‘Expect a rescue package within weeks’: British private schools feel the squeeze as wealthy Russians are sanctioned

Britain’s private schools are facing a funding shortfall as sanctions on wealthy Russians tighten, according to reports in the Telegraph.

Institutions such as Eton and Harrow have been told they cannot accept fees or donations from clients on the sanctions lists, or from banks subject to an asset freeze.

Russians could also soon be banned from holding more than £50,000 in a British bank account, barely enough to cover the annual fee for a top-flight boarding school, with Boris Johnson’s former school charging up to £48,501 per year.

It could result in a funding shortfall for the schools.

According to the Independent School Census for 2021, there are around 2,300 Russian students at private schools across the country, out of a total of about 530,000 pupils.

With average fees at £13,700 last year, the schools could face a potential £31.5 million hit from the loss of Russian business.

Related: ‘We’re journalists!’: Harrowing footage shows Sky News reporters being shot at by Russian ‘death squad’