Epsom College in Malaysia is offering to freeze fees for UK families who may be priced out of the domestic boarding school market following the possible introduction of VAT on fees.
The school near Kuala Lumpur has launched a tuition and boarding fees package of £26,000 uniquely for UK-based families starting from the 2024/25 academic year. The fees, in Sterling, will also be frozen for the lifetime of a child’s education at the college, from Year 9 to Year 13.
The school said that its research had indicated that there were parents who would “consider moving their children to other schools, including those overseas” in the event of VAT on fees at home.
It is uncertain whether other overseas branches of UK boarding schools are making similar offers, or whether they will follow suit in future.
A press release from the school said its offer would “provide UK parents with protection from both inflation and exchange rate fluctuations”.
The offer compares favourably with the average cost of UK-based boarding schools, with fees currently around £40,000 per year, according to the Good Schools Guide. But these fees could rise between 10 to 20 per cent if Labour’s VAT plan is introduced.
The school is also introducing an option for UK families to pay £28,000 per pupil per year, which would include tuition and boarding plus three economy class return flights between London and Kuala Lumpur for the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays.
The announcement comes just after the Financial Times reported that Labour party sources had said that VAT would be charged on the boarding aspect of school fees – something that experts expected to be exempt.
Typical families with two children in UK boarding schools could face an increase in school bills of around £15,000 a year if the Labour Party gains power and introduces VAT for independent schools.
The press release added: “UK parent outreach conducted by Epsom College in Malaysia has indicated serious concerns at the prospect of the VAT levy on UK independent school fees, and has signalled that parents will consider moving their children to other schools, including those overseas, if Labour goes ahead with this policy.”
Mark Lankester, CEO of Epsom College in Malaysia, said: “In these challenging economic times, we wanted to give UK parents extra choice with how they could keep their children independently educated, at a boarding school providing a comparable level of high-quality education to that offered by similar UK schools, but at a price that was not being artificially inflated by changes in UK taxation.”
“Boarding in Malaysia provides a culturally diverse and academically rich experience, and our conversations with UK parents are already indicating a strong level of interest.”
The college has said the headline fees will include access to one of its sports academies, and holiday care.
Founded in 2014, Epsom College in Malaysia offers the British curriculum – IGCSEs and A-levels. It is the only sister school to Epsom College in Surrey.