National Theatre ‘discriminates' against private school pupils with ‘two-tier' pricing
The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare company have been accused of 'two-tier' discrimination for charging private school children more than state school pupils.
Britain's flagship theatre – whose new artistic director attended a fee-paying school – is charging privately educated pupils an extra 20pc for group bookings compared to state schools.
A similar policy is employed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) which charges private school pupils 60pc more than children at state schools.
Both theatre companies have charged the premium for several years, but the policy has come under renewed scrutiny amid fears Labour's VAT raid is encouraging discrimination against children who attend independent schools.
It follows reports of an eight-year-old boy being turned away from the NHS because he went to private school.
On Friday, senior MPs and campaigners urged the Charity Commission to investigate the two drama organisations, describing the charging policy as 'two-tier' and 'socio-economic social engineering'.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, told The Telegraph: 'This is disgusting discrimination and without a doubt is a form of two-tier pricing. This Labour government has launched an abhorrent class war against private schools, and policies like this should be reversed.'
Stuart Andrews, shadow culture secretary, said: 'I have a huge amount of respect for the National Theatre, so this is particularly disappointing to see.
'Despite receiving tens of millions in public funding, this feels like clear price discrimination – penalising private school pupils based on crude assumptions about wealth.
'Publicly funded institutions have a duty to widen access, not reinforce stereotypes or engage in socio-economic social engineering.'
Both theatres said the pricing policy was a longstanding practice, and that it was part of its commitment to widening access to the arts.
Under its group booking system, the National Theatre offers discounted rates to school bookings for performances during term time between Monday and Thursday.
The theatre charges £10 per ticket for a state school child, and £12 for those who attend private schools.
The 20pc ticket price disparity comes despite the National Theatre's recent appointment of Indhu Rubasingham as artistic director. Ms Rubasingham grew up in Mansfield, and attended Nottingham Girls' High School – a fee-paying school.
The prestigious all-girls private school counts The Archers actress, June Spencer, and the former director general of MI5, Stella Rimington, among its alumnae.
Meanwhile, the RSC charges state school children £10 to attend performances, while private school pupils must pay £16.50.
The Telegraph understands the policy was first introduced in June 2022. Previously, it did not discriminate between school children.
Andrew Leveson, the RSC's executive director, was educated at University College School Hampstead, a fee-paying school.
Data provided by the Independent Schools Council census, which measures the responses of its 1,400 members, found around a third of private school pupils receive financial support.
A 2021 report by UCL also found among the wealthiest 5pc of families in the UK, 85pc do not send their children to private schools.
A spokesman for Education Not Taxation, a group representing 25,000 private school parents, said: 'It is disappointing to see the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company discriminate against children who attend independent schools.
'They should encourage all children to embrace the arts, rather than forcing children to pay the price for the biases of these charities. We also urge the Charity Commission to investigate and address this issue.'
A spokesman for the National Theatre said: 'State school tickets are £2 less than for independent schools (£10 and £12), and both are considerably lower than the market rate.
'This is part of our commitment to widening access for young people to world class theatre. This enables us to welcome as many students as possible at a time when schools across the country face challenging financial pressures which limit extracurricular activity.'
A spokesman for the Royal Shakespeare Company said: 'Prices for private schools are at a slightly higher rate due to the differences in budgets that are available between state-maintained schools and schools in the independent sector, a policy which we have maintained for several years.
'However, we also recognise that there are many different kinds of independent schools and for smaller schools, as well as for schools that focus on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We are looking at how we can make appropriate adjustments, as part of our work to regularly review our pricing policies.'
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