A Scottish boarding school has announced plans to accept fees in Bitcoin. It will be the first school in the UK to do so. We discuss the implications in the article below.
An independent school in the United Kingdom has become the first to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for fees. This was announced on April 11th and will be available to both domestic and international students. The principal, Claire Chisholm, has stated that both current and prospective parents at school recruitment fairs over the past few years have expressed interest. However, it will only accept payment in Bitcoin and is not considering other cryptocurrencies.
The Changing Face of Private Education
She also added that “The school consistently embraces innovation and adapts to the changing times, always responding to our parents’ needs.” The school has previously been known as the only place in Scotland that currently provides the International Baccalaureate, an alternative to A levels widely used across global British International schools.
The school is situated in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute. Generally, the school has 360 pupils at any one time. These can range from nursery pupils all the way to 18-year-olds ready to move on to higher education.
The current Bitcoin price USD is lying around the $84,588 mark. This has followed months of volatility, in which it reached record highs. However, since the start of the year, it has been declining, mainly due to macroeconomic conditions and the threat of tariffs in the United States. Fees can reach £38,000 for international students who are boarding at Lomond School. This works out at $50,364, which is around about 0.60 BTC per year given the current prices.
Counteracting this volatility will be imperative. To do this, they have said that Bitcoin will be converted into GBP using secure service providers immediately. They will also comply with laws on anti-money laundering. This ensures any funds are clean and traceable. Furthermore, the school has added it will comply fully with UK regulations on digital assets.
Increasing Financial Fluidity
Part of this change may also be due to changing laws on taxation. Private schools in the United Kingdom will no longer get the tax breaks they previously did. This is set to increase the costs of attending, and many are speculating this will see a fall in numbers, particularly from the international community.
However, the move may also be to attract new parents and swell the coffers of the school. It was reported last year that the institution was in financial difficulty. Accounts filed showed a deficit of £1.2 million, though they were described as historical and in line with expectations.
These accounts covered a 12-month period up to July 2023. The filing said that the school had “continued to encounter challenging trading conditions during the year”. It had also struggled with rising costs from teacher salaries and running costs.
The school then had conversations with a major UK schools group and set about a three-year plan to secure its future. It is unclear if the idea of accepting Bitcoin was in the plan at the time. This involved taking out several loans to keep the business going.
Changing Curriculums
The school will not just stop at that, but will also integrate the concept of decentralized technology and Austrian economics in its education. In fact, they will be collaborating with Saifedean Ammous, a Bitcoin author, on a new curriculum. Writer of The Bitcoin Standard, he will build a framework that touches on Austrian economics and the principles of Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Standard was written in 2018. One of the first of its kind, it has not been without its detractors. In particular, it took aim at many of the world’s failings in government-issued fiat currencies, which many readers disputed. There was also a lack of evidence for his claims cited in reviews, particularly his scathing attacks on the gold standard system. Principle Claire Chisholm added that she was “thrilled to be working with Dr. Ammous.” She also added that she was very happy about the response her school had from the cryptocurrency community.
There have been plenty of other educational establishments to dip their toes into the world of crypto education. However, they have mainly been higher education facilities and universities. The earliest was in 2013 when the University of Nicosia launched a Masters program in Digital Currency. This was followed the next year by New York University’s Stern School of Business launching its own course on the subject. Stanford University soon followed.
It is unknown if this will have any impact on the price of Bitcoin. However, it does show further institutional, and retail, acceptance of the coin. This can only make its value rise over the long term, but only if it is sustained. The worry is that it is being used as a get quick-fix scheme, in a business already struggling. Schemes of this nature that do not work out can only damage the mainstream perception of it over time.
