Bolton School is not increasing its fees by more than five per cent a year despite the introduction of VAT for private schools as of the New Year.

The government announced it is introducing the 20 per cent tax for private schools as of January 1, 2025, in line with its manifesto, on Monday.

If Bolton School were to pass it on to parents, the price of sending a pupil to its Junior School would increase by more than £750 a term and the the price of sending a pupil to its Senior School would increase more than £950 a term. At the Senior School, including the Sixth Form, the price would be in the region of £5,725 a term or £17,175 a year. 

However Head of Foundation Philip Britton said it is not increasing its fees by more than five per cent a year to create "certainty" and "continuity".

The incoming chair of The Heads' Conference said a bid to bring in bursaries for one in three pupils, up from one in five pupils, would be "difficult".

(Image: Bolton School)

Mr Britton said: "I would call on our MPs to be sure the money flowing out of Bolton in VAT comes back to make a difference to the other schools in Bolton. It is important to hold the government to account about this otherwise there is no gain for our borough at all and we all take a step backwards not a step forwards in providing a strong education for all the children in the borough."

The introduction of VAT for private schools is to apply to all payments of fees from January 1, 2025, as well as any pre-payments of fees up until this time to avoid any attempt to get around the increase.

The intention is to add 6,500 teachers in state schools using the policy's proceeds although there are concerns this could be cancelled out by an exodus of pupils from the private sector to the state sector.

Treasury Secretary James Murray said: "The government is committed to addressing unfairness in the tax system and to raising revenue for public services by closing loopholes and tackling tax avoidance.

"The government is setting out the next steps on its tax commitments to allow for technical consultation and to provide taxpayers with certainty ahead of their confirmation at The Budget [on October 30]."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.