📝 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...

🚨 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...

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...

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...

ucl.ac.uk

"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...

Trinity Christian School in Reading closes blaming VAT changes

The Christian independent school was attended by 40 students.

bbc.co.uk

"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...

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

inews.co.uk

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

Tom Richmond@tom-richmond.com · 5mo ago

🚨NEW PODCAST🚨 Should struggling independent schools be converted into state schools? Dr Tilly Clough joins me to discuss our new @pepforum.bsky.social report on the amazing (and, until now, untold) story of the 27 independent schools that switched sectors. Listen here: insideyoured.com

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/

"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...

‘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

thetimes.com

Tonight!

Tom Richmond@tom-richmond.com · 6mo ago

You lucky lot - on Friday next week, my new @pepforum.bsky.social report on what happened to the 27 independent schools that converted into state schools will be released! Come along next Thursday evening to hear me tell you all about what we found.... www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/state-expe...

📢 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...

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.

eventbrite.com

"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...

'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...

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.

bbc.co.uk

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...

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.

eventbrite.com

How convincing is this comparison?

Stella Creasy MP@stellacreasy.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Reform claim to have the interests of the British public at heart - its only when you see what they would do in office you realise whose interests they really have in mind.

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...

Private schools are profiting from SEND children

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

inews.co.uk

"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?

Dr Barry Black@barryblackne.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Some policy analysis about VAT on private school fees, why it is set to raise more than originally forecast, and why this matters. Please read, share, and subscribe for more! open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...

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...

Stop bashing private schools - they make the UK millions

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

inews.co.uk

"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...

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

theguardian.com

"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...

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

tes.com

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...

"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/...

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.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

"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...

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’

theguardian.com

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...

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

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

schoolsweek.co.uk

“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...

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.

thisisoxfordshire.co.uk

"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...

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.

wakefieldexpress.co.uk

Private schools are three times more likely than state ones to have a clear strategy on AI, new @suttontrust.bsky.social research suggests @ruthlucas.bsky.social for @schoolsweek.bsky.social How might this new form of inequality be addressed? schoolsweek.co.uk/new-digital-...

New 'digital divide' emerges as private schools take AI lead

Private schools are three times more likely to have an AI strategy than state, research from the Sutton Trust has found

schoolsweek.co.uk

"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...

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.

uk.news.yahoo.com

"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...

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

telegraph.co.uk

"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...

Charterhouse to open Kazakhstan branch | School Management Plus

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

schoolmanagementplus.com

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?