‘We’ve been inundated’: European private schools report surge in interest from wealthy British parents | Private schools

Rich British dad and mom are turning to boarding faculties in continental Europe as rising non-public college charges push households to search for cheaper choices overseas.German and Swiss establishments have reported rises within the variety of queries from British dad and mom who face greater charges at house, after the Labour authorities imposed 20% VAT on non-public training from January.Jamie Good, the director of the Worldwide College of Bremen in northern Germany, mentioned the varsity had been “inundated” with requests.“The British market has all the time been our greatest competitor,” he mentioned. “We’ve received a really aggressive worth in contrast with UK faculties. We type of had it earlier than this occurred, however now much more – on common we’re about £15,000 lower than a UK boarding college and our college students get their very own rooms. There’s a market and it’s getting larger by the month.”The varsity, which is a nonprofit, costs charges for day pupils starting from €12,500 a 12 months for early studying to secondary college charges of as much as €18,700 a 12 months. The associated fee with boarding included is marketed at underneath €49,000 (about £42,000) for the primary 12 months.“This educational 12 months, British dad and mom are much more ,” Good added. “Conventional boarding college gala’s at the moment are seeking to invite extra European faculties as a result of they’ve been requested: ‘are there options?’ These are gala’s that will usually be fully British.”The addition of VAT to high school charges was a Labour social gathering manifesto dedication on the 2024 common electionfirst. Ministers mentioned the income could be utilized in half to recruit a further 6,500 lecturers for state faculties.The transfer was met with a wave of authorized challenges, although they have been overruled by the excessive courtroom this summer season.Many non-public faculties initially minimize charges barely to protect dad and mom from the fast rise, however on common they’ve risen by 22.6% in contrast with final 12 months, in keeping with evaluation by the Unbiased Faculties Council (ISC). The common payment per time period for a UK day college stood at £7,382 in January, the ISC discovered, in contrast with £6,021 final 12 months, that means about £22,100 for a 12 months’s charges.Some dad and mom tried to keep away from the VAT cost by paying charges earlier than the rise, however tax specialists have mentioned that cash may very well be clawed again by HMRC.Good mentioned: “We’re primarily listening to from the ‘decrease tier’ dad and mom who have been battling the prices, who at the moment are in search of reasonably priced options with the identical worth if that they had a scholarship.”The Worldwide College of Bremen in Germany is extra aggressive when it comes to charges in a rising European market. {Photograph}: imageBROKER/ShutterstockTom Shennan-Barker, the senior head of admissions at St George’s Worldwide college in Switzerland, mentioned rises in charges have been including to a rising wave of curiosity amongst rich British dad and mom seeking to educate their youngsters overseas.“Within the final two years, we’ve seen extra households truly taking the leap and transferring into the realm, both on the shores of Lake Geneva or to close by mountain villages,” he mentioned.St George’s charges for its senior college vary from 31,400 Swiss francs (£29,319) to 48,250 francs (£45,056) a 12 months for day college students.“We’ve additionally seen college students transferring out of prime, well-known UK faculties to turn out to be boarding college students, attempting to attain a steadiness between a world-class training and the distinctive alternatives that the Swiss outdoor has to supply,” Shennan-Barker mentioned.Development out there for worldwide training is drawing in big traders: this week, the non-public fairness group CVC struck a deal to purchase a 20% stake in a global faculties group that valued it at €7bn.The Worldwide Faculties Partnership (ISP), which operates greater than 100 faculties in 25 nations, is value greater than thrice what it was 4 years in the past, in keeping with the Monetary Occasions, which first reported on the deal.In the meantime, Brighton School, one of many main non-public faculties within the UK, is getting ready to open faculties in Spain and Italy because it seeks to cater to prosperous households leaving the nation.The unbiased college, which, following the introduction of VAT, costs its senior college day college students within the UK as much as £12,647 a time period, is opening faculties in Madrid, Rome and Lisbon from September 2027 for girls and boys aged 13-18, with admissions opening from January 2026.It has additionally mentioned that it was contemplating a college in Milan, a well-liked vacation spot for former UK residents who’ve claimed non-dom standing. Within the metropolis, they’ll decide to pay a flat tax price of €200,000 (£174,558) to keep away from Italian tax on abroad earnings.The variety of Italian youngsters at British non-public faculties with dad and mom residing within the UK fell 11% from 1,372 in January 2024 to 1,223 in January this 12 months, in keeping with a census carried out by the Unbiased Faculties Council. The variety of Spanish college students fell by 13% from 1,402 to 1,220.Nevertheless, the variety of US pupils with dad and mom residing within the UK elevated from 4,367 to 4,728 over the identical interval. These from China grew from 4,551 to 4,701.Eva Ghewij, the director of admissions at Beau Soleil, a global boarding college in Switzerland, added that the introduction of VAT on non-public college charges within the UK had prompted many dad and mom to reassess the worth they have been getting from Britain’s instructional system.“It has made dad and mom take into consideration another choices – they get impressed by different nations and suppose: why not elsewhere?” she mentioned.“Legacy-wise, folks have been simply mechanically sending their youngsters to the identical college they went to however now there is a little more selection on the market.”Beau Soleil costs annual charges for boarding and tuition of 132,390 Swiss francs (£123,644) for its grades 6 to 10 (11- to 16-year-olds), rising to 143,390 francs (£133,925) for its grades 11 and 12 (16- to 18-year-olds).“We now have simply over 300 college students and 62 nationalities, and every year we see motion, with some nations are a bit extra energetic than others,” Ghewij added.“This has simply planted a seed in folks’s minds there are different choices on the market as effectively.”Fast GuideContact Guardian Enterprise about this storyShowThe finest public curiosity journalism depends on first-hand accounts from folks within the know.In case you have one thing to share on this topic you may contact the Enterprise staff confidentially utilizing the next strategies.Safe Messaging within the Guardian appThe Guardian app has a software to ship tips on tales. Messages are finish to finish encrypted and hid inside the routine exercise that each Guardian cellular app performs. This prevents an observer from realizing that you’re speaking with us in any respect, not to mention what’s being mentioned.Should you do not have already got the Guardian app, obtain it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Scroll down and click on on Safe Messaging. When requested who you want to contact please choose the Guardian Enterprise staff.SecureDrop, on the spot messengers, e-mail, phone and postIf you may safely use the tor community with out being noticed or monitored you may ship messages and paperwork to the Guardian by way of our SecureDrop platform.Lastly, our information at theguardian.com/ideas lists a number of methods to contact us securely, and discusses the professionals and cons of every. Illustration: Guardian Design / Wealthy CousinsThank you to your suggestions. This text was amended on 4 October 2025. An earlier model mistakenly mentioned charges for day college students at Brighton School senior college have been £3,500 a time period; this determine is the acceptance deposit. Charges per time period for the present educational 12 months vary from £9,212 to £12,647, together with VAT and worth assist. It was additionally clarified that the charges acknowledged for the Worldwide College of Bremen have been for day pupils; the fee with boarding has been added to the textual content.