For some parents, VAT on school fees is the straw that’s broken the camel’s back. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that between 20,000 and 40,000 pupils will be withdrawn from the independent sector. An answer to a parliamentary question revealed that 46 private schools closed between January and October last year. It is safe to assume more will follow.
But if you really want to, there are still a couple of ways that you can educate your children privately without having to pay VAT. What about sending them to school abroad? What has proved devastating for some private schools in Britain has proved good business for Chavagnes International College, which is like an English country-house school complete with quadrangle and chapel but set in the Vendée countryside, 30 minutes’ drive from Nantes.
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