The impact of VAT on private school fees has led to yet another closure as St Joseph’s Park Hill School in Burnley announced it would shut its doors this summer.

The ‘excellent’-rated £8,457-a-year private Catholic school, which opened in 1913, has seen pupil numbers dwindle by a third in recent years, with 128 children currently enrolled.

Sister Bernadette Holmes, leader of the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy, said: “With great sadness we have announced that St Joseph’s Park Hill School, Burnley, will be closing its doors at the end of the summer term 2025.

“St Joseph’s Park Hill has always been a special place that has made a real impact on generations of children and a positive contribution to the wider community.”

She said despite the best efforts of those connected with the school, its future was deemed ‘unsustainable’.

And the school cited the additional VAT on fees as one reason for students being removed.

Under the Government’s plans, annual fees would increase to more than £10,000 per pupil.

A declining birth rate, the impact of an increase of employers’ National Insurance contributions, and the removal of business rates relief for independent schools, are also behind the decision.