Hundreds of children of foreign citizens living in the UK could be withdrawn from private schools under Labour’s plans to add VAT to fees, two European ambassadors have warned. German ambassador Miguel Berger and French ambassador Helene Duchene have called on international schools to be excluded from the party’s plan to tax the sector.
The government plans to remove private schools’ VAT exemption in January, adding 20 per cent to the cost of fees. Business rates relief will also be removed from April to fund a string of commitments for state schools, which include 6,500 new teachers and free breakfast clubs in all primary schools.
Mr Berger told The Times that Deutsche Schule London, based in Richmond, had around 900 pupils and that "between 20 and 25 per cent might be obliged to leave the school" if the change is introduced. "The German state covers 30 per cent of the costs of the school and 50 per cent of the investment, so there is a lot of state funding that goes into the school,” he said.
"For expats coming here for two, three or four years wanting their children to go back to the national system, their only option is to go to these schools. We would really like to see the British government recognise the importance of these schools – not only for our political and cultural relations but also for the people this will affect."
Mr Berger said executives of companies that invest in the UK "must know they can send their children to a German school". Critics of the VAT change have warned about the short timescale involved and the risk of unintended consequences, including the impact on children with learning difficulties who attend specialist independent schools.
There are 11 schools accredited by the French Ministry for Education in the UK, nine of which are in London. Ms Duchene said these schools would be "weakened" by the VAT change.
"We are not asking for an exemption: we are not the target of this VAT measure,” she said. "Our schools are different from the target ones since we follow special courses preparing for French exams.
"These parents don't have a plan B because other schools don't follow the French curriculum." She said 6,300 pupils could be affected in the UK, adding that the change was "not in line with the reset to our relationship which the British government has instigated".
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Ms Duchene said VAT "could also be an issue for our companies, as they need these schools for employees coming to work here". Recent reports suggest military families will be protected from the government’s plan to add VAT to fees, following warnings that some could leave the services due to the changes.
Many military families choose to enrol their children in boarding schools to minimise disruption to their education due to frequent moves. They will reportedly receive extra financial help in this week’s budget to ensure they are not affected by the tax.
A group of 270 Jewish, Muslim and Christian independent faith schools charging less than £7,960 a year have also held talks with ministers to seek an exemption from the raid. They say the policy will force many of them to close.
The policy, which will make the UK the only Western country aside from New Zealand to tax education, is expected to lead to a drop of up to 20 per cent in numbers of private pupils. The sector currently educates around 6 per cent of children in the UK.
Independent schools across the country reported a fall of more than 10,000 pupils this year, with the starkest fall at the start of secondary school. Boarding schools saw the biggest drop overall, at 2.4 per cent on average, according to new figures from the Independent Schools Council (ISC). For day schools, there was a 1.7 per cent fall. But in Year Seven, it was as much as 4.6 per cent.
Schools in Wales were hit hardest, followed by those in Yorkshire and the south-west of England. Smaller schools with fewer than 300 pupils and those charging the lowest fees experienced the greatest drops, according to the figures.
