Private School Fees in the UK: What You Will Really Pay
Private school fees in the UK now average £6,226 a term for a day place, and that figure excludes VAT. Since 1 January 2025 schools have had to charge 20 per cent VAT on tuition and boarding, so the number that actually leaves your account is closer to £7,471 a term, or roughly £22,414 across a school year. This guide sets out what the sector average really is, how it changes by phase and region, what the extras add, and where fee assistance still exists.
The headline numbers
The authoritative source is the Independent Schools Council's annual Census, based on a survey of its member schools each January. The 2026 Census covers 1,455 UK schools and 526,611 pupils. Crucially, the ISC now collects fee data excluding VAT, so that year-on-year comparisons still work; every figure in its fee tables is a pre-VAT number.
For day pupils at day schools, the sector average is £6,226 a term. That rises through the phases, and it rises sharply if boarding is involved.
Adding the VAT
From 1 January 2025 private school tuition and boarding became standard-rated for VAT at 20 per cent. The ISC averages are pre-VAT, so the arithmetic below is ours, applying 20 per cent to its published figures. Treat it as the sector picture rather than a quote from any one school, because schools set their own fees and many absorbed part of the VAT rather than passing all of it on.
| Phase (day schools) | Per term, ex VAT | Per term with 20% VAT | Three terms with VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | £5,766 | £6,919 | £20,758 |
| Senior | £6,492 | £7,790 | £23,371 |
| Sixth form | £6,754 | £8,105 | £24,314 |
| All day schools | £6,226 | £7,471 | £22,414 |
| Boarding | £14,980 | £17,976 | £53,928 |
One point that catches families out: a day place at a boarding school is its own category, and it is not cheap. The ISC puts the average day fee at boarding schools at £8,611 a term before VAT, well above the £6,226 at day schools.
Where you live changes the number
Regional variation is wide. Among day schools, the ISC records average termly fees ranging from £4,473 in the North West to £7,580 in London. With VAT that is roughly £5,368 against £9,096 a term for the same nominal product. Those figures mix junior, senior and sixth form provision, so a region with lots of prep schools will look cheaper than it is for a secondary place, but the direction of travel is clear enough: London and the South East cost noticeably more.
How fast fees are rising
Comparing only the schools that completed the Census in both January 2025 and January 2026, the average fee increase was 4.4 per cent excluding VAT. That is the underlying rise, on top of the VAT that landed in January 2025. Boarding fees rose 4.2 per cent and day fees at boarding schools 4.0 per cent on the same basis.
The demand side has moved too. Pupil numbers at ISC schools fell by 19,029, or 3.5 per cent, between 2025 and 2026, to 526,611. On a like-for-like basis the fall was 3.8 per cent, with the sharpest declines in the key intake years of Reception, Year 7 and Year 12. Boarding numbers fell 8.2 per cent to 57,836.
The costs that are not the fee
The termly invoice is the start of it. Budget separately for:
- Registration and acceptance deposits. Usually a registration fee per application and a deposit on accepting a place, often credited against the final term's bill.
- Uniform and sports kit. Frequently from a single supplier, and frequently more than a state school equivalent.
- Trips and residentials. Often optional in theory and expected in practice.
- Individual music lessons, LAMDA and some clubs. Charged per lesson or per term on top.
- Exam entry fees, transport and wraparound care where the school charges separately.
- Termly notice. Most contracts require a full term's written notice to withdraw, so leaving mid-year can cost a term's fees.
The VAT treatment of these varies. Some closely related goods and services follow the fee and are taxed with it; others, such as exam fees, are treated differently. HMRC's own guidance is the place to check rather than an assumption.
Help with fees
Fee assistance is real and larger than most people expect. The 2026 Census records 183,705 pupils, or 34.9 per cent of the total, receiving some form of help, with a total value of £2.1 billion. Schools themselves provide £1.1 billion of that, or 55.4 per cent, with the balance coming from external sources, a share that has grown because of local authority funding for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans.
In practice that support splits into means-tested bursaries, which are assessed on household income and assets and can cover most or occasionally all of a fee, and scholarships, which are awarded for academic, music, sport or art ability and are often worth a modest percentage of the fee rather than the whole thing. Apply early, apply to several schools, and expect a detailed financial assessment.
If you are weighing a selective state route alongside this, our guide to school admissions in England explains how the state application timetable works. For more on choosing and comparing schools, browse Schools Insight.
Frequently asked questions
How much are private school fees in the UK?
The ISC Census 2026 puts the average day-school fee at £6,226 a term excluding VAT. Adding 20 per cent VAT takes that to about £7,471 a term, or roughly £22,414 a year across three terms. Boarding averages £14,980 a term before VAT.
Do private schools charge VAT on fees?
Yes. Since 1 January 2025 tuition and boarding at private schools in the UK have been standard-rated for VAT at 20 per cent. Published fee tables from the ISC exclude VAT, so check whether any figure you are quoted is inclusive.
Why are ISC fee figures shown without VAT?
So that year-on-year comparison still works and so the data covers schools outside the UK or pupils not affected by the policy. The ISC asked all schools to report fees excluding VAT from the 2025 Census onwards.
How much have private school fees gone up?
Among schools that completed the Census in both January 2025 and January 2026, average fees rose 4.4 per cent excluding VAT. That increase sits on top of the VAT introduced in January 2025.
Which region has the cheapest private schools?
On ISC figures the North West has the lowest average day-school fee at £4,473 a term before VAT, and London the highest at £7,580. Those averages combine junior, senior and sixth form provision, so compare individual schools rather than regions.
Can I get help with private school fees?
Often, yes. In 2026, 183,705 pupils, 34.9 per cent of the total, received some fee assistance worth £2.1 billion in all. Means-tested bursaries are the substantial form of help; scholarships tend to be smaller percentage awards for ability.
Sources
- ISC Census and Annual Report 2026 (PDF), for the 1,455 schools and 526,611 pupils, the 3.5 per cent fall, Table 5.1 average termly fees by phase, the 4.4 per cent fee increase, the regional range from £4,473 to £7,580, and the £2.1 billion of fee assistance
- HMRC: charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees, for what is and is not caught by the VAT change
Checked on 16 September 2026. ISC figures are January 2026 averages excluding VAT; the VAT-inclusive columns are our own arithmetic at 20 per cent and are not quotes from any individual school.