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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

📝 Liv Shaw explains PEPF's latest research report on the relationship between elite private schools and university destinations. Read here 👇 www.pepf.co.uk/opinion/even...

pepf.co.uk

Even More Unequal Than We Thought – the Destination Gap Widens | PEPF

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

🚨 New PEPF Research! Liv Shaw, Tom Fryer, and Kathryn Telling have explored the relationship between types of elite private schools and elite universities, including noting the difference between day and boarding schools. Read here 👇 www.pepf.co.uk/publications...

pepf.co.uk

Elite English Private Schools and Inequalities in University Destinations | PEPF

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

New research shows more private school scholarships and bursaries go to high-income families than lower-incomes ones. Support is 'more common' than 25 years ago, but 'remains very limited in its effectiveness in reaching children from less affluent backgrounds' www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ma...

ucl.ac.uk

Third of private school bursaries and scholarship funds go to high-income families

Around 30% of all private school bursaries and scholarship funds go to the wealthiest families, with pupils from poorer families receiving less grant funding than those from both high- and middle-inco...

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

"The independent Trinity Christian School in Reading was attended by 40 students." Neranjana Elapatha in BBC News. How much do individual school closures blaming VAT obscure other issues? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Trinity Christian School in Reading closes blaming VAT changes

The Christian independent school was attended by 40 students.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

"If they can’t afford private education long term, they’ll opt for a window of it – the GCSE years, for example, or sixth form," claims the headteacher of Sherborne Boys School Anna Tyzack in @theipaper.com How would this trend impact the private sector? inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...

inews.co.uk

Fee cuts, mergers and daycare: How private schools are adapting to stay afloat

The introduction of VAT on school fees is prompting more and more families to turn their back on private schools

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

If you missed our report last week, this podcast is a great opportunity to catch up with the authors:

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Our new report is out! State Expectations: The history and experiences of fee-paying independent schools converting into state schools. After VAT, will more private schools want to become state schools? The THREE recommendations are: www.pepf.co.uk/publication/

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

"Private equity companies linked to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the billionaire Manchester City owner, and Bono are making millions in profit through taxpayer-funded special needs schools" Mario Ledwith in @thetimes.com [PAYWALL] Scandalous? www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

thetimes.com

‘Cash cow’ Send schools backed by firms linked to Bono and Sheikh Mansour

Analysis shows private equity funds, including offshore entities, are making millions while councils struggle to meet Send demand

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

📢 Final tickets for tonight! Should we make it easier for private schools to become state schools? What happened to the private schools which decided to scrap their fees? Come and swing by, Westminster, 6pm! We're headed to the pub after... Tickets 👇 www.eventbrite.com/e/state-expe...

eventbrite.com

State Expectations: The independent schools which switched sectors

A panel and audience Q&A discuss the history and experiences of English private schools that converted to academies and free schools.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

"Matt Wrack, of teaching union NASUWT, said some private school teachers faced the “impossible choice” between remaining in the scheme or taking a paycut" Rob White in @telegraph.co.uk [PAYWALL] Should there be a focus on wider financial issues aside from VAT? www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/ne...

telegraph.co.uk

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

'Councils also pay independent special school fees for around 38,000 pupils, partly because of a lack of specialist places in the state sector,' as in BBC News. What role might private schools play in SEND reforms, considering their extortionately high fees? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

What is SEND and how might the system change in England?

