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The German writer Heinrich Heine (1797\u20131856) presciently stated that Communism ‘…possesses a language which every people can understand \u2013 its elements are hunger, envy, and death.’ Sadly, this may come to pass in the imminent General Election, as Mr. Starmer and his merry band of class warriors get the keys cut to No.10, with warm beer and bacon butties on the menu, ready to give the middle and upper echelons of society a good kicking and prove Heine right.<\/p>\n
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Reducing the notes in a Mozart Sonata<\/strong><\/p>\n Nothing sums up the politics of envy argument, like the belligerent and divisive school fees debate. The Labour Party have been threatening to remove independent schools’ charitable status for years and subject them to the dreaded VAT charge. Like extracting only the rotten parts of a scrambled egg or reducing the ‘notes’ in a Mozart sonata, they haven’t even considered how this will affect other charitable institutions. The magic money tree will need to blossom effusively, since the sector turns over nearly \u00a348bn per year and could lead to all manner of legal actions.<\/p>\n Despite the soundbites of the left-wing fanatics, a report by the Independent Schools Council in 2022 found that the private education sector brings the following economic benefits:<\/p>\n The study found that independent schools save the taxpayer \u00a34.4 billion every year by providing places for pupils who would otherwise have to take up a place in the state-funded sector. The ISC schools\u2019 share of that total is \u00a33.8 billion.1<\/sup><\/p>\n Explore now<\/a><\/p>\n <\/center><\/div>\n It\u2019s not just oligarchs or the posh that use private schools<\/strong><\/p>\n Lest we forget, it\u2019s not just oligarchs or the ‘posh’ who use these private schools but hard-pressed parents who sacrifice everything so that their children can reach their full academic potential. As with many misguided plans that are designed to appeal to ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’, the laws of unintended consequences always apply.\u00a0 It is these vulnerable families who will suffer the most from this distorted utopian ideology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Diane Abbott outcry<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember the outcry in 2003 when Labour politician Diane Abbott sent her wayward son James to the independent City of London School, instead of the state comprehensive down the road? Too bad this won’t be an option for her many low-earning constituents. Adding insult to hypocritical injury, she described his superior education as ‘the making of him’. Of course, it was. To want the best for one’s offspring is a natural impulse that cuts across all social classes.<\/p>\n Schools are already preparing themselves to increase their fees in advance of these changes, which renders only the wealthy to afford this privilege.<\/p>\n This will be St Trinian\u2019s on steroids<\/strong><\/p>\n And what will happen to the displaced students looking for places in the state education system when there’s no spare capacity for them? One reason parents choose an independent school is that class sizes are smaller (never more than 16) as opposed to the state schools which are 62% larger and can be 23-26 pupils. You can imagine what would happen if the sluice gates opened and the displaced private school pupils were to try to join the state system when an extra 609,000 students form a scrum at the school gate. This will be St Trinian\u2019s on steroids!<\/p>\n Even if they were to absorb the extra numbers, it takes at least ten years to conceive and implement a new school. Also, the new recruits have to be accommodated within a sensible distance from where they presently live, or else the stressful school run (the bane of many parents’ lives) will turn into the start of Le Mans.<\/p>\n Throw \u2018red meat\u2019 to the zealots<\/strong><\/p>\n As with many grandiose, politically inspired, socialistic ideas, the Labour Party hasn’t worked out the sums or the methodology yet, despite\u00a0the problem being lapping at their feet within months.\u00a0 In our business, we call this self-inflicted flagellation, however the temptation to \u2018throw red meat\u2019 to the zealots is overwhelming.<\/p>\n Unsettled families may sell<\/strong><\/p>\n Undoubtedly, this will unsettle families and provoke them to sell their homes in one borough and judiciously purchase in another, to better the chances of getting children educated at somewhere halfway decent. There could be a tremendous rush to sell, which is exactly the wrong strategy for achieving the best possible price.<\/p>\n Politics \u2013 like house prices \u2013 is a fickle beast and it’s difficult to predict the effect that this will have on underlying values on properties in certain areas and our guess is that it will affect the market most at the sector between \u00a3750,000 \u20131.5million.<\/p>\n Education, education, education<\/strong><\/p>\n I speak with some authority on this subject, having been educated at the excellent, former state school, Quintin Grammar in St Johns Wood, and it\u2019s adjoining neighbour, the former Kynaston School, which was an outstanding secondary modern.<\/p>\n There was a good exchange of students between schools after the eleven plus \u2013 the curriculum extended across academic and vocational subjects and catered for all flavours of pupils. The system worked magnificently with a high standard of discipline throughout the ranks, and both respective schools produced remarkable results.<\/p>\n Star pupil was none other than Jihadi John (Mohamed Emwazi)<\/strong><\/p>\n This halcyon period came abruptly to an end in 1969 when they were merged into a fully comprehensive school as dictated by Labour policies at the time. \u00a0The name was changed to QK, and discipline was replaced with ’empathy’ and standards nosedived. The headmaster was beaten up and one of the teachers ran off with the money accumulated for the school trip. The ‘star pupil’ was none other than infamous Jihadi John (Mohamed Emwazi), one of the terrorist \u2018Beatles\u2019.<\/p>\n The school\u2019s name was changed to Harris Academy, which is faintly reminiscent of \u2018putting lipstick on a pig!\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0it was put into special measures in 2017 (an unenviable indictment).<\/p>\n Why allow political dogma and the politics of envy to disturb the equilibrium of the education system which is the wealth of the nation?<\/p>\n Do we ever learn? ‘Change’ for change\u2019s sake, is a popular left-liberal nostrum which invariably does not lead to better results. Whilst I admit that the Tory\u2019s have not covered themselves in glory, the VAT issue may well lead to an academic \u2018fail\u2019 for the country rather than an \u2018A star grade\u2019.<\/p>\n Don’t say you haven’t been warned.<\/p>\n Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International<\/em><\/p>\n The German writer Heinrich Heine (1797\u20131856) presciently stated that Communism ‘…possesses a language which every people can understand \u2013 its elements are hunger, envy, and death.’ Sadly, this may come to pass in the imminent General Election, as Mr. Starmer … Continue reading \n
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