Private school parents should be 'celebrated' for saving state money

The head teacher of a £46,700-a-year private school has said private school parents should be 'celebrated' for saving taxpayers money on their children's education.

Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, headteacher of the prestigious Stowe school, said these families are 'reliving the state' of paying for their children's education.

Speaking at the Independent Schools Show, he said the private sector takes pressure off ‘overcrowded and struggling’ state schools.

It comes ahead of Labour putting VAT on private school fees from January 1, which will in many cases lead to considerable fee rises and families having to leave the sector.

Private schools were previously exempt from the tax, and from April the schools will get no business rate relief, as the Government looks to fund 6,500 extra teachers for state schools

Several schools have already announced they will close, citing the levy as at least part of the reason.

Dr Wallersteiner, who is one of the country’s longest serving headmasters, said the tax raid was harming ‘diversity’ in education and creating ‘an unjustified barrier to parental choice’.

He added: ‘Why should the State have a monopoly on educating your children?

‘Does someone like Angela Rayner have a better understanding of what your children need than you do?’

He backed the Independent Schools Council’s decision to pursue legal action against the Government’s controversial policy, adding: ‘There should be legal protection for the rights of parents.

‘It is appropriate to challenge the Government’s decision, which is incompatible with European regulations.’

And he warned of further school closures such as that of Tudor Hall’s prep school Carrdus, which was announced last week, should the policy not be overturned.

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He said: ‘Carrdus is only ten miles away from us and the announcement it is set to close is another example of the deleterious effect of this policy which will see more schools close and historic assets sold off.’

In a letter to parents last week, Dr Wallersteiner said Stowe would continue to oppose the legislation.

The letter said: ‘We believe that all education is a societal benefit which should be exempt from taxation.

‘Parents should be applauded for relieving the state of the financial burden of educating their children in the maintained sector.

‘The Government’s VAT proposal undermines pluralism in education by creating an unjustified barrier to educate children in accordance with parents’ conviction and beliefs, as well as inhibiting access to education for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), but without Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

‘While recognising the Government’s mandate for this policy, it is entirely appropriate to question Government action if we believe it is incompatible with human rights legislation.’

The school has announced it will only pass on a 14 per cent extra charge to parents from January, but boarding fees at the school will still rise to just over £53,000 a year after the increase.

Dr Wallersteiner said that the ‘anxiety and uncertainty’ caused by the tax has led Stowe to temporarily suspend its one term notice period for withdrawing a pupil.

Instead, the school has imposed a deadline of 6pm on December 1 for parents to give notice that they would need to pull their children out of Stowe or its prep schools Swanbourne House and Winchester House.

However, he urged parents to contact the school to see if they could help before ‘giving notice of their intention to withdraw’.

Stowe says its Change 100 programme to raise £100 million for 100 fully funded bursaries to the school is the most ambitious access programme in the UK.