The government is due to publish plans to reform the special educational needs system in early 2026.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

We're launching a report we're excited about - on the experiences of English private schools that converted to academies! Come and join the panel chat and audience Q & A in Westminster, Thursday 26 Feb, 6pm onwards...🧵 www.eventbrite.com/e/state-expe...

eventbrite.com

State Expectations: The independent schools which switched sectors

A panel and audience Q&A discuss the history and experiences of English private schools that converted to academies and free schools.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Authorities pay private schools "£62k [for SEND places] compared to £24k in the state sector – the Observer investigation revealing that some schools are charging as much as £250k per pupil." Terri White in @theipaper.com How should the govt tackle this? inews.co.uk/opinion/priv...

inews.co.uk

Private schools are profiting from SEND children

Children should be far more than sources of cash, their vulnerabilities viewed as multipliers

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

"If the state is to invest in the education of all children, then asking the families who purchase a premium tier of schooling to contribute a little more is not radical. It is common sense." Will this be the defining legacy of the VAT policy?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Britain is unique due to the 'rigid boundary between the two sectors', as opposed to countries where 'some state funding' is available for private education. Hamish McRae in @theipaper.com Is the reliance of the private sector on the state overstated? inews.co.uk/opinion/stop...

inews.co.uk

Stop bashing private schools - they make the UK millions

What is wrong with profits if they create employment at home and abroad?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

"Striking, but unsurprising: the private schools which were built to train young Englishmen for empire-building were deeply racist even in the 1980s." Letters in @theguardian.com How fair is this reading of the role of private schools in British history? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Racism claims against Nigel Farage are no surprise to us | Letters

Letters: Readers describe the ubiquity of racist attitudes and behaviours at British public schools at the time the Reform UK leader attended Dulwich College

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

"The government’s introduction of VAT on private school fees will raise £40 million a year more than expected, the OBR also states." Jabed Ahmed in @tesmagazine.bsky.social Approaching a year on, how much weight does this give to arguments in favour of the policy? www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

Budget 2025: what schools need to know

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget sparks warnings about a real-terms drop in school funding but includes spending on school libraries and books. Here are all the key details for the sector

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

It "made rich students exhibit more egalitarian preferences, and be substantially more generous towards other students" How much relevance could this have for future reform to British private schools? A PEPF research explainer by Prof. Francis Green 👇 www.pepf.co.uk/research/gen...

pepf.co.uk

Generosity, discrimination, and diversity in Delhi private schools | PEPF

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

"Rather than causing parents to pull children out of private schools midstream [...] the tax may primarily deter would-be new entrants to the sector." @amberdellar.bsky.social in @instituteforgovernment.org.uk How does this change the VAT debate? www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Performance Tracker 2025: Schools | Institute for Government

It will be extremely difficult for the government to meet its education priorities within the budget it has set for the coming parliament.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

"It is important that [his] education, even at the early years stage, starts to prepare him for this kind of life" @richada.bsky.social in @theguardian.com How much does this reveal how private education is used to provide a 'kind of life', beyond education? www.theguardian.com/education/20...

theguardian.com

Smart money: family offers £180,000 a year for tutor to get one-year-old into Eton

Family seeks tutor from ‘socially appropriate background’ who can provide infant with ‘comprehensive British cultural environment’

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

The @suttontrust.bsky.social "has warned of a "double disadvantage" for children with SEND from poorer families, who are "less able to navigate the system than more affluent parents"." Samantha Booth in @schoolsweek.bsky.social How do we bridge this divide? schoolsweek.co.uk/double-disad...

schoolsweek.co.uk

'Double disadvantage': Poorer pupils less likely to get EHCP

Sutton Trust warns of 'double disadvantage' with poorer families 'less able to navigate the system'

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

“Parents who are driving to the private schools are going to be people who can afford to pay” Labour councillor James Taylor labels Oxford's proposed congestion charge 'elitist' as it wouldn't limit private school traffic Is he right? www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/2533504...

thisisoxfordshire.co.uk

Private school singled out in debate over contentious traffic measure

An Oxford City councillor has sparked a debate with a private school near Magdalen Bridge in the city.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

"Those children have been found places within the district" State school places have been found for 88 children following the closure of Wakefield Independent School after the addition of VAT to fees Encouraging news that these places could be found? www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/education/pl...

wakefieldexpress.co.uk

Places found for children following closure of independent Wakefield school over VAT fees

