When Caroline Santer, the headteacher of a small, private Christian school , The King’s School , in Eastleigh, Hampshire, heard the the Government’s announcement about value added tax (VAT) on school fees, she began preparing the parents for the rising costs.

Labour’s manifesto included plans to charge VAT of 20 per cent on private school fees, and this was confirmed in the 2024 autumn Budget. “We let our parents know that because we keep our fees so low, and we have very tight financial margins,” says Santer, “we’d have to pass the Government’s VAT on to them to pay, rather than the school absorbing that cost.”

Fees at Santer’s school are between £8k and £12k per year, depending on the age of the pupil, whereas the average fee per year for a private school in the UK is £19k a year

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