It's hard to view private schools as charities. Taxing them is the right thing to do

I have never quite seen the point of private education. Studies show that educational outcomes are shaped mostly by socioeconomic backgrounds. If you are from a stable home you are just as likely to get good grades from a state school as you are an independent one. So why would a middle-class family with an able child pay for a posh school when their kid could get the same academic outcomes for free? Hard to say. For some, you just can’t put a price on keeping your kids incubated from working-class people, I suppose.

However, since my own kids started secondary school (at the same place I attended in the ’80s) I have come to see the state system’s own limitations. Most kids get on fine. But if your kid doesn’t enjoy, or naturally conform to, the one-size-fits-all model of modern state schools, it can be very difficult. There is not much choice out there for parents who are unwilling or unable to pay. Most academies are preoccupied with tedious processes and stifling, data-driven performance indicators.

Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter

Most state schools are big and many kids get lost in the faceless grind, both socially and academically. One of the defining terms in secondary education is ‘resilience’. The idea they pump into kids is that they must learn to face ‘challenges’ (ie, the legitimate misery school can impose) with bravery and stoicism. In other words: life sucks, get used to it. Stop bloody complaining. 

The point is, parents of kids who can’t function in this environment need more choice. Private schools can provide it, but only to a privileged few.

• Will Labour’s private school tax plan ‘destroy the state sector’? Obviously not, experts insist
• Labour just won the election with a historic landslide. So what happens now?

When my kids were in state primary, they were invited by nearby private schools to use their facilities for extra-curricular activities. This allowed me the odd glimpse inside. Far from the ancient, draughty, budget-Hogwarts vibes I’d expected, these schools were plush, modern and well resourced: they were kitted out with cutting-edge technology labs, elite sports facilities and sprawling music studios. Canteens were more luxurious than an all-inclusive Club Med resort.

It was impressive. Impressive enough for me to shell out 30k a year to send my kids there? No. They seemed happy where they were (and if they’re happy I’m happy – especially if what makes them happy is free).

Certainly, kids need more educational choices than those offered by the state. The responsibility is on the state to rectify this by offering a wider array of options to all families. To do this, they will need money – money that they can raise in part by putting VAT on private school fees.

Private education is a luxury and should be taxed as such. Private schools have always swerved this because of their ‘charity’ status, but it’s hard to see these places as charities when, arguably, their existence perpetuates the sort of elitism which can undermine functioning, harmonious communities.

The private school lobby wants us to think that parents will have to pick up a 20% increase in fees as a result of Labour’s VAT scheme. But the truth is that most of the schools can swallow the cost and still continue to function. Perhaps they will just have to go a couple of years without building a new swimming pool, for instance? It might mean slightly slimmer profit margins, but it would prevent financially twitchy parents having to remove their kids from the private sector and pile more burden on the state.

This is not an argument that is receiving much attention in the media because major news platforms are disproportionately staffed by the privately educated. Over 50% of UK journalists attended fee-paying schools (in comparison to 7% of the total population).

This is why the case against VAT on private schools has been so loudly made by the media, despite every opinion poll showing that the policy is supported by the majority of the country. It’s just a self-serving little tantrum cum cover-up by the sort of people who will always try to protect their own. Even a state-educated dope like me can see that. 

Read more from Sam Delaney here.

Sort Your Head Out: Mental Health Without All the Bollocks by Sam Delaney is out now (Constable £12.99). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.