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    Explore "privateschools" with insightful episodes like "The great private school con | Audio Long Reads" and "Help We're On Tour In Bristol" from podcasts like ""The New Statesman Podcast" and "Help I Sexted My Boss"" and more!

    Episodes (2)

    The great private school con | Audio Long Reads

    The great private school con | Audio Long Reads

    They no longer have a stranglehold on Oxbridge and would lose tax breaks under Labour. So what is elite education really selling?


    At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in October, the Independent Schools Council hosted a forlorn drinks reception: not one of the more than 40 MPs showed up. ‘We are not the enemy,’ one private school headmaster complained to a sympathetic Daily Mail. But if Labour does win the next general election, it has committed to removing tax breaks on business rates and 20% VAT on private school fees – raising £1.6bn to be invested in state schools. On top of this, Starmer’s cabinet (as it stands) would be the most state-educated in history – with only 13% having attended private school (against Rishi Sunak’s 63%). Can elite education survive – and cling on to its charitable status?


    In this week’s audio long read – the last in this series – the New Statesman’s features editor Melissa Denes attends three school open days to understand how these winds of change might affect them. She also follows the money, calculating that – allowing for tax breaks - the average taxpayer subsidises an Eton schoolboy at a far higher rate than a state school one. As the gaps in spending between the two sectors grow, and society strives to become more fair, will an expensive education evolve into a luxury service rather than a charitable concern?


    Written and read by Melissa Denes.


    This article originally appeared in the 10-16 November edition of the New Statesman; you can read the text version here.


    If you enjoyed listening to this article, you might also enjoy The decline of the British university by Adrian Pabst.



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    Help We're On Tour In Bristol

    Help We're On Tour In Bristol
    For the latest leg of the tour, William and Jordan have returned to the spiritual home of the executive producer. Jordan is taken on a tour of (the outside of) William's school, 'parps' William's car horn and it all ends with an old-fashioned sing song - what more could you want?

    Join Sexted Extra and laugh along to William Hanson and Jordan North helping you navigate the challenges of modern life ad free at https://plus.acast.com/s/sextedmyboss.



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.