Number of Foreign Students at UK Boarding Schools Falls by 10%

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, June 24, 2026

International student enrollment in UK boarding schools dropped by about 10 percent between January 2025 and January 2026, largely due to the introduction of VAT on school fees. This decline has led to concerns over the UK's global education reputation, job losses, and calls from the Boarding Schools’ Association for the government to repeal the tax.

The number of international students enrolled at UK boarding schools has declined by around 10 percent over the past year, according to recent data from the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA). This decrease has prompted concerns among education sector representatives, who largely attribute the drop to the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) on school fees in January 2025.

The ISC’s annual census, conducted in January 2026 across approximately 1,400 schools, revealed that the number of non-British pupils with overseas parents decreased from 25,526 in January 2025 to 22,941 in January 2026. Of these, 93 percent were boarders, marking a significant reduction. This follows a prior decline of 2.6 percent in international enrolments the previous year. The proportion of boarders with overseas parents also fell slightly from 4.7 percent to 4.4 percent of the total ISC pupil population.

Visa application figures further reflect this downward trend. Home Office data obtained by the BSA showed that visa applications for independent boarding schools dropped by more than 25 percent from 16,685 in 2023-24 to 12,473 in 2024-25, representing the lowest level in at least a decade outside of the pandemic years.

The impact has been most pronounced among students from key overseas markets. The number of pupils from Hong Kong declined by over 30 percent in the last year, while those from China fell by 25 percent. Spain and Germany also experienced double-digit percentage decreases, with the United States seeing a smaller decline of more than 5 percent.

Boarding schools have faced particular challenges as a result of the VAT policy. Robin Fletcher, chief executive of the BSA, emphasized that taxing boarding fees has affected the UK's reputation as a destination for global education. He cautioned that the long-term consequences could undermine the country’s educational soft power. Fletcher also noted that some schools have been compelled to close boarding facilities or cease boarding altogether, leading to job losses and impacting local communities. He called on the government to reverse the VAT on boarding school fees.

Despite the tuition fee increases of 4.4 percent in 2025 (excluding VAT), boarding schools now charge an average £44,940 per year, while day school fees average £18,678 annually. The number of gender-specific schools also declined; boys-only schools decreased from 93 to 79, and girls-only schools fell from 151 to 127 over the past year.

The debate over the VAT policy has elicited mixed responses. A Labour Party spokesperson questioned the argument for offering tax reliefs to wealthier foreign families, suggesting such measures do not align with public sentiment regarding tax expenditures.

The Department for Education was contacted for comment but did not provide a response by the time of publication.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.