Almost half of private school fee discounts are not means-tested

Almost half of the fee remission offered to pupils by private schools is not means-tested, and therefore, may not go to genuinely disadvantaged children, according to new research from the Private Education Policy Forum (PEPF). 

The findings come after the think tank devoted to reducing educational inequality between state and private schools in the UK analysed annual accounts submitted by 215 headmasters’ and headmistress’ conference (HMC) member schools in England. 

Means-tested support is one way that private schools with charitable status aim to demonstrate their public benefit, as they are required to do under the rules that govern charities.

Researchers found that 54.9% of overall fee remission was spent by schools on means-tested support in 2022-23. While this is up slightly from 54.2% in 2021-22, it still reflects that around £1 in every £2 spent on fee remission does not go to means-tested support.

The other half instead goes towards non-means tested scholarships or discounts such as those for children of staff, military personnel or the clergy. In 2022-23, approximately £185m was spent by schools on fee discounts which weren’t targeted at families on lower incomes.

PEPF’s research also found “considerable” variation in spending across schools on means tested support – even between schools of similar gross fee incomes. Schools with a gross fee income of around £30m in 2023 varied between a £0.5m spend and an almost £5m spend on means-tested support. Reporting standards within annual accounts also varied widely in quality, consistency and completeness.

Despite a widely publicised increase in nominal expenditure, the report found real-terms spending on means-tested support decreased from £201m in 2020-21, to £191m in 2021-22.

It then rose slightly to £194m in 2022-23 but still below the 2020-2021 means-tested bursary spend, showing spending on bursaries did not rise between 2020-21 and 2022-23 when inflation is accounted for.

The report also found that the number of pupils receiving means-test support has declined in recent years – from 15,105 in 2020-21 (11.4% of pupils in each school, on average) to 14,413 in 2021-22 (10.6%) and 14,028 in 2022-23 (10.2%).

Tom Fryer, PEPF researcher and report author, said: “Unless private school fee remission is means-tested, it can’t truly be said to serve under-resourced students as the sector often claims to do.

“The wide variability in the standard of reporting of this support between schools is also a concern. Private schools need to at the very least improve their reporting of fee remission if they are to justify the charitable status which they still retain.“