{"text":[[{"start":9.88,"text":"Parents of private day school students picking up their A-level results this week have spent an average of £216,189 in fees to get them from reception to year 13, according to new research."}],[{"start":23.44,"text":"The cost of a complete private day school education for leavers rose 5.7 per cent from last year, Weatherbys Private Bank said in a study published on Thursday, prompting fresh debate over the Labour government’s decision to remove the VAT exemption for independent schools."}],[{"start":39,"text":"The rise in fees was steeper at boarding schools, where the average bill for the full 14 academic years increased by 6 per cent to £438,444. The total cost for day pupils at boarding schools was £274,061."}],[{"start":55.92,"text":"“Providing the high standards parents expect is becoming increasingly expensive thanks to VAT, the loss of business rates relief, increases in employer national insurance contributions and falling pupil numbers,” said Weatherbys’ head of private clients, Oliver Barnett."}],[{"start":71.6,"text":"Barnett said some schools had refrained from passing on to parents the full 20 per cent VAT charge that came into effect in January 2025 in order to help parents bear the rise in costs, but were unable to continue absorbing the increase themselves."}],[{"start":86.08,"text":"Peter Woodroffe, deputy chief executive of the Independent Schools Association, which represents headteachers of more than 800 private schools, said: “The operating costs of schools have increased considerably [over the past two years], but, despite this, they have done and continue to do their utmost to keep fee rises to a minimum.”"}],[{"start":106.06,"text":"Government figures show that in the first full year after the introduction of VAT on fees, the number of private school pupils in England fell by more than 22,000, representing a 3.8 per cent drop, while pupil numbers in state schools dropped by 1.1 per cent."}],[{"start":122.28,"text":"Stuart Hoddinott, associate director of the public services team at the Institute for Government, an independent think-tank, said it was difficult to disentangle the impact of the VAT charge from other factors driving costs at private schools, including rising teacher wages and general inflationary pressures on service delivery costs."}],[{"start":139.92,"text":"“We’ve seen private school fees rise pretty considerably over the last 15 or 20 years. It’s not unusual to have year-on-year increases,” Hoddinott said, adding that the feared exodus of pupils from private schools to state schools had yet to materialise."}],[{"start":155.4,"text":"HM Treasury said: “This government ended the tax breaks for private schools, raising billions of pounds to pay for over 6,500 new teachers and raise state school standards. This supports 94 per cent of children across the country."}],[{"start":171.48,"text":"“Private schools choose to raise their own fees and have increased average fees by 75 per cent in real terms since 2000, and this has not affected pupil numbers.”"}],[{"start":181.76,"text":"Weatherbys estimates that a child starting reception at a private day school this year will rack up a total bill for their family of £393,492 by the time they finish their A-levels in 2040, based on an assumption of 3 per cent annual inflation. The estimate rises to £796,921 for boarding school students."}],[{"start":213.04,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1786613029_3647.mp3"}