Private schools have lost 30,000 pupils since the introduction of VAT. Government officials predicted that private school numbers would fall by 14k by 25/26 & 37k in the long run, but one year in they are already 30k lower. VAT must be reversed. thetimes.com/uk/education/ar…

The most alarmingly economically illiterate part of this is the idea that “they have to pay the real price”, in which “the real price” means VAT. The “real price” of something is its cost margin (if any). Any tax on top is a distortion of the “real price”.

I'm a bit hacked off with folk blaming independent education for the poor education on offer from @educationgovuk. I don't speak for mainstream independent schools but I do speak for Montessori and yes we do educate children to a much higher standard than @educationgovuk but that's not because of elitism it's because of our pedagogy. We use mixed-age classrooms and peer-to-peer engagement, which logically allows us to be more efficient with human resources and spatial resources. Human resources because the children become a teaching resource and spatially because mixed-age classrooms are efficient with space. So we do a far better job than @educationgovuk and we save @hmtreasury money because our parents have to be self-funding because there's ZERO state Montessori provision. If they're Montessori THERE IS NO CHOICE. If there was state Montessori provision we would be saving @hmtreasury money and raising @educationgovuk state education standards. The choice in this is within the gift of the hierarchy under @10DowningStreet, it's not with us and it's not for the want of trying. We can take the horse to the water but we can't make it drink. The United Kingdom loses its Montessori infrastructure at its peril because it will fall behind the rest of the world as mixed-age education expands. No other country taxes Montessori. The UK is unique in this and it's morally wrong.

Why do people do it? For the same reason your parents ensured you attended Altrincham Grammar School for boys: they wanted the right education for their child. The difference is that taxpayers funded yours. Many families don't have access to that option, so they pay for an alternative themselves. Tax makes that choice even more expensive. Scrap it! #EducationNotTaxation

The Government is already cutting money for schools…

A 6.6% fall in Year 12 pupils in private schools These children were born 16–17 years ago, so this cannot be explained away by repeatedly shouting "falling birth rates". So what else happened that might have caused such a sharp drop, @RachelReevesMP and @bphillipsonMP? We'll give you a clue... It starts with V. It ends with T. It adds 20% to the cost of educating a child. You caused this. Now fix it. #EducationNotTaxation #ScrapTheVAT

The majority of backbench Labour MPs did not expect the huge numbers of school closures & the tens of thousands of migrating children, especially SEND children. The initial tax gouge on a hostage cohort, mid budgeted year, is now declining in its second year leaving the Treasury with the headache of spiralling costs & diminishing revenue, precisely the conditions it imposed on independent schools forcing them to close down. The backbenchers have a choice, lose their seat or rescind the tax.

Thanks @ClaireCoutinho What we must keep saying. Feepaying schools subsidise state schools to tune of £5bn. If you wanted more money for state education, one way is to encourage more to join independent and free up state resources. And a way to do that is #vouchers4schools

Paying for your child’s education *and* for a child you’ve never met to be educated as well? Sounds like a decent charitable act to me.

Not taxing something is not a subsidy. This is a fundamental problem with Labour’s world view. They think your money is a common good. If they leave you with some of it, you should thank them. They look at pensions in the same way.

If not making a supplier charge VAT on what they sell is the taxpayer subsidising private institutions.. The government needs to explain the scandal of why the taxpayer is subsidising private institutions such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons..

Labour's Private School Tax Raid Linked to School Closures and Pupil Exodus Over 40,000 pupils have already left mainstream private schools since the tax was introduced, significantly exceeding Labour's original estimate of 14,000. conservativepost.co.uk/labou…

People who send their kids to private schools are not being ‘subsidised”. They are the ones subsidising State schools by paying through their taxes for places they don’t take up - which means more money for State school pupils. Labour’s tax on private schools is pure spite.

My old school is set to close this year, this is due to Labours introduction of VAT on school fees and the removal of business rate tax relief, Labours continual taxation of hard working people to give to those that refuse to work has resulted in 100 people losing their jobs.

Students are leaving independent schools at key transition points. ISC’s 2026 Census data reveals the start of primary, secondary and sixth form saw the largest percentage drops in pupil numbers.

This is total lies. State school parents do not in any way subsidise independent schools; if anything it is the other way round because independent school parents pay their taxes that fund the state schools, and they pay the fees for independence school on top. Thirdly, they save the state at least £8000 a year per Child by doing so This is why many people no longer trust the BBC

Not only is Noel right He is acknowledging that top decile earners in state who CAN afford private school, and instead find catchment areas and tutoring, are doing very nicely thanks. It's time to normalise the market using #vouchers4schools

4 utterly pathetic takes on independent education, including from the person whose full-time job, paid for ultimately by parents, it is to stick up for it. The real question: why does the state pay 100% of the education for millionaires' kids in state schools?

Subsidising? By not having VAT added to education fees? Weirdo. If anything, private schools are the ones subsidising the state sector by saving the government money

Well done @bphillipsonMP and @RachelReevesMP You are directly at fault for a brilliant school closing. Jobs gone, children forced back into the state education system and guess what less tax generated. eadt.co.uk/news/26180835.ind…

THIS is a straightforward lie. Those who send their children to a private school pay twice, first for the private school, and then for state schools through their taxes, while making no demand on the state system.