The Flagpole

Having had two of our three staff induction and training days, all our schools are well prepped and looking forward to welcoming the pupils back after the summer break.

Following my email on Wednesday 21 August I hope all our Foundation parents will be aware of our response to the Government’s plan to add VAT on private school fees and our intention that if implemented, we will reduce our fees so that the gross increase passed on to parents will be 5%, substantially less than the 20% VAT rate. For more detailed information visit our website here.

Many thanks to parents across our Foundation schools for your feedback on our strategy which has been overwhelmingly both appreciative and positive of our efforts to minimise the impact on our families, whilst maintaining the high quality of the education we provide.

Of course, this is currently draft legislation, and the Treasury is in the process of consulting over the plans until Sunday 15 September. Whilst the Government is committed to implementing the tax changes, this consultation is an opportunity for us to raise concerns and suggest potential mitigations to the policy, we will therefore be submitting our response to the draft legislation, alongside industry bodies and fellow schools.

We will also be continuing our dialogue with the newly elected local MPs, who will be voting on the legislation, so they are aware of the impact on our schools and families in their constituencies.

It is a public consultation so if you would like to add your voice to ours, you can do so by emailing independentschools@hmtreasury.gov.uk or contacting your local MP, see link here.

If you have any queries or comments on the prospective January fee increase and the matters outlined in this email, please submit them using the link here. If there is any change to the Government’s position following the consultation, then we will of course provide further information.

Many thanks for your continued support of the Foundation, we are heartened that we start the year on the back of excellent A-level and GCSE results at the College and with the Foundation in very strong position.

I send our best wishes to all our families for the start of the Michaelmas Term.

E D Hester