a prime example of this.

We need less schools because there are fewer children , sadly both state and private schools are having to close .

Well done Labour 👏. I’m sure we can utilise all that lovely VAT to help pay for the wage rises of the teachers and support staff that you failed to fund. Oh wait 🙄

6500 extra jobs for teachers wasn’t it ???

Yes and free breakfast clubs. All to be paid for by the VAT.

Seems to have been swept under the carpet.

It only had 100 pupils so clearly not viable.Sad for children and staff.

Agree and these children used to be the bread and butter for Stoke College but the owners and senior leadership decided to try and turn it into an academic hothouse. It clearly backfired.

Ah that’s okay then. Nothing to see here.

Small private schools have been struggling and closing down for years, and this one was indeed little with just 100 pupils. There are fewer children being born and the demand for school places is falling. I remember many private schools closing down when my son was a child in the 1980's. It's nothing new at all. As for the teachers, a lot of them will indeed struggle to find jobs because they won't be qualified. They don't have to be at private schools.

🤫

As for the teachers, a lot of them will indeed struggle to find jobs because they won't be qualified. They don't have to be at private schools.

They don’t have to be, but I believe most are.

State pupils numbers have dropped by 2% despite any transfers from the private sector. We have a declining birthrate so numbers of schools will also decline in almost every sector

Agree
including subject based when teaching in prep
Thats from 8years up

The school has around 100 pupils and 68 staff. That's not good maths, with or without VAT.

Prior to the introduction of VAT, the shareholders (also the shareholders of the business that owns the freehold to the school buildings...) had loaned the company about £6m by August 2024 (up from £4.5m by end of August 2023) to cover running costs.

This doesn't sound like a school that would be operating in a happy financial place if it weren't for those pesky kids government folks

School rolls are falling and sone state and private are closing.
Yet there is huge competition ratios still for some schools look at tutoring of kids ....

Why falling birth rates mean big changes for England’s schools - Nuffield Foundation share.google/BaFYCK6AQfZ4Uej1x

It’s interesting as 2 state primaries have closed near me due to low birth rates, yet one private primary has opened!

It’s the cumulative impact of VAT, business rates, employer NI, commercial energy prices, etc. Numbers were already down because overheads have forced fee increases and cut out many families who could once have afforded them.

Private school fees have also outpaced inflation for decades at this point, so even without VAT the number of families private education is accessible to has reduced. Combined with a falling birth rate, it’s an increasingly shallow pool of students in the UK who can afford school fees. Unfortunately for prep schools, a lot of parents who might have sent their children to private school from reception are now deciding to use state primaries and independent secondary schools if the cost of a full state education is too much. The high fees also cause a bit of a vicious cycle where parents want to see more value from their fees, so schools need to spend more to justify the cost of the fees which then increases the fees more. I feel like VAT is an easy target and it probably has accelerated the decline for some schools, but it’s far from the only reason for school closures.