Private school's fear over loss of VAT exemption

Pupils at Hulme Hall Grammar School are taught in smaller class sizes

A small independent school fears parents will be priced out of sending their children there after the 20% VAT exemption for private schools is removed.

Dean Grierson, head teacher at Hulme Hall Grammar School in Stockport, said pupils with extra educational needs would also struggle to cope if moved to larger state school classrooms.

Mr Grierson said many of them would "just become a number in a large state school and not be able to thrive in the way that they should".

The Department for Education has said it expected only a "limited" number of pupils to switch from private to state education.

A Department for Education spokesman said ending the tax breaks would raise cash that would be "invested back into essential public services, so every child gets the best start in life".

Mr Grierson said smaller class sizes were one of the main benefits of the school for pupils who needed extra support to "thrive to develop their different talents".

Parent Rachel said many parents fear the cost of the VAT increase

One parent, Rachel, whose son Scott attends the school in Year 9 and has what the school has defined as extra learning needs, said he would "really struggle" at a state school.

She said other parents were also worried about how they would pay for any increase in fees.

“Every parent’s looking to put their child in a place that’s the best for them", she said.

"Unfortunately the money factor is going to make those decisions very, very difficult for people.

"It’s a huge sacrifice already for many parents in the system, and I already know that parents are removing their children from the schooling system.

'Education tax'

Hulme Hall currently charges £14,000 a year, but the fee is expected to rise after January, when the removal of the VAT exemption takes effect.

Tim Lowe, the chairperson of the school's board of governors, said some parents will not be able to afford the increase.

He said there was a "big misconception" that private schools "are full of money like Eton and Harrow".

He said the small trust which runs the school could "not cushion this extra money", adding any surplus it generates goes back into the children's education.

Mr Lowe described the VAT relief removal as "an education tax", adding "most of that will have to go onto the fees".

The Independent School's Council estimates there are more than 6,000 pupils considered to have special educational needs in private schools in the north-west of England.

But more than two thirds of them would not qualify for extra support in the state sector, the body's chief executive officer Julie Robinson said.

She said the VAT hike would "disrupt education for thousands of pupils", adding she was "particularly concerned for what it might mean for students receiving SEND support".

"A rushed January implementation will exacerbate these issues and we are calling on the government to at least delay implementation to allow VAT to come in in line with the academic year and school admissions cycles", she added.