State school places have been found for 88 children following the closure of a fee-paying independent school, a meeting heard.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"How does that make any sense at all?" @1jeremyadams.bsky.social questions the blaming of VAT for the closure of a private school in Bromley, pointing to financial losses going back to 2019 Is this tax being used as a scapegoat for failing businesses? uk.news.yahoo.com/row-over-rea...

uk.news.yahoo.com

Row over reasons behind Bromley private school closure

Bromley councillors descended into a row over the reasons behind a private school’s closure, as the borough faces making a number of classes oversubscribed to accommodate pupils into state schools.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

"Labour promised to recruit “6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects”, but the party has since dropped the commitment for these to be specialists" Poppy Wood in @telegraphnews.bsky.social How should the money raised from VAT be used to help this issue? www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07...

telegraph.co.uk

Labour has no clear plan to recruit teachers despite VAT raid

The Government plans to attract 6,500 teachers over the next five years, funded by applying 20 per cent VAT on private school fees

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

"The move by Charterhouse reflects a wider trend for UK independent schools to seek out less developed markets for international schooling," reports Irena Barker Does this reveal anything about the priorities of British private schools in 2025? www.schoolmanagementplus.com/internationa...

schoolmanagementplus.com

Charterhouse to open Kazakhstan branch | School Management Plus

Charterhouse will be following in the footsteps of trailblazers Haileybury in Kazakhstan

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

More questions about the integrity of articles about private school fees in the @telegraphnews.bsky.social raised by @privateeyenews.bsky.social Are some parts of the press making sensible discussion of the issue impossible?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

"It's difficult because people have a perception of what Bishop Challoner might be. It's so different from an independent fee-paying school." Cameron Blackshaw in BBC News Should this private school be treated differently, as a third of its pupils have SEN? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Bromley private school parents fundraise to stop closure

Parents are hoping to raise £400,000 to keep Bishop Challoner School open.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

The @dailymail.co.uk claim that private school pupils being charged a ‘staggering’ £16.50 for tickets to the theatre is ‘feeding into a national class war.’ Is this valid, or just a mean-spirited take on broadening access for state school pupils? www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

dailymail.co.uk

Private pupils charged more than state schools to see Shakespeare

Groups of state schoolchildren watching performances by the globally famous company are charged £10 a head, while their private school counterparts are charged a staggering £16.50.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

"Yet to visit a single one in nearly a year in office" @thespectator1828.bsky.social's Steerpike criticises @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social for not visiting private schools Should she have done so? Or is it right for her to prioritise state schools? www.spectator.co.uk/article/phil...

spectator.co.uk

Phillipson visits zero private schools in 11 months

It’s been quite the year for Bridget Phillipson. The under fire Education Secretary is now regularly tipped as one of the ministers most likely to be moved at the next reshuffle. Her Schools Bill has ...

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

"Made by Parliament, in primary legislation, after full debate and was a manifesto commitment" The legal challenge to the government's addition of VAT to private school fees has been dismissed by the High Court Should the debate now shift in tone? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Private schools lose High Court challenge over VAT changes

Three high court judges have rejected a judicial review into the government's VAT policy on school fees.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

"Today, because of that choice [adding VAT to private schools], we have announced the largest investment in affordable housing in a generation," proclaimed Keir Starmer. Pieter Snepvangers in @telegraphnews.bsky.social [PAYWALL] Has this story been overblown? www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/ke...

telegraph.co.uk

Starmer accused of using private school VAT raid to ‘house illegal migrants’

‘Worst-case scenario’ for schools as money promised to education funnelled into affordable housing

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

💰 Our new research, covered by @theipaper.com, looks at the private schools making millions in tax-free profits from overseas campuses 🌎 Are these schools' charitable statuses justified? Check it out 👉 pepf.co.uk/publications...

pepf.co.uk

British private schools and their satellite campuses: 2025 update | PEPFArtboard 3Artboard 3Artboard 3Artboard 3

