The debate: Would Labour’s plan to tax private school fees work?

Absolutely, yes. I mean, obviously there are kids who come from incredibly wealthy parents at my school, but there are a lot of kids whose parents are university staff and academics, and there’s a lot of kids whose parents are doctors.

I think the demographic of people that are going to private schools is changing. I think there’s a lot of international demand that is kind of maintaining that.

I think the exodus is going to be a bigger problem than we realise. Because, on the one hand, I understand that lots of parents may not pull their kids out immediately. Particularly, let’s say, if they’re in the middle of year 10, in the middle of GCSEs for example.

But I think there are a lot of parents who will be kind of thinking “Oh, actually, I’m not sure I am going to send my kids to private school if there is a 20% increase in fees” and all that does is push the house prices up next to those really attractive state schools.

I don’t think this is the easy win for social mobility that it is perhaps being portrayed as.