The latest increases will mean some schools have raised fees by more than 20 per cent in less than a year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to remove private schools’ business rates exemption from the start of this month, and to increase employers’ national insurance contributions, has further increased costs, private schools claim.
Melanie Sanderson, managing editor at Good Schools Guide, said the removal of charitable relief on business rates had “clobbered” the sector, adding that it was “inevitable” that parents would eventually have to foot the bill for VAT.
Earlier this month Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson challenged the idea that parents could miss out on their first choice state schools because of VAT on independent fees.
But asked about pupil movement between the sectors, ISC general secretary Julie Robinson said: “We know that what we’re seeing at the moment is just the beginning.
Kingswood House School in Epsom, Surrey, raised its fees by 17.2 per cent in January and will be increasing them again by another 3.2 per cent in September – amounting to a 20.4 per cent hike in less than a year.
Kingswood House School, Epsom, Surrey (Photo: Google Street View)“At the same time, we have to make sure that we don’t cut provision and we don’t cut budgets.”
Parents asking for financial support
No pupils had left so far on affordability grounds but parents had been asking for financial support, so the school had increased its bursary provision in response.
Parents with children at other private schools have been voicing their concerns about even higher fee rises in social media messages seen by The i Paper.
Another said they were facing a 22 per cent fee increase in one year, with a 15 per cent rise in January followed by a seven per cent increase in September.
A third parent, also facing a 22 per cent fee rise, said: “These rises will be pricing out so many hardworking families trying to do the best for their kids, in most cases in the absence of suitable state education.”
“If schools are in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme then the employer contribution is now above 28 per cent which is an enormous outlay given that the main outgoing for any school is staff costs,” she said. “So it’s adding almost a third more onto the staff salary bill.”
Entrance to Stowe School where boarding fees are now more than £50k a year (Photo: Chris Radburn/ PA)
The school told The i Paper its core fee has been frozen for September 2025, with the increased cost due to VAT.
David Walker, director of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA), said schools had “no choice but to increase fees, potentially making boarding less accessible”.
“This will inevitably mean fee increases for most schools and boarding families, including military families who have seen an uplift in the continuity of education allowance (CEA) but not in line with VAT.”
Private schools feeling ‘clobbered’
Melanie Sanderson, from the Good Schools Guide, said: “The removal of charitable rates relief has left some private schools feeling clobbered. January’s introduction of VAT on school fees saw schools reduce outgoings so as to not pass on the full 20 per cent to fee payers but it was inevitable that parents would foot much of the additional bill.
Private schools consultant Neil Roskilly, who ran the Independent Schools Association from 2010 to 2021, said he thought schools increasing fees by more than 20 per cent would be in a minority. He expects most schools to increase their fees by between 3 and 5 per cent in September, with an average year-on-year increase of 12 or 13 per cent.
“It’s meant it’s been a little bit more staggered for parents rather than a massive hike.”
“It will be a commercial decision for individual private schools as to how they manage their finances in the same way as any other private business.”
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