George Watson’s College, Scotland’s most expensive, non-boarding fee-paying School, has announced it will launch a “fundraising appeal” to support its children.
This comes after Labour implemented a 20 per cent VAT on private school fees, which, by the time pupils are in S6 at George Watson, can reach up to £19,990.80 per year.
The principal of George Watson, Lisa Kerr, said an “unprecedented” 50 children had left or not opted to join the school due to Labour’s new policy.
Kerr further stated that she believes this new VAT will push “many families to breaking point”, and therefore, the School “will be launching a fundraising campaign to support our aim that no child should immediately have to leave Watson’s because of the VAT bill.”
Kerr also believes this will lead to “negative consequences for all children” as many children “will be forced out of independent schools and already strained state schools will see an unexpected influx of pupils in underfunded classrooms where teacher recruitment is already a problem.”
Edinburgh has one of the highest concentrations of private schools across the UK, with 21 per cent of secondary school students attending a fee-paying school, compared to the national average of 5.9 per cent.
This is partially due to Edinburgh’s historically wealthy merchant class. The class has long affiliations with the city’s independent schools.
It is also due to the affluent nature of citizens. The average income is £40,846, the highest in Scotland and above the national average (£37,206).
The Times also further charts how schools underperform “relative to the affluence of the catchment areas,” demonstrating a disparity within differing educational classes.
One private schooler commented that whilst “yes, there may be a long history of Private schools receiving donations and grants from alumni” the fundraising initiative particularly comes across as though they are just “brazenly asking the general public for money” which “in light of the current cost of living crisis is wild and just feels insanely out of touch.”
The UK Government estimates that the new VAT will generate over £1.5 billion annually for state schools.
Some state-educated people believe, therefore, “the long-term benefits (of the new VAT) are immeasurable” as money can be reinvested into bridging the gap between classes and helping to solve structural class inequalities within education.
Another, who attended state school, commented that “it still feels like a slap-in-the-face” as “surely the money raised would be better invested into improving the ‘strained’ state schools.”
“Charlotte Square Private Garden, New Town, Edinburgh, Scotland” by Billy Wilson Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.