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From London to Loughborough, these are the private schools that are set to close their doors in the wake of Labour’s tax raids.
Labour’s decision to levy VAT on private school fees has dealt a heavy blow to the sector, which some institutions have been unable to deal with.
Maidwell Hall In Northamptonshire has become the latest to reveal plans to close after announcing on Tuesday that it had been ‘adversely affected by external factors.
The 114-year-old institution said it had been operating at a loss for several years but ‘received further blows last November, when the announcement of VAT on school fees and the elimination of business rates relief was confirmed in the Budget‘.
Earl Spencer attended the school and has alleged in his memoir that he suffered physical and sexual abuse there during the 1970s, between the ages of eight and 13.
As well as the VAT hike, private schools in England with charitable status will also be stripped of their 80 per cent business rates relief from April.
Loughborough Amherst school – which began in 1850 – is another recent victim of the economic headwinds facing the sector, alongside other institutions in Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Scotland.
Amherst was previously known as Our Lady’s Convent School before being renamed after its takeover by the Loughborough Schools Foundation.
A letter to parents seen by MailOnline said the 2015 takeover had secured the school’s ‘immediate future’ in the face of ‘existing financial difficulties’ before rising costs and taxes became too much to manage.
Critics of the VAT charge, which will hit parents £2,000 each per pupil on average, have branded it a ‘tax on aspiration’ and warned it will simply force more parents to send their children to the already overburdened state sector.
Official data suggests an exodus is already underway, with 124 local councils in England, Scotland and Wales receiving 3,011 applications from private school pupils to move to a state school between June 1 and September 9.
The figures, obtained in Freedom of Information requests, are likely to understate the scale of private school exits given a further 83 councils either did not respond or said they did not have the data.
Independent Schools Council (ISC) chief executive Julie Robinson has accused Labour of ‘underestimating’ how many privately educated pupils would leave as a result of the policy, with the Treasury previously predicting the figure would be 3,000 for the entire 2024-25 academic year.
Just last week, Godolphin Prep, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, also announced it would be shutting at the end of the school year.
The private school, which opened in 1993 and charges £12,196 per year, told parents on Wednesday that surviving had become ‘particularly precarious’ due to the introduction of VAT on school fees.
A letter to parents seen by the Salisbury Journal said: ‘The future for stand-alone prep schools is particularly precarious at present; not only due to the introduction of VAT on fees but also in terms of ensuring we remain at the cutting edge.’
Pupills, made up of girls aged between three and 11, will transfer to the nearby Chafyn Grove and will be automatically handed places at the senior school at Godolphin.
The school blamed declining pupil numbers too, telling parents: ‘In the current climate, ensuring each pupil is able to enjoy the full range of learning and socialising opportunities becomes much harder to deliver.’
Last month, Immanuel College Prep School, a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire, said it was closing in light of ‘unprecedented financial pressures’.
Loughborough Amherst School, a Catholic boarding school for boys and girls aged 4 to 18 that began in 1850, said this week that the ‘economic reality’ made it no longer viable
Maidwell Hall (pictured), a co-educational prep school in Northamptonshire that Princess Diana ‘s brother went to, announced on Tuesday that it would be shutting in July
Pupils at the £13,632-a-year primary school going into Years One to Five next September will be offered an alternative place at north-west London’s Kerem School in Hampstead Garden Suburb, a 30-minute drive away.
Immanuel College Prep School and Kerem School said in a statement: ‘The introduction of VAT on fees, in addition to the increase in National Insurance and teachers’ pension scheme costs and the removal of business rates relief, has had a significant impact across the independent schools sector.
‘The two schools, who enjoy a long-standing relationship and share similar values and ethos, have entered into this arrangement in order to safeguard the education of children in the Jewish community.’
The ISC has launched legal action against the Government over claims its VAT policy is discriminatory, including against children with special educational needs and disabilities.
It has instructed leading barrister Lord Pannick KC, who represented Boris Johnson during the Partygate inquiry, to fight its case.
The ISC is hoping for a judicial review of the policy on the grounds that it breaches articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Labour’s policy has been branded a ‘tax on aspiration’. Pictured is Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Budget day
It will argue on behalf of parents who are unable to find suitable alternatives in the state sector, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The Office for Budget Responsibility believes the move will send 35,000 children from private schools into the state sector.
A government spokesperson said: ‘Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help fund public services, including supporting the 94% of children in state schools to achieve and thrive.
‘On average, around 50 mainstream private schools typically close each year.
‘his is due to a range of reasons, including financial struggles and school standards issues.
‘Local authorities and schools commonly support children and parents in these circumstances.’
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