11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi, We have spent a fortune on musical instruments and it has been worth it. For the latest one, the music shop suggested we use the AIP (Assisted Instrument purchase scheme) where the school can help by saving us VAT. The bursar is polite but very unresponsive. Grateful if anybody has had similar experience or advice. We will save about £350!

We used this scheme a couple of times and yes it saved us a fair bit. I think that the child has to be in state school, or at least taught by a registered county music teacher. That raises an interesting question actually as the county music service in our county was disbanded a couple of years ago and all the staff had to re-apply for their jobs as freelancers. As I recall, which may be wrongly, we had to fill in a form and send it with the receipt for the instruments to the music service, who sent a cheque for the VAT.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vatgpbma ... pb7825.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe as Amber suggests you fall foul of some of the conditions. The bursar cannot do it unless you meet all the conditions set out above.

Next best thing if you don't qualify is probably:

http://www.takeitaway.org.uk/what-is-take-it-away/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for your replies. DDs grammar is now technically an academy and the following seems to apply

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vateduma ... U70000.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The school is not registered for VAT, so they have to follow the guidance on the VAT 126 form which the bursar agreed to. Its just that they are dragging their heels on this when I think they should be eager to help us. I dont know what to do except to keep emailing her. Should I talk to the head?

modernista wrote:Thanks for your replies. DDs grammar is now technically an academy and the following seems to apply

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vateduma ... U70000.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The school is not registered for VAT, so they have to follow the guidance on the VAT 126 form which the bursar agreed to. Its just that they are dragging their heels on this when I think they should be eager to help us. I dont know what to do except to keep emailing her. Should I talk to the head?

Probably best to talk to the head of music/or the child's music teacher/orchestra co coordinator. They will presumably have to request that the instrument is purchased for your dc and is appropriate for their needs. The bursar will then have to sort out the paperwork, buy the instrument, raise an invoice for you to pay without the vat.

We purchased our son's trumpet through the school but it was new to him, so I doubt the vat man was involved.

Thanks for the advice about talking to music head/ teachers. They are great but I dont know how much influence they would have but no harm trying

If all the regulations etc are met by the transaction you require I would request an appointment with the bursar where you will appear with the crisp cash in notes and he / she will place the order and you can check it is for the right instrument. If the bursar still sounds unwilling I would ask them what the problem is. Then handle the answer diplomatically at the same time as trying to move up the chain of command. You could enquire who the bursar's line manager is - there is possibly someone between them and the head. It may be that the bursar has been told not to do transactions of this nature for some obscure reason and you will have to sort it out with someone higher up.

The bursar just refused saying that they do not have the resources to do this. She claims that she has looked into the regulations but I dont think that is the issue. The local music service cant help as DD is in an academy and they can only help with state maintained schools (not academies/ private schools). Maybe I should ask DDs music teachers who to talk to to lean on the bursar.

I must admit that was my understanding of it too. I think maybe with limited resources this is one thing which may, unfortunately, drop off the end. Music is a very low priority in some places these days- I predict that in the near future many schools will stop offering it altogether. Which would be a tragedy and an indictment on our results-driven education system.