Suella Braverman’s former private school faces closure because of Labour’s VAT raid on fees_Nhy
A private school once attended by Suella Braverman is facing closure because of Labour’s 20 per cent VAT on fees.
St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is said to be expecting a six-figure loss this year and has announced it will consult on a possible closure as soon as this summer.
The £17,000-a-year school is getting hammered by the 20 per cent rate of VAT on fees, the loss of 80 per cent business rates relief and an increase in National Insurance contributions from April.
The school is also contending with shrinking pupil numbers, with the number of girls on the school roll due to fall below 100 next year, 40 below capacity, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
It is the latest victim of Labour’s tax raid on private education – which critics condemn as a tax on ambition – with nearby Immanuel College Prep also consulting on closure due to financial pressures.
Ms Braverman, the former home secretary, told the Telegraph: ‘I was lucky enough to spend a few years at St Hilda’s school in the late 1980s.
‘Many aspirational and hard-working parents sent their children to this excellent school.
‘Labour’s plans will just force another good school to close, placing unsustainable pressure on state schools and harming the education of every child..’
A private school once attended by Suella Braverman (pictured) is facing closure because of Labour’s 20 per cent VAT on fees
Multiple schools have been forced to shut their doors following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ (pictured) announcement that VAT would be introduced on top of private school fees in the autumn budget
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.
St Hilda’s was previously described as a ‘a buzzing, nurturing school punching well above its weight’ by the Good Schools Guide.
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.’
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.
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.
St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is said to be expecting a six-figure loss this year and has announced it will consult on a possible closure as soon as this summer
Last week, the 185-year-old The Royal School in Haslemere, Surrey, announced it would shut at the end of the academic year.
A Treasury spokesman said: ‘Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8bn a year by 2029-30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94pc of children in state schools to achieve and thrive.’
Karl Mahon, bursar and clerk to the governors at Aldenham, told the Telegraph: The decision to enter into conversations about possible closure has not been taken lightly.
‘The outcome remains subject to consultation with staff. The Foundation has considered carefully the option to move to co-ed however, clear advice was received from a leading expert in late 2021 and again in 2025 that over half of the existing parents would not have joined St Hilda’s had it been co-ed.’
