My child left private school for state – we’re saving £18,000 a year and she’s happier

VAT on private school fees came into effect on 1st January 2025 across the UK. Since then, parents at some of the 2,500 private schools in England and Wales have seen a rises in fees. The economic downturn, combined with these rising fees, has sparked a national debate on whether private school is really worth the money.Sarah*, 53, based in Staffordshire, reflects on her experience moving her 12-year-old daughter out of the private system and into the state, after having sent her four older children to private school all their lives. Not in work herself and with her husband shortly entering retirement, switching their daughter’s schools became their only option. Interview by Esme Gordon-Craig Taking my youngest child out of the school she loved, away from the friends and teachers she adored, was not a choice I ever wanted to make. After having privately educated my first four children, I was determined to ensure that my youngest could have those same experiences and opportunities growing up. For me, raising children has always revolved around fairness. That’s why it was so difficult to put my daughter into the state system. Having spent my entire life dealing with private schools, I have come to internalise the assumptions and stigma that surround the state system. Shorts However, after the 20 per cent VAT increase and the removal of business rate relief by Labour in January 2025, my daughter’s school fees rose above £6,000 a term with an extra £350 for lunch. We just couldn’t stretch it anymore. But even before this change, my husband and I were already struggling to pay the fees. The added financial pressure was just the last straw. The mixture of having already sent our first children to private and now my husband entering retirement has made a future in the private system unsustainable. And so, at the beginning of September this year, my daughter, aged 12, started at her local state school, the result has, so far, surprised me. My biggest fear was how my daughter would settle in. Was she going to be bullied for coming from a private school? Would she be ignored in class by teachers who are overworked and underpaid? Come home crying every day because she misses her old friends? Or will she become disenchanted by education, put down her books and pick up a social media addiction instead? Those were my assumptions based on decades of entertaining stereotypes. The reality has been quite different. The transition couldn’t have been smoother. She’s settled in incredibly well, found new friends, and even joined the school council. It’s reminded me that all children are just children, that they don’t have the hang-ups we adults do. There are differences, of course, but most of them have actually felt more like improvements rather than any regression. For example, the sport’s facilities are brilliant. Unlike her previous school, her new school has an indoor pool. They have space for pitches and offer an excellent variety of sports. She’s doing cross-country, football, netball, and rugby, which the school is known for nationally. I also had no idea that she would be offered such a choice of after-school and lunchtime clubs. Along with sports, she can also do theatre, chess, art, music, dance, photography, and even cribbage. I am lucky, though. Properties in the catchment area for this school demand a premium and it takes no more than 10 minutes to drive to. Likewise, the quality of the teaching has proven to be equal to, if not better than, what she experienced in the private system. She’s found classes to be far more engaging. But it’s still been an adjustment for her. Private schools don’t have to adhere to the national curriculum, so right now she’s having to play catch-up. Luckily for me, she loves to learn. This would have been harder if this was one of her older sisters who has dyslexia and who benefited massively from the extra assistance that her private school provided. The transition around lunches has been a trickier one. The school are still yet to set up her account with their cashless biometric system which requires a thumbprint to organise payments. So, unfortunately for me, I’m now on packed lunch duty, which, to be honest, she’s more than happy with. But the canteen lunches are still good, healthy and inexpensive (£2.95 for a main course and pudding). There’s still the worry that being in such a big school will mean she’ll receive less attention, academically and pastorally. She’s only been there a few weeks, so this is still difficult to measure. But so far, there’s been no signs of this. I can still email the school if there’s a problem and my daughter certainly doesn’t feel overlooked in class. Even on arrival, the attention to detail matched what I’ve experienced in the private system. After discovering my daughter’s love for running, she was matched with the fastest runner in the class – they’re now best friends. Sounds simple but it’s these little things that reassure anxious parents like myself that our children are going to be taken care of. One drawback she’s mentioned is the difference in how free time is spent. “At break, no one plays. We just hang out,” she told me after her first week. By encouraging play during breaktime, I always enjoyed how private schools keep children younger for longer. Saying this, as a 12-year-old on the cusp of her teenage years, she is enjoying the newfound freedom and independence that state school brings. Rather than walking her into school, she now walks in alone. And in the afternoon, we’ve arranged where we meet, allowing her the space to leave school with her local friends. Reluctantly, this has meant getting her a phone. Despite always believing that confidence comes from doing things by yourself, I am the type of parent who likes to get more than involved in their child’s education. But at the new school there is undoubtedly far less room here for helicopter parenting. I still don’t know any of her teachers, friends or parents of friends, and I don’t know yet how that’s going to change – or if it will. Frustrating for me, but I’m learning it’s actually incredibly rewarding for the children. When you pay for school, you want to know exactly what you’re paying for so to ensure you’re getting value for money. Private school is much more about the relationship between the parent and the provider. I’ve come to realise how much they’re designed for and marketed towards us parents, rather than the children themselves. In her old school, events such as sports day, matches and music recitals felt, first and foremost, like an occasion for parents to socialise and the luxurious facilities that it boasted felt more like a way to wow us parents, rather than help the children. Do 11-year-olds really want to do yoga? I am missing the social side of her last school. But I won’t miss the judging, the competitiveness between pushy parents, or the feeling that I’ve let my child down because I can’t afford the school trip (their ski trip cost over £1,650). But this isn’t about me, it’s about my child. And what matters most is that right now she’s learning, and she’s happy where she’s learning, and who she’s learning with. It feels as if I’ve unlocked a superpower. I’m educating my child, and it costs absolutely nothing. *Names have been changed