In a move possibly indicating how independent schools will try to soften Labour’s tax raid on fees, Ballard School in New Milton, Hampshire has assured parents that it will cover 100% of the VAT charge from January, absorbing the cost until September next year, Southern Daily Echo has reported.

Then, from September next year, the school will introduce a phased increase in parental contributions to cover VAT over the coming years.

Ballard School is a co-educational school for children from nursery to GCSE.

In a letter to the families of the school’s 460 pupils, as well as those starting in September, Ballard’s headmaster Andrew McCleave said: “The Governors and the Leadership Team have been discussing and planning for this for a considerable time, with the aim of supporting families, allowing them to plan effectively, and so reducing the disruption to our children’s education.

“Careful financial management and planning from the school’s Board of Governors and Leadership Team over a number of years means the school is in a strong financial position which has enabled us to support our community in this way.

“As well as absorbing the full impact for two full school terms, we will continue to support parents by only increasing fees incrementally over time to ensure our pupils’ education is not disturbed and ease the burden on hardworking families. We know many make tough choices to send their children to Ballard, and we are determined to help all our families through this.

“As a charity, any surplus is reinvested back into the school and the opportunities we provide for our pupils, and that will continue to be the case. Our commitment remains unwavering: to provide a holistic and inspirational education for our pupils and to support the whole school community, in line with our charitable aims.”