Shakespeare's Globe accused of charging private school pupils more for workshops
Campaigners say Shakespeare's Globe and other London cultural institutions charge fee-paying schools more for educational visits. The Bank of England defended its state-school-only presentations.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Shakespeare's Globe on London's South Bank has been accused of discriminating against pupils at fee-paying schools through its school workshop pricing. Evening StandardN “Organisations across London, including Shakespeare’s Globe on the South Bank, have been accused of discriminating against pupils at fee-paying establishments when it comes to school trips.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “Shakespeare's Globe has been accused of discriminating against private school pupils with its "divisive" ticket pricing.” Read at GB News ↗ Mixed · 2The Evening Standard reports the Globe charges state schools £12 per pupil for workshops and "other UK schools" £14, a £2 difference; GB News describes £12 for state schools and £14 per private pupil, with international students at £16. Evening StandardN “State schools are charged at £12 per pupil, with “other UK schools” billed at £14 per student.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “It offers state schools tickets at £12 per student, while the institution demands £14 per private pupil. Tickets for international students sit at £16.” Read at GB News ↗ Centre · 1The Standard names other London venues with similar policies: the Horniman Museum and Gardens, the William Morris Gallery and the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Evening StandardN “Others in the capital with a similar policy include the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill, the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow and the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1Its examples include the Horniman at £100 with VAT for a state-school group against £140 for private schools, and the Quentin Blake Centre at £200 per 90-minute workshop for state schools with independent schools paying £87.50 more. Evening StandardN “the Horniman in south-east London costs £100 with VAT for a group of pupils from a state school, while private schools pay £140.”“Independent schools pay £87.50 more for the same experience.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1The Bank of England only offers its 45-minute museum presentations to state schools; it said all schools are "very welcome" but that it aims its "limited resources" at pupils with less access to economics education. Evening StandardN “The Bank of England defended its policy of only permitting state school pupils access to its 45-minute presentations when visiting its museum.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Right · 1GB News adds that the National Space Academy, funded by the Government's UK Space Agency, charges private schools £200 more than state schools for a four-hour masterclass, and £250 against £150 for an assembly talk. GB NewsR “the National Space Academy, which is funded by the Government's UK Space Agency, forces private schools to pay £200 more than state schools for a four-hour physics and science "masterclass".”“For a talk at a school assembly, the academy charges £250 for private schools and £150 for state schools, on top of travel costs.” Read at GB News ↗
Centre · 1The campaign group Education Not Taxation, set up in protest at the Labour government's removal of the 20% VAT relief on private school fees, called this a "divisive approach". Its chairman Tony Perry told the Telegraph it does "nothing to reduce inequality" and can penalise lower-income children on bursaries. Evening StandardN “Campaigners at the Education Not Taxation group, set-up in protest against the Labour government’s decision to scrap the 20% VAT relief on private school fees, urged cultural institutions to end what it called a “divisive approach” to pricing school trips.”“It can penalise children from lower-income families who attend independent schools on bursaries” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Perry suggested concessionary rates for children on free school meals or in highly deprived areas as a fairer, more targeted approach. Evening StandardN “Mr Perry suggested that a fairer and “more targeted” approach would be to offer concessionary rates to children on free school meals or living in areas of high deprivation.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Right · 1GB News says parents and private-school staff blame Labour's VAT policy for the "two-tier pricing", and that it has approached the National Space Academy and the Globe for comment; no response from the Globe is reported. GB NewsR “Parents and employees within the private school community have piled blame onto Labour for the "two-tier pricing" after the Government slapped VAT on independents.”“GB News has approached the National Space Academy and the Shakespeare's Globe for comment.” Read at GB News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Reports the accusation as a London-wide story about cultural venues, with figures for several venues and the Bank of England's detailed defence.
- Emphasis
- Venue-by-venue price comparisons and the Bank of England's rationale.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No Globe response; does not link the pricing to Labour's VAT policy beyond describing the campaign group.
- Charged language
- “two-tier pricing”“discriminating”
- For example
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“Cultural centres and museums in London are charging private schools more for visits in a policy that campaigners argue amounts to “two-tier” pricing.” — Evening Standard
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Leads on the Globe and ties the pricing to Labour's VAT on private schools, adding the National Space Academy and National Theatre pricing.
- Emphasis
- Government-funded bodies, parents' blame of Labour, and the Globe's own wording about access.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Omits the Bank of England's defence and the other London venues; gives no Globe response.
- Charged language
- “divisive”“slapped VAT”“skyrockets”“forces private schools”
- For example
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“Parents and employees within the private school community have piled blame onto Labour for the "two-tier pricing" after the Government slapped VAT on independents.” — GB News
What every side reports
- The Globe charges state schools £12 per pupil for workshops and more for other schools.
- Education Not Taxation chairman Tony Perry criticised the pricing as a two-tier approach, speaking to the Telegraph.
- The campaign group was formed in protest at VAT on private school fees.
Where accounts differ
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What the Globe charges non-state schools
- Centre
- £12 per pupil for state schools and £14 for "other UK schools".
- Right
- £12 for state schools and £14 per private pupil, with £16 for international students.
Shakespeare's Globe organisation
No response from the Globe is reported; GB News says it has approached it for comment. Its workshop pricing is cited as £12 for state schools and £14 for other schools.
“GB News has approached the National Space Academy and the Shakespeare's Globe for comment.” — GB News
“The Globe charges £2 more per head for school workshops when it comes to fee-paying pupils.” — Evening Standard
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
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Shakespeare's Globe accused of 'discriminating' with higher school trip fees for private pupils
Neutral Attributes the accusation to campaigners and includes the Bank of England's defence.
Right1 article
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GB NewsR ·
Critical Presents the pricing as discriminatory and links it to Labour's VAT policy.
- 10 Oct 14:31 First Evening StandardN Shakespeare's Globe accused of 'discriminating' with higher school trip fees for private pupils
- 10 Oct 14:43 +12m GB NewsR Shakespeare's Globe accused of discriminating against private school pupils with 'divisive' ticket pricing
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.