Dozens of private school pupils move to Edinburgh's state schools amid Labour's VAT fee raid

Figures have emerged after VAT was added to fees across the UK on January 1

Dozens of pupils from private schools have moved to state primaries and secondaries in Edinburgh since Labour vowed to add VAT to fees, the local authority has confirmed.

A total of 51 youngsters have made the switch since June last year, with 33 enrolling in the capital’s secondary schools, and 18 in primaries.

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The figures have been revealed after the city council said last month there had been 144 applications for places at council-run schools in Edinburgh since June from families with children in private schools, of which 120 were for secondaries and 24 for primary.

A further 32 general enquiries had been received about high school places in Edinburgh from parents of pupils in the independent sector, and six have been in relation to primaries.

Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Picture: Stefan Rousseau)Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Picture: Stefan Rousseau)
Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Picture: Stefan Rousseau) | PA

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party promised to end the sector’s VAT exemption in the run-up to the UK general election in July last year, and implemented the change on January 1.

The move adds 20 per cent to private school fees, although some schools reduced fees before the implementation date, to soften the blow for parents.

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Polls show the policy is popular, but it has already been linked to the closure of two private schools in Scotland, Kilgraston and Cedars.

Forecasts for the number of pupils across Scotland likely to move from private schools to state schools as a result of rising costs have varied widely from 900 to 6,000.

The Office for Budget Responsibility predicted the bulk of the reduction in enrolments would not come from existing students, because “parents will be more reluctant to disrupt their education”, but are more likely to be “prospective future new students” who will not now attend private schools.

Any influx to state schools is likely to be most acute in the Scottish capital, where about 15 per cent of pupils attend independent schools - a far higher proportion than other areas.

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Edinburgh City Council has previously denied claims its schools would struggle to cope because they were already “fit to burst”, insisting it had capacity for a further 12,700 pupils. However, a report to the authority’s education committee meeting recently said there were not always enough places to meet demand in some catchment areas.

Councillor Joan Griffiths, the authority’s education convener, said: “We are focused on giving children and young people living in Edinburgh the very best start in life, regardless of where a child’s school journey may have started.

“We have capacity in our primary and secondary schools to accommodate additional pupils that may come into our schools from different routes, including from the independent school sector.

“We are continuing to track enquiries and applications for school places and alongside this we are reviewing capacity in our schools and strategically managing requests for places, applying existing admissions and school placements policy to all placing requests.”

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Earlier this month, The Scotsman revealed how the Scottish Government had raised a series of concerns with the Labour government at Westminster over the ending of the VAT exemption on private school fees.

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