00:00The library and playing fields at the King's School in Rochester may look empty right now,
00:04but is this a sign of the future to come?
00:07Announced last year in the Labour budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that private
00:10schools would be subject to major changes.
00:13As of 2019, Kent had the third highest number of private school pupils in England, but as
00:18of the 1st January, schools are no longer exempt from VAT charges, which means they
00:22now have to charge an extra 20% more in school fees.
00:27Headteachers agree that state schools here in Kent are facing enormous pressure, which
00:30only adds to waiting lists here in the county.
00:33We know that a number of children have left the school at Christmas time, pre-VAT, but
00:39now that the application of VAT has been put in place, there are children who have left.
00:44So it has had a big impact on some families.
00:47The grammar school places are generally fairly full.
00:50We know that some children have applied to local state schools, but we also know that
00:53they haven't been able to get in because the places aren't available at this stage in the
00:56middle of the year.
00:57But one parent, whose child previously failed to secure a place in a local state school,
01:01is committed to private schooling.
01:03For me personally, the cuts I've had to make are definitely in holidays, or where we holiday,
01:09or how frequently we go on holidays.
01:12I've mentioned about my home, I live in a modest home, it's not big by any standards,
01:19and that's a decision that I've made because, again, I've wanted to prioritise education
01:24for the children.
01:25I also worry about the wider school community, not just my children's peers and the affordability
01:31of them, because my children have formed these really tight bonds and friendship groups.
01:36But the King's School is only one of many independent schools across Kent reeling from
01:40this new policy.
01:41The headmaster at Gadds Hill School around the corner, which is located at the former
01:44country home of Charles Dickens, worries the policy will disadvantage smaller independent
01:49schools even more.
01:50An additional problem with this policy is that it's the smaller independent schools
01:54which are going to be most hard hit by the advent of VAT on fees.
02:01I think the wealthier, more perhaps elitist independent schools, private schools, will
02:09be better placed to be able to swallow the additional cost of VAT.
02:14For very many of our children, they've come to us from poor experiences in state schools
02:20where they haven't been able to cope perhaps in bigger classrooms.
02:23However, Rochester locals were divided.
02:26Some people can afford private education, why should they pay more for it for the fact
02:34that the government aren't funding state education?
02:38Students who come from lower economic backgrounds are given more support within their schools.
02:45I think the state court, state source system does need a lot more money ploughed into it.
02:50Some think it will serve the government's mission to level the playing field, while
02:54others think it's a step too far.
02:56Zinia Nakvi for CAME TV in Rochester.
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