Independent Schools Council

The ISC brings together seven associations to represent over 1,400 independent schools, educating more than 500,000 children. RT/quotes do not = endorsement.

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We are thrilled to announce our fourth speaker for our upcoming Independent Schools SEND Conference: James Garside!

James will explore the key legal challenges facing school leaders and SEND professionals today.

To find out more, visit the IAPS website: https://t.co/Kd5bWGX9cP

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Malvern College and Chelsea Football Club have launched the Midlands' first Chelsea Development Programme, allowing young footballers – both boys and girls at Malvern College and The Downs Malvern – to combine an enhanced sporting pathway with a leading independent education ⚽

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We're very pleased to announce Samantha Dholakia as our third seminar speaker for our Independent Schools SEND Conference!

To find out more and book tickets, visit the IAPS website: https://t.co/6SLq77dHek

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Howzat! 🏏👕

Hurstpierpoint College sisters Honor and Cat Black founded Maiden in 2024 to create cricket kit specifically for women and girls.

It now sells to clubs, schools and cricket organisations across the UK, and has the support of all five dragons from Dragons' Den.

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We're excited to announce Domini Choudhury as our second seminar speaker for our upcoming Independent Schools SEND conference!

For more information on Domini's session and booking details, visit the IAPS website: https://t.co/6SLq77dHek

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Dragons' Den next?

It's been a remarkable year for Young Enterprise teams at @ChanningSchool. The Highgate school took their student-led ventures, Interlinked and Seeds & Greetings, a joint effort with @StAloysiusC, all the way to the UK National Finals in Cardiff.

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

It was a pleasure to be involved in this, and the findings are definitely worth a read. Click the link below.

[Parentkind @Parentkind]

A big thank you to our 2026 National Parent Survey patron, @ISC_schools,  for their support in helping us amplify the voices of UK parents. 

📆 Read The National Parent Survey 2026: https://t.co/MMJUqB8BJL

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We’re thrilled to announce Frances Akinde as our first seminar speaker for the Independent Schools SEND Conference!

Frances’ session will explore how assistive tech and AI can support SEND leaders and classroom practitioners.

Book your place here: https://t.co/UGOa44Wum1

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

And here we were thinking our painting by numbers effort was quite good...!
Pupils of @LuckleyHouse School in Wokingham have set the bar very high indeed with outstanding achievements in this year's ISA Digital Art Competition 🎨+🖌️+💻=🖼️

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Partnerships are part of what independent schools offer and one branch of that is music. It is something Lord Black is passionate about and he used it in his argument for a review into VAT on school fees during the Lords debate.
#IndependentSchools #VATReview #MusicInSchools

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Lord Shinkwin focused on SEND in the Lords debate into VAT on independent school fees. He said: "Nowhere is [the counterintuitive nature of the policy] more apparent than the case of pupils with SEND. They and their hard-pressed families deserve not just an answer but a rethink."

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

This is how Baroness Cash's speech in the House of Lords debate on VAT and independent school fees ended:
"I support the call for a review into this policy. To add one last thing, I can reassure my noble friend, Lord Black that we will, and have pledged to, repeal this policy."

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Do @LboroFairfield Prep have a future chess grandmaster on their hands? Year 6 pupil Tara has reached the finals of the UK Open Blitz Championships, a major UK tournament, for the second successive year. She came top in her qualifying round at Nottingham.
Brilliant stuff!

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

This is Lord Fuller speaking in the House of Lords on the debate about VAT on independent school fees. He talks of the unseen damage done to the staff, to the towns where these schools support the local economy and to the national economy itself.
https://t.co/1FMHXVrs3n

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Lord Alton: "Taxing education is simply wrong in principle. It is a breach of human rights and in the EU, it would breach Article 132 of their VAT directive, which exempts education from tax.
"Our starting point should be encouraging diversity and parental choice is a good."

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We are asking the government to review the net fiscal cost of their VAT policy on independent school fees. A debate was held in the House of Lords on Thursday on that subject, led by Lord Lexden, with Lord Alton speaking in support. This is what he had to say:

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

He also mentioned an analysis by BiGGAR Economics that was commissioned by @SCISschools, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Not only did it suggest a net loss of £16m to the public finances this year, it estimates that figure could grow to £181m over time.

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Lord Lexden led a debate in the House of Lords last week on the impact of VAT on independent schools. He argued that the policy was an "imposition" and that "a review is essential", before ending by saying "surely every child and every school matters".

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

This is Lord Fuller speaking in the House of Lords on the debate about VAT on independent school fees. He talks of the unseen damage done to the staff, to the towns where these schools support the local economy and to the national economy itself.
https://t.co/1FMHXVrs3n

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Lord Alton (cont): "Lord Lexden was right to ask the House to consider all this again, and to reiterate the need to value all schools, state or independent, and I hope we will have a review of this policy that he rightly called for."

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

We are asking the government to review the net fiscal cost of their VAT policy on independent school fees. A debate was held in the House of Lords on Thursday on that subject, led by Lord Lexden, with Lord Alton speaking in support. This is what he had to say:

[Lord (David) Alton @DavidAltonHL]

I urged the Government to reassess its education tax which has led to 30,000 children having to leave independent schools and dozens of schools having to close. This is the result of a divisive policy based on ideology rather than diversity and choice.

[Independent Schools Council @ISC_schools]

Lord Alton: "Taxing education is simply wrong in principle. It is a breach of human rights and in the EU, it would breach Article 132 of their VAT directive, which exempts education from tax.
"Our starting point should be encouraging diversity and parental choice is a good."