Suella Braverman's private school faces closure under Labour tax raid

Yahoo

01-03-2025

A private school that counts Suella Braverman among its past pupils faces closure because of Labour's VAT raid on fees.
St Hilda's Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Hertfordshire, has said it is consulting on a possible closure as early as this summer due to the levy, described as a tax on 'aspiration'.
The £17,000-a-year school said it expected to produce a six-figure loss this year in the face of the introduction of a 20pc rate of VAT on fees, as well as the loss of 80pc business rates relief and an increase in National Insurance contributions from April.
The school, once described by the Good Schools Guide as 'a buzzing, nurturing school punching well above its weight', is the second prep school in the area to face the threat of closure. In December, Immanuel College, a Jewish prep school, also announced it was consulting on closure in part because of the financial pressures brought about by Labour tax rises.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, who attended the all-girls' school, said: '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.'
Former deputy prime minister and local MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden said he was 'extremely concerned' to hear St Hilda's may close, describing the Government's VAT levy as 'a tax on aspiration and another Labour attack on the Home Counties'.
'This is the second casualty of Labour's schools tax in Bushey alone. With places already in exceptionally short supply, this deeply misguided policy only succeeds in delivering anxiety for families and unsustainable pressure on local state schools.
'I will be in touch with parents to see how I can support them and intend to raise this case urgently in Parliament.'
It comes after The Royal School, a 185-year-old day and boarding school in Surrey, announced its closure on Friday. HRH The Princess Royal has served as the school's president since 1975, after she took over from her uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
In a letter to parents, seen by The Telegraph, St Hilda's said: 'It is with great regret that we must let you know we now have to consider the ongoing viability of the school.
'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.'
It said the school had struggled to attract new pupils and said, while its co-ed nursery is operating closer to capacity with 40 children out of a capacity of 50, the number of girls on the school roll was expected to fall below 100 next year despite having space for 140.
Parents have reacted with anger about the lack of consultation. One parent said they felt 'blindsided' and described a meeting held earlier this week between parents and the Aldenham Foundation, which oversees St Hilda's, as 'chaotic'.
They said: 'We had a meeting on Tuesday described as an opportunity to ask questions and it became increasingly clear, despite what was written in the letter, they were not considering options and it feels as if the decision has already been made.
'The problem is they have told us so late in the day that we have missed the state school admissions application process. If they knew the school was in trouble, why did they not tell us sooner?'
St Hilda's is the latest in a spate of girls schools to announce their closure. Last month The Village School for Girls in Sir Keir Starmer's constituency of Holborn and St Pancras announced it would close in the summer.
Many others have moved to become co-ed schools in a bid to stay financially viable. Parents at St Hilda's questioned why the school was not exploring a similar option given its nursery is co-ed.
One parent said: 'The school has said there is a downward trend in pupil numbers and meanwhile we have a nursery that is mixed, so boys are actually leaving when they want to stay.
'It is the single biggest way to save the school because that's what other schools in the area have done.'
Another added: 'The nursery loses 10 to 15 boys a year who would love to have stayed.'
However, others claimed the Aldenham Foundation, which acquired St Hilda's in 2012, would not want to make the school co-ed because it would put it in direct competition with Aldenham Prep School, which parents accused the Foundation of prioritising.
While St Hilda's risks closure, the foundation recently opened a new branch of Aldenham Prep School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and plans to open a senior school there next year. One parent said: 'We feel as if their priorities are elsewhere.'
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.'
Aldenham Foundation was approached for comment.
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