Maidwell Hall School has announced it is set to close this year (Image: David Goddard/ Getty Images and Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
A school once attended by ’s brother is being forced to close this year after Labour’s brutal tax raid.
Maidwell Hall School, famously attended by Charles Spencer in the 1970s, announced the decision to parents in a letter on Tuesday. They blamed Labour’s VAT raid for the decision.
The school, which is set to shut in July, said that tax spikes had made existing financial problems for the 114-year-old school worse, with the establishment in Northamptonshire having been operating at a loss for several years.
, the school also said it “received further blows last November, when the announcement of VAT on school fees and the elimination of business rates relief was confirmed in the Budget”.
The Government’s tax raid on private schools came into effect on January 1, which meant schools are now subject to 20 percent VAT on fees.
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Barbara Matthews, who chairs the trustees at Maidwell Hall, said that Rachel Reeves’ decision to raise National Insurance contributions for employers was another factor prompting the school’s “unavoidable” decision, despite the fact it had merged with the top public boarding school Uppingham three years ago.
The publication reports that a statutory consultation on the proposed closure will take place and a meeting will be held for parents.
It is believed other private schools may also be set to close due to the new tax rules put in force.
The latest hit to the school comes after Earl Spencer shared details in his memoir A Very Private School last year he suffered at the exclusive prep school in Northamptonshire.
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The private school has been hit by tax increases introduced by the Labour government (Image: David Goddard/ Getty Images)
Since the release of the book in 2024, as part of a police investigation. She has since been bailed while the investigation continues.
Maidwell Hall said in a statement after the book was published: “It is difficult to read about practices which were, sadly, sometimes believed to be normal and acceptable at that time.
“Almost every facet of school life has evolved significantly since the 1970s. At the heart of the changes is the safeguarding of children and promotion of their welfare.”
The school added that it had referred allegations to the “local authority designated officer” and urged anyone with similar stories to contact the officer or the police.