Average private school fees rise to more than £22,000 a year
Independent schools have been hit with a ‘triple whammy of financial blows’ after the Government’s decision to impose VAT on fees, the ISC chief said.
Private school fees have increased by 22.6% in the last year, with parents now paying out more than £22,000 a year on average, the Independent Schools Council (ISC) has said.
Figures from the ISC suggest the average fee for a private day school was £7,382 per term in January, which includes 20% VAT, compared with £6,021 per term in January last year.
The Government’s policy to impose 20% VAT on private school fees was introduced on January 1.
The 22.6% increase in average fees for day schools compares with an 8.4% rise in 2024 and a 6.4% rise in 2023, according to figures provided to the BBC.
The ISC’s census, based on a survey of around 1,400 UK independent schools conducted in January, is due to be published next week.
In October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the policy to apply VAT to private school fees would help “provide the highest quality of support and teaching” in the state sector.
At the time, Treasury minister James Murray suggested that most private schools would be able to keep fee increases “affordable” for parents by absorbing a “significant proportion” of new VAT charges.
A policy paper in November said the Government expected private school fees to increase by around 10% on average as a result of the policy change.
But Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said: “Independent schools have been faced with a triple whammy of financial blows: the requirement to add VAT to their fees, the removal of charitable business rates relief and the rise in national insurance employer contribution rates.”
She added: “These statistics show that school leaders have done what they can to keep baseline fee rises to a minimum in the face of this unprecedented tax on education.”
Families with children at private schools are waiting to find out whether their High Court challenge against the Government over the imposition of VAT on fees has been successful.
Several private schools, children who attend them and their parents brought legal action against the Treasury, as they claimed the policy of applying VAT to fees was discriminatory and incompatible with human rights law.
This includes children and families at faith schools, and families who have sent their children with special educational needs (Sen) to private school.
An HM Treasury spokesman said: “This data misrepresents reality – the increases in fees are not only down to VAT.
“Average fees have risen by 75% in real terms in the past 25 years and pupil numbers have remained steady.
“Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94% of children in state schools to achieve and thrive.”
