Labour’s tax raid on private education set to claim another victim as independent school attended by Suella Braverman becomes latest to face closure_Nhy
A private school which charges £17,000-a-year and was attended by Suella Braveman is set to become the latest to face closure following Labour’s VAT tax raid.
St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls, based in Bushey, Hertfordshire, said it was ‘consulting’ on a potential closure this summer following the government’s bombshell plans to introduce a 20 per cent VAT rate on fees.
The prep school, which was founded in 1918, charges £17,272 annually for the upper school, and £16,375 for the junior school. It also runs a nursery which costs up to £102 per day.
It said it expected to make a loss of £235,000 in the next financial year following Labour’s tax plans, which will also see private schools lose their 80 per cent business relief rate.
Pupils are said to be ‘so upset’ with the potential closure, while a mother said that parents are ‘angry’ after being ‘completely blindsided’ by the announcement, the Watford Observer reported.
St Hilda’s was previously described as a ‘a buzzing, nurturing school punching well above its weight’ by the Good Schools Guide.
While last year’s Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Report said: ‘St Hilda’s School is a stimulating and exciting learning environment where leaders have created a safe place for children to learn and be happy.’
In a letter sent to parents, St Hilda’s said: ‘The financial difficulties facing St Hilda’s are substantial and the school is currently operating at a significant loss with the estimated loss for this financial year being £165,000 and the estimated loss for the next financial year being £235,000, before any consideration of salary increases. This is clearly not sustainable.’
St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls, based in Bushey, Hertfordshire, said it was ‘consulting’ on a potential closure this summer
The private girls school charges £17,000 a year and was attended by Suella Braveman
A string of independent schools have been forced to shut their doors following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcement that VAT would be introduced on top of private school fees
It added: ‘Coupled with falling pupil numbers, the school is also facing significant financial challenges, including the implementation of VAT on school fees from January 2025, the increase in employer National Insurance contributions and the removal of 80pc business rates relief from April 2025.’
On Monday, the Aldenham Foundation, which runs the school, published a letter admitting it was assessing the viability of the nursery as well.
They said no final decision had yet been made but they were sharing news of the potential closure in the ‘interests of fairness and transparency.’
They said a decision should be made by the end of the term.
Meanwhile, the school’s website currently says ‘we are not currently conducting prospective parent tours. Please check back later’.
The school also said that fewer than 100 people were expected to be registered next academic year, despite a capacity of 140.
Former home secretary Ms Braveman, told The Telegraph she was ‘lucky enough’ to attend the school in the late 1980s.
‘Many aspirational and hard-working parents sent their children to this excellent school.
Former deputy prime minister and MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden, said he was ‘extremely concerned’ by St Hilda’s possible closure
Bedstone College in Bucknell, Shropshire, will close at the end of the academic year, with the school blaming the VAT rise in a letter sent to parents yesterday
‘Labour’s plans will just force another good school to close, placing unsustainable pressure on state schools and harming the education of every child.’
While former deputy prime minister and MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden, said he was ‘extremely concerned’ by the possible closure.
St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls has been contacted for comment.
The girls school is the tenth to announce its closure or potential closure since the new year.
A string of schools have been forced to shut their doors following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcement that VAT would be introduced on top of private school fees in the autumn budget.
The VAT plans came in place from January 1 this year, while private schools that are charities will lose charitable business rates relief from April 2025.
Earlier this week, the 185-year-old The Royal School in Haslemere, Surrey, announced it would shut at the end of the academic year.
Maidwell Hall (pictured), attended by Princess Diana ‘s brother, announced that it would be shutting in July
And on Sunday, Fairfield School in Backwell, near Bristol, said it would close in August due to the ‘prevailing economic environment’, leaving parents ‘heartbroken’.
In December, Immanuel College Prep School, a private Jewish school, located just one mile away from St Hilda’s, said it was closing in light of ‘unprecedented financial pressures’.
The Village School for Girls, based in Sir Keir Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency, also said it would close this summer.
As did Bedstone College in Bucknell, Shropshire, with the school blaming the VAT rise in a letter sent to parents.
Maidwell Hall, a co-educational prep school in Northamptonshire, attended by Princess Diana’s brother, announced it would close in July.
Labour’s tax levies have landed a heavy blow to the sector and also helped send inflation to a record ten-month high.
Last month Ms Reeves was accused of being ‘out of her depth’ as official figures yesterday showed inflation hit 3 per cent in January – a much bigger increase from December than predicted.
Campaigners said ministers were ‘warned’ removing the long-standing VAT exemption on private school fees would have ‘unforeseen consequences’.
Private school tuition was up nearly 13 per cent in January after the VAT was imposed at the start of this year, as shown by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
More expensive energy bills, food costs – particularly bread, meat and cereal – and plane fares have also pushed up the rate of inflation, ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said.
