Banbury private school to close due to 'pressure' of Budget

The governors of Carrdus School wrote to parents telling them that the school will have to close by the end of Spring 2025 unless it finds a buyer.

The recent Budget announced that private schools would no longer be exempt from paying VAT, and they would not receive any business rate relief after January 2025.

Following the news, a number of parents told the school that they would have to withdraw their children within the academic year.

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The governors of Carrdus School said: “It is with deep sadness that the governors confirm that they are currently reviewing the future of Carrdus School and that it is likely to close from the end of the spring term 2025, unless a commercial solution can be found.

“The governors are actively continuing to explore all possible avenues to avoid closure but wanted to give the Carrdus community as much notice as possible at this stage. 

“The introduction of VAT on independent school fees mid academic year, further compounded by the loss of charitable business rates relief and the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, has put a great deal of pressure on parents and schools.

“Consequently, a number of Carrdus parents have been left with no alternative option but to give notice to withdraw their child from the school either at the end of the autumn term, or at the end of the academic year.  

“Our focus is now on supporting the Carrdus families to secure places for their children at other local schools, as well as supporting the staff to ensure the children continue to receive an outstanding education for the remainder of their time at Carrdus. 

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and staff who worked tirelessly to make Carrdus such a special school for generations of children who have flourished within its warm and nurturing community.”

Responding to the news, Conservative councillor Eddie Reeves, leader of the opposition on Oxfordshire County Council, said: “This is a damning indictment of Labour’s cruel Education Tax which, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, will cost – not benefit – the public purse.

“I feel especially strongly about this. My Mum was a schoolteacher in state primaries. She and my Dad divorced when I was a baby.

“I attended a small independent prep school very close to Carrdus on a scholarship, in large measure, because of her hard work in helping me pass the entrance exam.

“From there, I attended an independent secondary school nearby on a bursary.

“A good independent education has since transformed my life, having come from an aspirational family of modest means.

“It is beggars’ belief that a Labour government should now seek to make such education the preserve of a narrow elite.

(Image: Councillor Eddie Reeves) “What we need is greater philanthropic and private investment in our independent schools to facilitate increased provision for scholarships and bursaries, allied to deeper partnerships between independent and state schools to share facilities and teaching practices, and more investment in our state education system as a whole.

“Vindictive taxes on aspiration levied on parents for the sake of making a political point will help no-one, least of all kids whose parents are at the bottom end of the income spectrum, who should be our very first thought.

“To all parents affected by this sad news, I would encourage them to apply to Oxfordshire County Council, West Northamptonshire Council and Warwickshire County Council if they need to make an emergency application for a state school place.

“We must now hope that this is an isolated case and that other local schools can ride out the storm.”

The Chancellor said the money made from the decision will be used to fund 6,500 new state school teachers.

Carrdus School, a co-educational school for children aged 3-11, is owned by Tudor Hall, a secondary independent girls’ school in Banbury.