Private Christian school leaders in the United Kingdom have joined with parents in launching legal action against a new tax that a rights advocate said will “devastate the work of brilliant Christian schools.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced plans last year to amend the VAT (Value Added Tax) Act 1994 in the 2024/2025 budget, including a hefty tax hike deemed unaffordable by those affected, according to a Christian Legal Centre (CLC) press statement.
Private schools will now pay 20 percent VAT on tuition fees, and business rates will increase in April, according to The Telegraph.
Private and independent schools with varying backgrounds are expected to close due to the change that took effect on Jan. 1, according to the CLC, citing the move as detrimental to Christians’ religious freedom. The Telegraph reported three private schools have already closed.
The CLC is supporting calls for a Judicial Review by 13 claimants including parents, pupils and Christian private schools, including Emmanuel School in Derby, Branch Christian School in Yorkshire, King’s School in Hampshire and Wyclif Independent Christian School in South Wales.
Stephen White, 40, said he moved to a deprived area of the city of Bradford so his four children could attend Branch Christian School. He condemned the “unjust” and “discriminatory” policy by the Labour Government, which he accuses of holding a false “caricature of wealthy schools full of wealthy parents.”
“As Christians, we believe that it is our duty as parents to raise our children in line with our beliefs,” said White, whose son Josiah, 14, is also a claimant. “This policy denies us this right, and choice and must be challenged.”
White said he will be forced to home-school his children because of “heavy secularization” beliefs in state and even Church of England schools.
Claimants for the Judicial Review believe the government has illegally discriminated against them through the amendment, stating the change is “unlawful and is incompatible with their human rights,” according to the CLC.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the CLC, said the government misunderstood the reality of private education.
“The government’s policy will devastate the work of brilliant Christian schools that have been pioneered and maintained by dedicated staff working on sacrificial salaries because they believe in Christian education,” Williams said. “Contrary to the hype, this policy doesn’t level the education field by taxing the wealthy. Instead, it punishes and may force the closure of amazing schools launched on a shoestring and a leap of faith by individuals passionate about children receiving a Christian education.”
Williams cited White’s case as a parent forced to either send his children to a secular state school at odds with his beliefs or keep them inside for home school.
“Parents such as Stephen White do not want to be forced to send their children to secular state schools where their children will be actively encouraged to embrace beliefs and worldviews completely at odds with the Christian faith,” she said. “Stephen has sacrificed so much to prioritize giving his children the opportunity of a Christian education, but now that opportunity is being taken away by the pressure of this policy.”
Williams called on the government to “row back on this policy urgently” and vowed to fight if the situation remained.
“If they don’t, we will continue to pursue every legal avenue in the pursuit of education freedom for all,” she said.
Caroline Santer, headteacher at The King’s School, said she feared for the school’s future. Parents sent children to the school of 231 students ages 4 to 16 for a Christian education, not because of their wealth, she said.
“The vast majority of our pupils are not from affluent backgrounds,” Santer said. “We have a number of single-parent families receiving Universal Credit, and most families make huge financial sacrifices in order to send their children here.”
She noted that 15 percent of the students are enrolled on the school’s Special Needs Register and are thriving because of small class sizes and a nurturing environment, and that otherwise their needs would not be served in the state sector in their area.
“The school will be significantly impacted by the introduction of VAT and the removal of business relief rates for charitable private schools,” Santer said. “The school has no ability to absorb the cost of VAT: this will have to be passed on to parents.”
The new VAT posed an “existential threat” to the very existence of the school, according to Santer.
“We do not have reserves to cover the extra outlay and will have to pass it on to parents,” she added. “Our parents are generally not wealthy, and we do not know how many will not be able to afford it or who will fall into arrears. As a direct consequence of the policy, pupils have already begun to be withdrawn from the school.”
Ben Snowdon, head teacher at Emmanuel School in Derby, called the consequences of the measure “devastating” not only for Christian schools but other low-cost independent schools. The school has provided small group Christian education for more than 30 years.
“It is especially concerning to parents who are not from affluent backgrounds and who have children with special education needs,” Snowdon said. “At Emmanuel School we share the government’s desire to ensure that all children have access to high quality education, but we’re deeply concerned that the government’s VAT proposals will hinder this aim.”
CLC attorneys said the amendment fails several key legal requirements for such a change, especially a breach of Article 14 of the European Court of Human Rights regarding freedom from discrimination. They asserted an international consensus existed for non-taxation of compulsory school education, adding that the move is “unprecedented” as education in the U.K. has never been taxed.
The CLC cited an example of a guardian of two previously “looked after” children who gave up work to care for them. The guardian successfully took legal action against a local authority over one of the children’s special needs; a tribunal recommended an independent Christian school, but the child had to wait 18 months for a placement.
The other child at the Christian school previously suffered anxiety attacks and academic problems from the COVID-19 lockdown.
