The reason for the rise is only partly the introduction of VAT on private school fees, which Labour enforced on 1 January 2025.
On average, private school fees for the term totalled £7,382 in January 2025, while 12 months before, they cost £6,021, according to data from the Independent Schools Council (ISC) annual census, reported by the BBC.
The council surveyed around 1,400 private schools and collected data, which includes costs and the number of pupils in private education. Its full report will be published next week.
The rise follows an 8% surge in 2024 and a 6% increase during 2023. On average, it costs £15,000 per year to send a child to private school, according to the ISC.
VAT added to private school fees was imposed by the Labour Government to pay for improvements to state schools. Rachel Reeves said last year that this was after state schools had made “huge efficiencies” in the previous 14 years.
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“I strongly believe private schools, as well, have to be able to make efficiencies,” she said.
‘Triple whammy of financial blows’
Of the private school fee rises, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said: “Independent schools have been faced with a triple whammy of financial blows: the requirement to add VAT to their fees, the removal of charitable business rates relief and the rise in National Insurance employer contribution rates.
“It seems clear to us that the Government has underestimated the effect.”
She added: “These statistics show that school leaders have done what they can to keep baseline fee rises to a minimum in the face of this unprecedented tax on education.”
In February, over a tenth of high-net-worth parents with children in private school education said they would consider moving them to state schools.
Robinson said: “We know parents have already left the sector because of the threat of VAT coming in, so we do expect the reality of this to lead to further decreases, but the full effects will only become apparent over the next few years.”
