Christian parents and school pupils outside the High Court. (Photo: Christian Legal Centre)
A coalition of Christian schools, parents and pupils has lost its legal challenge against the government’s imposition of 20% VAT on private school fees.
The group, supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), plans to seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court after the case was dismissed on all grounds by the Court of Appeal on Friday.
Caroline Santer, headteacher at The King’s School, which is one of the schools behind the legal challenge, said: “Christian schools like ours exist to serve communities, offering education shaped by faith and values.
“VAT is dismantling decades of careful work and putting schools on the brink of closure. We will continue to stand with our families and pursue this all the way to the Supreme Court.”
The legal challenge was brought by a group that included families and other Christian schools.
They argued that the VAT policy has already forced closures and made low-cost Christian education unaffordable for many families.
They further claim that the policy undermines parental rights and educational freedom by making it harder – or in some cases impossible – for families to access a faith-based education.
The Court of Appeal rejected all grounds of the appeal, ruling that that the government had an objective and reasonable justification for not exempting low-cost Christian schools from VAT.
While the judges affirmed the right of parents to homeschool their children, they rejected claims that charging VAT breached the right to education under Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, citing a previous Supreme Court ruling that there is no right to a particular kind or quality of education beyond that offered in the state system. The judgment also stated that there is no legal prohibition on taxing education.
Parents and school leaders say that the Court of Appeal’s judgment fails to acknowledge the financial and practical realities faced by many families seeking an independent faith-based education.
They argue that many such families cannot afford the higher fees resulting from the VAT policy or the cost of home-educating, and warn that more Christian schools may close if the policy remains in place.
Jill Holt, headteacher of The Branch Christian School, said: “Most of our parents work full‑time and cannot home‑educate. VAT would add nearly £800 to fees, an impossible burden for many families. This ruling places schools like ours in jeopardy.”
Yvonne Owusu‑Ansah, a mother of three, said the ruling “does nothing to alleviate the devastation already being felt by families”.
“VAT will make it impossible for me to keep my children in their school. We shaped our whole lives around giving them an education rooted in Christian convictions,” she said.
“If this policy stands, I will be forced to home‑educate, and my children will lose the teachers, friends and environment where they are thriving academically and spiritually.”
The coalition will now apply for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
CLC chief executive Andrea Williams called on politicians to “recognise the deep injustice of penalising parents who simply want to bless their children with a comprehensively Christian education”.
“Not everyone can home‑educate, and low‑cost Christian schools are already being forced to close under the weight of these policies,” she said.
“Through this and other measures, the government is making it increasingly difficult for parents to shape their children’s education. It is centralising control over schooling, and in doing so, exerting control over our future.
“Putting this level of power in the hands of politicians is unwise and unsafe. Everyone who understands the implications of this should oppose these punitive taxes and stand up for families who are fighting to maintain genuine educational freedom.”
