The great private school con | Audio Long Reads

<p>They no longer have a stranglehold on Oxbridge and would lose tax breaks under Labour. So what is elite education really selling?</p><br /><p>At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in October, the Independent Schools Council hosted a forlorn drinks reception: not one of the more than 40 MPs showed up. ‘We are not the enemy,’ one private school headmaster complained to a sympathetic&nbsp;<em>Daily Mail</em>. But if Labour does win the next general election, it has committed to removing tax breaks on business rates and 20% VAT on private school fees – raising £1.6bn to be invested in state schools. On top of this, Starmer’s cabinet (as it stands) would be the most state-educated in history – with only 13% having attended private school (against Rishi Sunak’s 63%). Can elite education survive – and cling on to its charitable status?</p><br /><p>In this week’s audio long read – the last in this series – the&nbsp;<em>New Statesman</em>’s features editor Melissa Denes attends three school open days to understand how these winds of change might affect them. She also follows the money, calculating that – allowing for tax breaks - the average taxpayer subsidises an Eton schoolboy at a far higher rate than a state school one. As the gaps in spending between the two sectors grow, and society strives to become more fair, will an expensive education evolve into a luxury service rather than a charitable concern?</p><br /><p>Written and read by Melissa Denes.</p><br /><p>This article originally appeared in the 10-16 November edition of the New Statesman; you can read the text version&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-report/2023/11/private-schools-selling-elite-education" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><br /><p>If you enjoyed listening to this article, you might also enjoy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/audio-long-reads/2023/03/the-long-and-stupid-decline-of-the-british-university-audio-long-reads" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The decline of the British university</a>&nbsp;by Adrian Pabst.</p><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>