The challenge for independent schools is not Brexit!

It’s certainly been an interesting few days culminating with England crashing in glorious and ironic glory out of the Euros. At MTM we have taken the time to consult with Mark Taylor, an immigration lawyer from the Taylor Partnership, on his expert opinion of the challenges for independent schools following the Brexit decision ….

The challenge for independent schools is not Brexit!

However, I can’t get away from a bit of a feeling of sadness (the only decision that can be worse than this one would be the election of President Trump. Let’s hold our breath for that one). Working with the independent school sector, I know that registrars and admissions staff throughout the UK have an increasingly uphill task on the international recruitment market. The competition from Canada, USA, Australia and an increasing number of European countries is fierce and Brexit has given them a gift that they will ruthlessly exploit for their own advantage.

I meet educational agents worldwide who complain that UK school fees are high and the visa system is complex (which, by the way, is an urban myth). They and parents now have a new gripe – will the UK actually welcome people from overseas? How will the message of Brexit be interpreted by overseas students, their parents and agents? Are we saying that the UK is closed to non-Brits?

How do we challenge this (and address my sadness)? We need to positively “sell” the UK: it still has one of the best education systems in the world and, if you were a student coming from outside the EEA, the UK was already outside of the Schengen zone and a new visa to travel in the EU was always required. No change there then.

If a student is coming from Europe, there were no visa restrictions before the EU. Why would we have them now? Many EU countries rely on British holidaymakers. Are they going to make it difficult for us to travel there? Rationally, would we want to stop tourists coming here? Unless I misheard it in what appeared to be the endless weeks of campaigning, the Brexiteers were concerned about work and benefits. I did not hear anything regarding students or tourists. Are we going to ask all EU citizens to leave – including those (the vast majority) who are working and paying taxes? If so, where will be put the population of ex pats from the south of Spain as they are returned? Rationally, whatever the ideology, practically can things change?  

Of course we are in unchartered waters and there is a great deal of uncertainty but, in reality, Brexit is probably not going to be as bad as the merchants of doom advocate and nor will it be as “liberating” as the EU revolutionists would like it to be. Apart from the perception issue, I cannot envisage that – in terms of visas and immigration – that things will change dramatically if at all.

The challenge for independent schools is not Brexit. There are bigger challenges. How can independent schools become more competitive in terms of cost? Can they collaborate with neighbouring schools and share the costs of HR, ground maintenance, financial administration, marketing? We need to challenge the myths of the immigration system. Tier 4 is relatively straight forward. Either you have the documents (in which case the application succeeds) or you do not (in which case it fails). There is no cap on the number of students. After University, overseas students can transfer from Tier 4 to Tier 2 with ease (as long as they are earning more than £20,800 per annum). Even in if there was a restriction on EU citizens, a visa route would be designed to allow them to work.

Rather than a feeling of sadness, perhaps I ought to concentrate on promoting the UK as the Rolls Royce of Europe.

Mark Taylor (Executive Director – The Taylor Partnership) mark@ttplaw.co.uk

After studying Modern History at Wadham College, Oxford University – Mark started his professional career in shipping insurance initially working in the City of London but then moved to Italy for 5 years and, later, to Brazil for 4 years. He returned to the UK and worked for a UK Member of Parliament for a number of years – working with the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Council of Europe – before setting up The Taylor Partnership in 2008.