Bath prep school shuts after 150 years as Labour’s VAT hike continues to batter private education

A long-established girls’ prep school in Bath is to close after more than a century and a half, a casualty of rising costs that critics say have been driven sharply higher by Labour’s tax policies on independent education.

On January 21, the Royal High School confirmed that its prep department will shut after the summer term, ending provision for pupils from nursery to year four.

From September 2026, girls in years five and six will instead move to the senior school site on Lansdown Road.

The institution counts celebrity chef Dame Mary Berry among its former pupils and traces its roots back to 1865, when the Royal School for the Daughters of Officers was established with backing from Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale.

According to the Times, the school merged in 1998 with Bath High School, founded in 1875 and attended by Berry as a child. After the merger, the former Royal School campus became the senior site, while the Bath High grounds were used for younger pupils.

Headteacher Heidi-Jayne Boyes said the changes were designed to bolster the school’s future.

“This move strengthens every aspect of the educational experience we offer.

“By bringing all girls from Year 5 onwards onto one site, we are creating one vibrant, future-focused school community where every decision, from the curriculum to wellbeing provision, is shaped around how girls learn best.

“We are proud to be experts in girls’ education, and this change allows us to deepen that expertise for the benefit of all our students.”

Imogen Pudduck, chairwoman of governors and a former pupil, echoed that view.

“As an alumna, I know first-hand how transformative a Royal High education can be. This is an affirmative and ambitious move that strengthens our identity as a school designed for girls.

“This decision safeguards the future of the school and enhances the experience for generations of girls to come. More than ever, the world is a tough place for women. This move forms part of our mission to help girls live a life without limits.”

But in a letter to parents, reported by the Times, Ms Boyes pointed squarely to government measures, including “increasing costs with the introduction of VAT on school fees, removal of business rates relief and an increase in employer national insurance contributions”.

She added: “Over time, our cost base has risen faster than pupil numbers, coupled with a decline in birth rates nationally, which means market dynamics are rapidly changing.”

The school said the reorganisation would strengthen its position in future, language strikingly similar to that used by Warminster School earlier this month when it revealed plans to sell its own prep site.

Warminster announced that pupils would move from Vicarage Street to Weymouth House, in the centre of the senior campus, from September 2026. A spokesperson said the decision followed “extensive work” by governors and executives to secure long-term stability and improve prospects.

Last summer, Bishopstrow College near Warminster collapsed into administration alongside its parent company Inspiring Futures Education.

At the time, Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison branded the closure “terrible news” and attacked Labour’s approach to taxing private schools.

“Bishopstrow College brings in a lot of foreign income, employs a significant number of people locally and pays tax to the Treasury,” he said.

“All that has been ripped up by this lousy government’s imposition of VAT on education putting ideology ahead of managing the economy properly. Shameful.”

A government spokesperson replied: “Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help fund public services, including supporting the 94 per cent of children in state schools to achieve and thrive.” However, critics have dismissed this figure as it says it forces state education to pick up the bill.

---

Main Image: For illustration purposes only.