Exclusive:King Charles' former boarding school in Scotland reveals major VAT-linked fee rise

The announcement follows fee rises at four major Edinburgh private schools

The Scottish boarding school attended by King Charles has revealed a range of fee rises of up to 15.67 per cent in the wake of Labour’s decision to end the sector’s VAT exemption.

A spokesperson for Gordonstoun said the school had been able to avoid passing the full 20 per cent VAT charge onto parents by looking at new revenue streams, as well as international expansion and cost controls.

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Gordonstoun was one of two Scottish schools to make the listGordonstoun was one of two Scottish schools to make the list
Gordonstoun was one of two Scottish schools to make the list | (Photo by Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Increases will depend on year groups, but will range from zero to 15.67 per cent. The announcement comes after The Scotsman revealed details of the fee rises planned at four major private schools in Edinburgh.

Parents of pupils at the Mary Erskine School and Stewart’s Melville College have been asked to pay 16.2 per cent extra from January, the Edinburgh Academy is hiking fees by 18 per cent, while at St George’s they will go up by 15.2 per cent.

King Charles attended Gordonstoun in the 1960s, on the recommendation of his father, Prince Philip, who was one of the school’s first pupils.

King Charles III. Credit: GettyKing Charles III. Credit: Getty
King Charles III. Credit: Getty | POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A spokesperson for the school in Duffus, Moray, said: “We are committed to ensuring the standard of our world-leading education and pastoral care remains affordable and accessible to as wide a range of children as possible.

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“Gordonstoun is required to pay 20 per cent VAT on school fees from January 2025, but through exploration of new revenue streams, international expansion and robust cost control, we are able to reduce our fees, before tax, to provide some relief for our families.

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“Overall increases including VAT, depending on year group, will range from zero to 15.67 per cent. Further funds have also been made available to our existing bursary provision to assist our current families who can no longer afford their child’s place at Gordonstoun.”

Earlier this month, The Scotsman reported how a former pupil of Gordonstoun had come up with a plan to help protect the school’s bursary scheme.

Graham Hadley, who attended the school at the same time as Charles III, holds the registered trademark in the name of Mary, Queen of Scots, which applies to eight separate commercial classes, including cashmere, ceramics, confectionery, beer, jam, leather goods and whisky.

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The Edinburgh University law graduate, who previously worked on the London Stock Exchange, has offered to transfer the trademark in confectionery, which is mainly for shortbread and fudge, to the school.

It means Gordonstoun will own the trademark and can license it out to a company that wants to produce a Mary, Queen of Scots brand of shortbread, in exchange for a royalty. “That could create a nice gentle income to go into the bursary fund,” he said.

The UK government has said the ending of the VAT exemption will raise £1.6 billion a year for reinvestment in the state education sector.

In an interview with Sky News this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denied his government was engaging in “class war”.

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He said: “I do know that people watching this will save hard to send their child to a private school because they think that is the best thing for their child, but every single parent wants opportunity and aspiration for their child.

“And I think that we haven’t had the right number of teachers in basic subjects, maths etc, in our state secondary schools. I am not prepared to tolerate that for our state schools.”

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