U.K. Private Schools Win Court Victory on ‘Benefit Test’

British private schools won a major battle Friday in their showdown with regulators over what public benefit the academies must demonstrate to preserve their charitable status, the BBC and Agence France-Presse report.

The High Court in London ordered the regulatory Charity Commission to rewrite guidelines on public benefit to reflect a wider array of activities undertaken by the schools.

The Independent Schools Council, which represents more than 1,200 institutions, has argued that the rules put too much weight on the number of free placements schools offer to poor students.

The court ruled that schools must demonstrate public good beyond just educating children to justify their tax exemptions and should provide “more than a token benefit” to the poor, but it said the institutions and their trustees should have more say about how to meet that obligation.

The schools’ group welcomed the decision, which its attorney, Matthew Burgess, said “liberates schools to innovate and be creative in their charitable provision.” The Charity Commission called the ruling a “draw,” noting that it affirmed the academies’ legal obligation to provide a wider public benefit.