Survival of the exceptional

The addition of VAT on fees will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back’, not only for stretched parents trying to do the best for their children, but for smaller schools and what they can offer. Lucy Higginson finds out how they are mitigating the damage

- Lucy Higginson

FEW things have winded more people in one fell swoop than the introduction of VAT on school fees this year. Together with the loss of businessrates relief and the increase in employer National Insurance (NI) contributions, it forms part of a triple whammy that has sent the sector spinning—and termly bills rocketing.

For some schools, already stretched by rising energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis, this has been a blow too many; every week brings fresh news of closures, some of them well-known and highly respected schools. This Easter holiday will be pivotal, as it is the date by which parents must give a term’s notice if they do not intend for their children to return in September.

The Government’s claim that the likely increase for parents would be about 10% has fallen far wide of the mark. The minimum has generally been 12%-plus, with many schools putting the fees up by 15% or the full 20%.

Hardest hit is the smaller, rural, characterful boarding school. ‘It’s the boarding schools of less than 300 [pupils] that are most affected —a loss of even two or three boarders is a huge swing for your finances,’ confirms a governor of one such school.

A friend who has one child at university and another soon to enter a sixth form in Rutland adds: ‘It is the straw breaking the camel’s back for some. I’ve got rid of my car and extras, such as school trips, will be out of the question. I don’t think we could seriously be contemplating it [school fees] if we were at the beginning of our children’s education.’

This is the crux of the matter. Although the consensus is that current parents will ‘find a way’ to keep their children at their independent schools, it is future generations who face the crunch. ‘We’re seeing a massive uptick in parents wanting state secondary schools,’ confirms Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of