VAT on private schools sees surge at state secondaries

SOME of Scotland’s top-performing secondaries will be fit to burst this week as state schools are hit by the first impacts of Labour's decision to impose VAT on private schools.

- By Paul Drury

When classes resume after the summer break, it will constitute the first new intake since Keir Starmer’s government decided to hike fees for independent schools by 20 per cent.

Capacity

Unable to meet soaring costs, it is thought some private parents have begun an exodus to the state sector, particularly to schools singled out for high pass marks in exams.

In Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, the school rated number two in the Sunday Times Top Ten School rankings, Mearns Castle, is expecting 122 more pupils than the school’s capacity of 1540. The same area’s Eastwood High has official places for 1220 pupils yet next term’s roll is anticipated to be 1337, 10 per cent above capacity.