UK boarding schools have faced a drop in the number of international pupils enrolling at the institutions since the Covid-19 pandemic, a report found, as experts warn visa restrictions and higher fees could exacerbate that trend.
The number of overseas pupils attending the schools has dropped by almost 14 per cent since 2020, when stricter visa requirements were introduced.
In January, 25,500 non-British pupils with parents living overseas attended private schools, down from nearly 29,500 in 2020, according to the Independent Schools Council's annual census, released on Tuesday.
Boarding schools faced a 2.6 per cent drop in pupils in the year to January, amounting to £29 million ($38.7 million) in lost fees. More than nine in 10 overseas pupils whose parents do not reside in the UK will board and, of those, 54 per cent are at an independent sixth form. The largest decrease in applications came from Spain, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand and Hong Kong.
For new pupils from the Middle East, there was a drop of 11 per cent of pupils at boarding and day schools whose parents do not live in the UK, between 2024 and 2025.
By contrast, there was a 10 per cent rise in pupils from the region whose parents also reside in the UK. The vast majority of those pupils will go to a day independent school.
Ministers estimated they could raise £1.8 billion a year by the end of this parliament by introducing VAT to private schools, funds that would be spent on state schools.
The results show a decline in pupil numbers that began before the introduction of VAT on fee-paying schools was announced last year.
While boarding schools appeared to be recovering from the slump by 2023, numbers began dropping again in the 2024 and 2025 censuses.
Experts say the UK is being perceived as increasingly unwelcoming to foreign students. Home Office statistics show student visas for independent schools declined by 4.7 per cent from 2023 to 2024. Last month, the fees for child student visas and child sponsor licences rose by 7 per cent.
Increased visa application fees and the sizeable immigration health surcharge introduced under the previous Conservative government, as well as stricter requirements for the UK's child student visa for guardians and sponsor schools, are some of the policies blamed for driving new applicants away.
The UK government proposed a new round of restrictions to university student visas last week, which includes a higher overseas student tax and shortens the time they can spend in the UK to look for a job after they graduate.
The Boarding Schools' Association said the new policies could have a “knock-on effect on boarding schools, which act as a pipeline for top UK universities” and risk “threatening the UK’s long-standing reputation as a welcoming and world-class education destination”.
David Walker, executive director of the association, said UK boarding schools had an enduring appeal, including in the Middle East.
"While logistical requirements have evolved, the fundamental appeal of a UK boarding education remains as compelling as ever," he told The National.
He also blamed the introduction of VAT in January for the recent decline, just as schools were beginning to recover their losses from the pandemic.
Imposing a levy on international students would damage the UK's reputation for welcoming the best and brightest students, he said. “International students are a vital part of BSA school communities and it would be a shame to see that change," he told The Times.
The census showed the biggest fall in the number of new pupils on record – 5.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Overall, the like-for-like number of pupils within ISC schools decreased by 2.4 per cent, or 13,363 children and young people. This is more than 10,000 more than the government estimated would leave this academic year.
Schools have kept baseline fee increases to a minimum, with an average increase of 1.8 per cent from 2024 to 2025. For parents, the rise was 22 per cent once VAT was factored in.
They have also awarded record numbers of bursaries, the data revealed, with the amount of fee assistance rising by 11.5 per cent from the previous year to £1.5 billion.
Almost three quarters of those fees (£1.1 billion) were paid for by the schools themselves. Independent schools were also more active in their local communities, growing their partnership work with state schools.
Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said the rise in bursaries showed schools were committed to improving education "even as political decisions affect their work".
"However, given the decline in pupil numbers and the associated fall in revenue, it is unclear whether the past few years of rises in fee assistance will be sustainable in the future," she said. "We urge the government to work with us to ensure independent education remains an option for as many families as possible over the coming years.”
