Tilda Swinton-founded school falls victim to Labour's VAT raid

Published: 19:43, 15 June 2026 | Updated: 19:47, 15 June 2026 A school linked to Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton is to close blaming Labour’s tax grab. The charity-run Drumduan School, near Forres in Moray, is set lock its doors forever as fee hikes imposed after the Westminster Government decision to charge VAT on private schools saw pupil numbers drop. It’s lower, middle and upper schools closed earlier this year amid the financial woes, but now its trustees announced its Kindergarten would also shut for the final time at the end of the month. A school spokesman said: ‘This decision follows a careful review of financial sustainability and reflects the trustees’ responsibilities to govern Drumduan. ‘Despite sustained efforts to secure alternative funding, we have not been able to establish the financial foundations necessary to continue. ‘It was not a decision taken lightly.’ The school is the latest victim to the controversial decision to charge VAT on private school fees, a decision many private schools criticised as harming the sector and forcing up fees. MSP Meghan Gallacher, Scottish Conservative education spokesman, said: ‘This vindictive tax from Labour is continuing directly to lead to a number of schools shutting their doors. Hollywood actress Tilda Swinton, pictured with daughter Honor Swinton Byrne, co-founded Drumduan School  ‘This school has laid the blame for their decision firmly on this policy which has been compounded by Rachel Reeves’ National Insurance hikes. ‘It is costing jobs and having an impact on the children that were reliant on this option. ‘Keir Starmer’s government should urgently review this short-sighted and counter-productive policy that piles costs on specialist schools and increases pressure on the state system.’ The lower and middle school closed in February this year, with the upper, which was co-founded by the Narnia star in 2013, also shutting for the final time in March. But Drumduan, which cost around £13,500 a year for senior pupils, has now announced its last remaining provision, the Kindergarten, will close on June 30 at the end of the summer term. The announcement followed the school's annual meeting on June 11. In a statement the trustees said the year to July 2025 was in many respects a ‘positive one’. But with Labour’s implementation of VAT on fees from January 2025, along with the previous removal of business rates relief, the hike in employer national insurance, and the rise in minimum wage, trustees ‘reluctantly’ approved a 20 per cent fee hike. In its statement the trustees said: ‘Following that increase, pupil numbers fell, as for many families the increase made fees unaffordable at a time of wider cost-of-living pressure, and numbers did not recover over the following months as had been hoped.’ Trustees said despite their best efforts the school and the Kindergarten could not remain open, and that without two exceptional one off donations the school recorded a deficit. Labour's decision to charge VAT on private schools has forced Drumduan School to close And they added: ‘At the same time, the combination of new VAT costs for families, a cost-of-living crisis affecting both family budgets and the school’s own running costs, and the cumulative effect of other pressures meant that the underlying position could not be sustained once pupil numbers fell.’ As a Steiner Waldorf school it offered a ‘holistic curriculum’ which ‘emphasises experiential learning and deep connection to nature’. Ms Swinton was famously involved with the school when her twins Xavier and Honor attended. She was a trustee of both the upper and lower schools, and co-founded the upper school with another parent. A UK Government spokesman said: ‘Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8billion a year by 2029/30 to support the 94 per cent of children in state schools to achieve and thrive. ‘It is for the Scottish Government to allocate their Barnett-based funding as they see fit.’ Is it fair for children’s education to suffer because of new taxes on private schools? 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