Last month, St Joseph’s Catholic Independent School in Reading announced it would close, ending centuries of private Catholic education. This follows the closure of Trinity Christian School in the same town, also ending many years of low-cost private education for Christian families in Berkshire. The reality of this outcome for both schools is that families and teachers have lost the freedom to choose an education that suits their deeply held beliefs, and may well be forced to send their children to secular institutions promoting contrary values, thereby thwarting a fundamental right to religious freedom.
When the Government introduced a 20% VAT on independent school fees, it was spun to the public as a progressive tax on the ultra-wealthy. However, the reality unfolding across the UK tells a vastly different story. The primary casualties of this policy are not the elite, asset-rich boarding schools of the ruling class, but specialist independent schools, including faith schools, serving normal hard-working families and religious communities. To compound the VAT problem, the business rates relief for schools as charities has been removed, which has increased their business rates by an astonishing 500%; and the rise in the employer’s National Insurance contributions in October 2024 disproportionately affect schools as up to 75% of their costs can relate to staffing. It is this ‘triple-whammy’ which has hit private schools so hard.
The battle for parental rights reached a critical moment in February this year when the Court of Appeal dismissed a further legal challenge brought by a coalition of Evangelical Christian and Charedi Jewish families. Representing schools like Emmanuel School in Derby and The Branch Christian School in Yorkshire, the families argued that the blanket tax effectively destroys their right to choose an education aligned with their religious convictions. Rather than finding a reasonable compromise, the court ruled that the Government had an ‘objective and reasonable justification’ to deny a low-cost exemption, suggesting that families who can no longer afford the fees could simply home-school or rely on the State. The suggestion that families could simply home educate is ironic, given the recent passing of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act which will seriously restrict home education.
This represents a profoundly authoritarian, statist view with respect to the role of parents in the lives of their children. For many religious families, mainstream state schools are not a viable option, due to deeply held moral and scriptural objections to elements of the standard curriculum. The impact of the Government’s policies, however, has also been felt by a wide of range of parents who seek a more specialised or appropriate education for their children, including parents of SEN children. According to data shared during a recent Parliamentary debate, over 110 independent schools have closed or merged since mid-2024.
The sad irony is that many of these institutions charge significantly less than the State spends per pupil. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has warned that low-fee Islamic, Jewish, and Christian schools—where average annual fees can be as low as £3,000 — are being pushed into unviability. These institutions are kept alive by the financial sacrifices of ordinary parents and local community fundraising.
The State risks systematically imposing a secular monopoly on education. It risks penalising law-abiding citizens for wanting to raise their children within their faith, forcing families to choose between financial ruin or compromising their deepest moral duties. Where in all of this is the much-vaunted ‘diversity’ that our Government never ceases to proclaim as a cardinal virtue of ‘life in modern Britain’?
The Christian Legal Centre has previously stated that they will prepare an appeal to the Supreme Court. This marks a watershed moment for British democracy: if the government is allowed to use punitive taxation to squeeze religious schooling out of existence, the fundamental right of parents to guide their children’s moral upbringing will be subverted. We must stand firmly with these families as they take their fight to the highest court in the land. This battle is no longer just about school fees; it is about a fundamental question: who ultimately owns our children—the family, or the state?
ParentPower Team
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