Nearly one in 10 children attending private schools in the UK have been withdrawn by their parents in the year since the government began adding tax to fees, a new survey shows.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government introduced VAT of 20 per cent on private school fees from January 1 last year.
According to research by wealth manager Saltus, the policy is having a significant impact on high-net-worth families.
Of the parents they surveyed, 9 per cent said they had withdrawn their child from the private school system. Of that number, 6 per cent are now educated in state schools and 3 per cent are schooled at home.
A quarter said they had removed their child from a private school, with 8 per cent of that number moving them to a less expensive private school in the UK and 6 per cent sending their children to private school abroad.
Mike Stimpson, partner at Saltus, said for many parents private education for their children “remains a major aspiration but the additional cost has forced a reassessment of what is affordable, what is sustainable and what truly represents value over the long term”.
Saltus surveyed 1,167 high-net-worth parents, defined as those who have investable assets of £250,000 or more and at least one child at a private school.
Of those parents whose children still attend private school, more than two thirds say they have - or will have to - make sacrifices to enable their child to continue that education.
The most common sacrifices include cutting down on holidays and other big-ticket discretionary spending, with 42 per cent saying they have done or will do this. More than a third say they have or will reduce other spending.
One in five say they have or will take a higher-paying job, and 16 per cent say they will have to move to a more affordable area.
The same number say they have reduced or will reduce pension contributions, while 13 per cent are considering borrowing against their primary residence through an additional mortgage.
But 69 per cent believe the quality of teaching and resources justifies the cost of private education, rising to more than eight in 10 of those who attended private school themselves.
Mr Stimpson said: “Many value private education highly and are prepared to make sacrifices to make it work, even in the face of rising fees and the additional impact of VAT.”
