I Won a Scholarship to a Top Private School—Labour's Tax Plan Could Have Ended It All

A Personal Story of Bursaries and the Impact of Policy

Join Ruby in the comments from 1pm. I remember GCSE results day vividly. Like many others in my year group, I had barely slept during the summer holidays, anxious to find out how I’d performed. However, unlike my peers, I didn’t just need to achieve my grades to get into our state sixth form. I had to meet my predicted grades to qualify for a place at my local private school and, more importantly, a 70pc bursary that had been offered to me. Without those grades, I wouldn’t be going.

That was in the summer of 2017. But this summer, thousands of children from similar backgrounds will miss out on life-changing bursaries. Even paying 30pc of private fees was a huge strain on my family, but they wanted me to have the best education possible. If we had been asked to pay 20pc VAT as well, it wouldn’t have been possible. Labour’s VAT raid may not touch the super-rich, but it’s already closing doors for middle-class families like mine.

I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the high level of attention and care I received as I prepared for university, as were the other thousands of students around the country who received financial support. According to the Private Education Policy Forum, 34pc of private school pupils receive some form of financial aid. These aren’t just the children of bankers and lawyers. Many bursary students come from single-parent households, carers, or families with fluctuating incomes who would otherwise never consider private education.

This isn’t just a personal story. Labour’s decision to impose VAT on private school fees from the start of this year risks shutting out thousands of children from the kind of opportunities I enjoyed. Bursaries are one of the few tools that private schools have to support social mobility, giving bright children from all backgrounds a chance to thrive.

The Effects of the VAT Raid on Private Education

Labour’s tax raid is reshaping the landscape of private education. The VAT raid – a wealth tax by any other name – has hit working families, while the truly wealthy have been able to avoid the extra fees by paying, in some cases, for the entire cost of schooling up front. This week, analysis revealed that parents with children at top private schools have paid £500m ahead of the implementation of the VAT raid. While HMRC will be desperately trying to recoup the lost VAT, the saga shows how the super-rich are often able to dodge taxes most of us cannot.

It’s the children from households where both parents work full time, families who had hoped to give their children a step up, who have been priced out. As we approach the start of the new school year, more than 10,000 children will be moving to the overstretched state system after being forced out of private education. When I was at a state-funded school, I was in classes of 35 or more pupils. How will schools cope with the influx of yet more students?

Once again, a government policy aimed at raising revenue is missing the intended target. Instead of targeting those with extreme wealth, it’s the working and middle-class families, those just managing to stretch for a better future, who are feeling the squeeze.

The Lasting Impact of Private Education

I often think about the impact that bursary had on my life. It was while I was in private education that I was told I was a good writer and urged to pursue it. Until then, I had never received that kind of encouragement in the classroom. That’s not the fault of the teachers, it’s simply the reality of the consequences of underfunding on the quality of education that students receive. A teacher cannot spot and nurture potential talent in a classroom with over 35 pupils.

Aside from my academic subjects, I had two full afternoons of PE, and I was provided with nutritious and healthy meals. These are lifestyle habits which have a lasting impact on young brains and leave students more engaged with their studies.

Of course, not every child will – or should – go to a private school. But the option to do so, supported by bursaries, should be based on potential, not income. For some people, private education is not a choice, but a necessity.

Families with Special Needs and the Consequences of Policy

Parents who have children with learning difficulties tend to look for schools which are able to support their child’s needs. These are often normal working families who make sacrifices to send their children to schools where they will receive proper care and education. These are the people who are being hit by Labour. They’re the ones having to take their children out of private schools and place them back into the state system.

Taxing Privilege or Punishing Aspiration?

As a young person, it is frustrating to live in a post-pandemic Britain and not feel as though the Government is willing to make radical changes in order to benefit the general population. Charging VAT on private school fees seems less like a real effort to raise funds and more like an attack on the middle class. Instead, I think the Government should be focused on taxing genuinely huge wealth – those who won’t notice the difference.

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Just a few days ago, former Labour leader, Lord Kinnock, suggested that Rachel Reeves should impose a similar VAT on private healthcare. But this, too, would fail to impact the super-rich. Instead, it would force more people – those who already make difficult financial sacrifices to go private and avoid long wait lists – back to the overstretched NHS.

We need real reform – reform that recognises the difference between taxing privilege and punishing aspiration. This VAT policy will not worry the ultra-wealthy. But it will slam the door on families like mine, who make sacrifices to offer their children something better. That’s not progress, it’s regression in disguise.