Bolton School pledge to continue Lord Leverhulme’s legacy after Labour’s tax change

Bolton School has launched a campaign to ensure bright pupils still have access to an outstanding education, regardless of their financial background in the wake of the Government’s controversial move to remove VAT exemption for private schools.

The school, one of the best in the country, is not raising its fees following the change to tax rules, in a bid to create ‘certainty and continuity’ among pupils and parents

The Labour government announced it was introducing the 20 per cent tax for private schools as of January 1, in line with its manifesto pledge.

Bolton School (Image: Martini Archive)Headmaster Philip Britton explained the school’s focus on inclusivity, noting that most families make significant sacrifices to afford fees.

The school’s bursary program currently supports one in five students, with an ambitious target of one in three by 2030.

However, the financial impact of VAT means this goal will now take longer to achieve.

To bridge the gap, a philanthropic campaign is planned, with a public launch set for May.

This includes calling on former students.

Mr Britton has urged alumni to contribute, emphasizing the collective power of smaller donations and recalling the success of the 1970s Open Doors campaign.

He said: “This is about making a difference for good and ensuring Bolton School remains a place where education is both affordable and worth affording.

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“In January, we did not raise our fees at all. Other schools have done, and some by significant amounts.

“And what we said to parents is that for the next few years we will raise fees by no more than five per cent a year, which since between 2015 and 2022, they increased by two per cent a year.

“That five per cent is more than we have been at, but over time, it will help share and smooth the cost of VAT for the School and for parents.

“Schools are about children and children should not be the people to pick up the consequences of a Government policy. That is really, really clear.

“That’s one interesting strand. The other interesting strand is that clearly now we are in a position where the reason that we can afford to share that VAT burden with our parents is because we have had to scale back our own investment into the bursary funds from fee income.

“It’s important to me that we understand that the one in five who are currently on bursaries will remain there.

Phil Britton (Image: Martini Archive) “We’ve called upon our wonderful alumni, who are spread out across the globe, to help us continue to expand that number, as we planned.

“I hope that the sense of purpose from our alumni body will allow that to be an attractive prospect, understanding that everyone can make a difference.”

Mr Britton added: “If the national scene is causing headwinds for independent education, let’s see if those of us who really care about our school and Bolton can make a difference by contributing to our philanthropic bursary campaign.

“The campaign will have a more pronounced launch in May, but it felt right to share our plans with alumni now, in January, as VAT begins to be imposed.”

Lord Leverhulme brought together Bolton Grammar School for Boys and Bolton High School for Girls together to offer an education to all talented children regardless of their financial circumstances.

That legacy lives on through the school’s commitment to offering bursaries to young people.