Hulme Grammar School in Oldham does not seem like a bastion of privilege, but the children whose parents pay around £15,000 a year for them to attend are nevertheless among an elite minority.
A selective, fee-paying school, Hulme is one of around 2,500 independent schools that educate 7% of the school population, a minority that is the target of one of Labour’s few unapologetically tax-rising policies.
If elected, the Labor Party says it will do so end the VAT exemption on feessubjecting them to a 20% tax, raising around £1.6 billion which the party claims will be used to hire 6,500 teachers in the state sector which educates 93% of children.
Parents at private schools fear the increase will be passed on directly, cutting out some children, while industry bodies say some schools will close.
Oldham is one of England’s poorest towns and Hulme is one of the country’s most affordable independent schools, with fees around the national average and well below the £50,000 charged by Eton and the Prime Minister’s alma mater, Winchester College.
Headteacher Tony Oulton, state-educated and experienced in working on both sides of the British education divide, says Labor policy misrepresents most private schools and punishes parents.
“The sector is not Eton, Harrow or Winchester, the big posh boarding schools largely based in the south of England.
“The majority are schools like mine, where parents are making real sacrifices to pay school fees, because that is how they choose to prioritize their expenses.”
‘They are prioritizing education the same way some prioritize holidays’
Even without the Labor policy, fees at Hulme will rise by 5.5% next year, a figure that Oulton says reflects wider pressures on costs, particularly teachers’ salaries. He says he cannot absorb the VAT increase without sacrificing the 24-child class limit that he believes parents are paying for.
“I regret the political debate, the loss of nuance and perception of the impact on children.
“The idea that they are buying privileges and separation would not resonate with parents here. They don’t recognize the rhetoric that exists around this, that they are part of some privileged elite.
Private schools ‘will adapt’ to the VAT tax
Children who receive private education, however, enjoy advantages. At £15,000, the average fee is double the £7,500 per head funding in the state sector, and selection allows independent schools to choose who they want to educate.
Meanwhile, an analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows that private school attendance is concentrated among the richest households, with three-quarters of students coming from the top 30% of earners, and the majority from the richest 10%.
This perhaps explains why the Labor Party felt able to focus one of its few openly tax-increasing policies on the sector.
It argues that the needs of the state system, which 93% of parents trust, make it popular, although the unspoken possibility is that the complaints of those who can afford the fees will elicit little sympathy.
They are also calm about warnings that rising fees will lead to an exodus of students that will put public schools under pressure.
Enrollment in private schools has remained constant despite average fees rising by almost 50% over the past decade, and state secondary enrollments are predicted to fall by 7% over the next decade as a population surge passes through the system.
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Public education faces undeniable challenges, including recruitment and retention, with one in four teachers leaving teaching after three years in the classroom.
The growth in demand for special educational needs provision It is also putting schools and local authorities under pressure. Around 576 thousand children had an active education and health plan in January, almost the same number as the total number of private schools, around 615 thousand.
Headlands School in Bridlington is facing typical challenges as it works to eliminate a £1 million shortfall from its budget.
Assistant Professor Adam Wooley said public education issues go beyond the school gate.
“It’s not just about school funding, but about funding all services around young people. A million people live in child poverty, so there’s not much schools can do if children arrive hungry, cold and without a stable foundation,” he says.
“I accept the argument from private schools and parents that it is an obstacle for people to have aspirations for their children, but all parents have aspirations. Public schools can and absolutely should be a place where you can send your child and aspire to great things, but it needs funding.”
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