VAT - I've been right so far!

Back in 2022, the Daily Telegraph published my thoughts on what VAT might mean to the education sector. Then, back in 2024, I wrote a blog on this site about better ways to obtain funding for maintained sector education, and how the independent sector was going to be changed.

By and large I was right in just about everything I predicted and everything I said.

So here we are in August 2025, and what we've actually seen is the equivalent of five years' fee inflation in one go. Just that and, actually, nothing that schools and their wage bills would not have achieved by 2029 anyway.

Which means that the market is even more premium already, with a cohort of families going through who will almost certainly be replaced by average families who will be more affluent, more demanding, and a bit harder find and convince.

What does that mean for your school? Is "cuddly" worth 20% more, when a state school smile is just as good? What academic results, what pastoral standards, what co-curricular opportunities and what customer service do parents expect for the new fees compared to the old fees? And what DON'T you need to do any more, that tomorrow's parents won't want to pay for?

Call me for a chat and let's start thinking about all that.