Private school parents face huge bills after Sunak's unexpected election move

Last spring Rishi Sunak made a choice that hit private-school parents hard - he called for early elections which led to faster-than-expected changes in school fees

The quick switch to Labour control (happening bout 4 months ago) means private schools will add VAT starting Jan-2025; this affects many families mid-year. For example parents with three kids in London day-schools face extra costs of £5‚000-£10‚000 per term (thats about £1‚600 per child for each payment period)

Jacob Rees-Mogg with his six children in different private schools might need to pay £15‚000-£30‚000 more - depending on how many terms get affected by the new rules: this shows how one decision affects real families

The VAT change hits different schools in various ways; smaller schools that spend most money on teacher pay will struggle more than big-name schools like Eton or Westminster. These fancy schools can claim back VAT on things like sports equipment and computers; while smaller ones cant do this because most of their costs are teacher salaries

If Sunak had waited until Nov-14 (the original planned date) Labour wouldnt have had time to start the VAT before summer-2025. Now many kids might need to switch schools mid-year - which isnt great for their well-being. The gap between Labour taking control and the budget was just 117 days; if we had stuck to the normal timeline implementation wouldʼve been pushed to next school year

• Rich schools can claim VAT back on:
• Building projects
• Computer equipment
• Sports facilities
• Other big expenses

The quick timeline means more stress for parents who now need to make fast choices about their kids education. Thanks to one early decision many families face unexpected costs months before they planned