Destroying private schools isn’t just a preoccupation of left-wing activists. The former education secretary Michael Gove said in 2019 that he wanted state schools to be so good that paying fees would be seen as an ‘eccentric choice’. Labour has explained that if it wins power, the party will scrap charitable status for private schools and charge VAT on fees. Even among Tory voters, as many people agree with this policy as oppose it.
Is it surprising that support for private schools, including among the middle classes, is on the decline? The cost of private education has more than doubled in 30 years, even accounting for inflation. The average cost of sending a teenager to a private day school is now £16,500 a year and nudging £20,000 in London and the South East.
Mr and Mrs Over-Achiever, a couple in their forties with a salary that puts them in the top 10 per cent, will now need to set aside about a third of their take-home pay to send two children to a private day school.
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