Private Matters: An investigation into independent schools and charitable status in England

The political debate over the role, status and taxation of independent (‘private’) schools in England shows no sign of abating. Two issues have attracted considerable attention in recent months: the prospect of VAT being added to independent school fees; and the charitable status of independent schools. This report – the second half of a project – explores the issue of charitable status to understand why it has become so contentious in relation to independent schools and whether the suggestion that independent schools should be ‘stripped’ of their charitable status deserves consideration. In the first part of this research project – published in June 2023 – EDSK analysed the claim that adding VAT to fees would raise £1.6 billion a year, and found that such a policy was unlikely to raise such a significant sum and could end up raising very little money at all.