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Reposted by Private Education Policy Forum

Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

A report in @privateeyenews.bsky.social suggests that a @telegraphnews.bsky.social story outlining the woes of a family of wealthy bankers regarding VAT on school fees may not add up. Do the press have a greater responsibility to contribute to the debate in a transparent fashion?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

"By raising fees imprudently in recent years, the independent sector has deprived a tier of parents of financial wriggle room. This could have helped them cope with the imposition of VAT." Jonathan Guthrie in @financialtimes.com [PAYWALL] Do you find this convincing? www.ft.com/content/be7e...

ft.com

Spiralling school fees have made the blow from VAT much worse

By raising fees imprudently in recent years, the independent sector has deprived a tier of parents of financial wriggle room

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

"We’ve heard a lot from the private schools over an extended period, scaremongering about the impact. It’s never come to pass," claimed @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social yesterday morning. Tom Ambrose and Martin Belam in @theguardian.com Is this a fair comment? www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

theguardian.com

Reform UK’s income tax plans ‘to cost up to £80bn’ warns IFS – as it happened

Research institute says costs of plan to exclude those earning less than £20k from the tax will dwarf those of party’s winter fuel and two-child benefit changes

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

"If corporation tax had been paid on the profits – at the 19% rate used at the time – it would have amounted to enough to pay for 12 million free school meals" New PEPF research reported by @conniedimsdale.bsky.social in @theipaper.com What do you make of it? inews.co.uk/news/educati...

inews.co.uk

Harrow and Dulwich among top private schools making millions in tax-free profits

Elite schools, where fees have rocketed, use their charitable status to avoid paying tax on millions of pounds from overseas campuses

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

This article points to a drop in private school numbers and cites VAT, but also points out that last year was the second consecutive fall in numbers, which ‘peaked in 2023’ Is VAT the only reason? amp.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

amp.scmp.com

Number of Hong Kong students attending British independent schools drops by 6%

Annual census conducted by UK’s Independent School Council cites introduction of 20 per cent VAT as contributing factor.

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Do these figures suggest the impact of the addition of VAT to private school fees is being overstated?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

"Education experts said rising costs had forced some parents to sacrifice early private education so they could afford school fees later on" Amy Borrett and Laura Hughes in @financialtimes.com Why do parents value secondary education ahead of primary education? www.ft.com/content/be9a...

ft.com

VAT on UK private school fees hits primaries more than secondaries

Pupil numbers drop 3.5% for early education compared with 1.7% for older pupils, data shows

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

This article in @privateeyenews.bsky.social points to issues for choir schools and cathedrals related to VAT on fees. Is this an example of where exceptions could be made?

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

A @thetimes.com article links an ‘exodus’ from private schools to VAT. @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social accused them of crying wolf - ‘They have whacked up their fees, year on year, and priced themselves out of the reach even of many middle-class families’. Is she right? www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

thetimes.com

Private school exodus of 13,000 dwarfs ministers’ predictions

The drop in pupil numbers, being blamed on VAT being added to fees, is the biggest since the Independent Schools Council began tracking the figures in 2012

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Private school fees have risen by 22.6% in the past year following the addition of VAT, pushing the average annual cost to over £22k, according to @isc-schools.bsky.social data Report: @eleanorbusby.bsky.social A bigger increase than the government expected? www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

independent.co.uk

Average private school fees increase following government’s VAT rise

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said applying VAT to private school fees would help ‘provide the highest quality of support and teaching’ in the state sector

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Private Education Policy Forum @pepforum.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

"We have all kinds of inequalities in British society that keep people apart and reduce life chances for many, but most neither start nor stop with private schools." Mona Siddiqui for @newstatesman.com What do you think of this view? www.newstatesman.com/diary/2025/0...

newstatesman.com

Reframing the private school debate

Also this week: AI and the value of creativity, and Prince Harry’s lessons on family feuds.

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