Friday March 25 2011Boom in bursaries 7

Focus Report

Boarding cool 3 The A-level rivals 4-5

TETRA IMAGES/CORBIS

The grand tradition thathas a class for everyone

Independent schools. The wordsbring to mind the great publicschools of Eton, Marlboroughor Harrow, the academichot houses of Westminster,Winchester and St Paul’s and

the bluestocking, all-female redoubtsof Benenden, Wycombe Abbey andCheltenham Ladies’ College. But, intruth, independent schools come inall shapes and sizes: day or boarding,single sex or coeducational, prepar-atory or secondary, urban or rural,prohibitively expensive or relativelycheap — the variety is legion.Independent schools are those forwhich parents pay fees not funded bythe State, and that are not subject tolocal or central government control.Parents choose to send their child-ren to such schools for a plethora ofreasons— the social cachet of attend-ing Fettes College, Haileybury or

Roedean, the academic excellence ofOxford High School for Girls, Radleyor Manchester Grammar School, orthe religious ethos of Ampleforth,Stonyhurst or West Buckland.The private sector offers somethingfor everyone. You want your childrento specialise in the arts, music ordrama? Consider the Italia ContiAcademy of Theatre Arts, the YehudiMenuhin School or Wells CathedralSchool. Your children want to servein the Army? How about Welbeck,the defence sixth-form college?Special needs? No problem—whatabout Sibford, a dyslexia-friendlyQuaker school catering for those whoneed special support; StandbridgeEarls, catering for those with specificlearning difficulties, or New CollegeWorcester, an international schoolthat specialises in educating the blindand partially sighted.Then there are the so-calledprogressive schools: Bedales, nouniform and everyone on first-nameterms; St Christopher (Letchworth),the Garden City school, which catersfor pupils from infancy to adulthood,and Abbotsholme, in Staffordshire,which has its own working farm.Many such schools pride them-selves on their extracurricular activi-ties — Duke of Edinburgh awards,Combined Cadet Force military train-

ing, community service, expeditionsto exotic places, young enterprisegroups, and sports such as rugby,cricket and hockey. Athletics andgymnastics are also very popular andextracurricular music, drama and artare invariably strong.These schools educate some 7 percent of the UK school population,about 620,000 pupils. Most of the2,600 independent schools are juniorschools. About 13 per cent of allindependent pupils are boarders, withabout 700 schools offering such anoption. Preparatory schools — juniorschools that prepare pupils for entryinto senior schools at 11 or 13 — caterfor pupils aged 7 or 8 to 13, seniorschools for those between the ages of11 or 13 and 16 to 18.Most independent schools use thesame entrance exam — the CommonEntrance set by the IndependentSchools Examinations Board — withthe papers marked by the seniorschool for which the child is entered.Each school has its own pass markthat reflects the demand for places. Ifyou fail to gain entry to your firstchoice, the scripts are automaticallyforwarded to your second choice.The exam is taken at the age of 11or 13. Subjects tested at 11 are English,maths and science. At 13 there mayalso be papers in languages, history,

geography and religious studies.Many schools also set their ownentrance exams.Fees can range from £2,700 to£8,000 a term for day secondaryschool pupils and £5,000 to £9,500 aterm for boarders. Eton, Gordon-stoun and Wycombe Abbey areamong the most expensive boardingschools. Among the most expensiveday schools are Highgate School,King’s College School and St Paul’sGirls’. Help to meet the cost is avail-able through an increasing number of

bursaries. Those seeking somethingreally grand might consider Welling-ton College in Berkshire — it has itsown 400-acre estate, golf course andRoyal Charter, and BuckinghamPalace still approves its governors.Founded in 1853 by public subscrip-tion in memory of the Duke ofWellington, traditionally it has stronglinks with the Army. While manyWellingtonians have gone on to bedistinguished soldiers, former pupilsalso include Sebastian Faulks, the nov-elist, and Will Young, the pop singer.

GETTY IMAGES

OCEAN/CORBIS

Flexibility helpsfamilies to avoidthe painfulquestion, writesJenny Knight

The image of mothers collecting their children at the gates is fading

Parents are spoiltfor choice in thesearch for theright school, saysSimonMidgley T

he agonised debate aboutboarding versus dayschool is one that givesfewer parents sleeplessnights nowadays, asschools increasingly offer

flexible arrangements.The days when children were sentaway for a term, with only a weeklyletter to reassure parents, are longgone. Now the model at SeafordCollege, West Sussex, where childrencan dip in and out of boarding, iswidespread.Toby Mullins, the headmaster,says: “Over the past ten years wehave responded to parents’ wishes bymoving to a flexible system with acombination of day school and board-ing. The majority of our boarders doMonday to Friday but some childrenstop just one or two days a week toreduce travelling time. If there is avail-ability they can stay overnight with24 hours’ notice.“The beauty is that it allows

children to grow into boarding. Itsuits children who are gregarious,while others are not so keen. By thetime they have reached the sixthform, most board. Obviously it ischeaper to be a day pupil but as a sortof loss leader we allow day pupils fullaccess to our Saturday activities,which include golf, climbing, canoe-ing and mountain biking. Day pupilsalso get the benefit of longer days.Whereas most schools finish at about4pm, we go on to 6pm most days.”Hilary Moriarty, the nationaldirector of the Boarding Schools’Association, adds: “Boarding or day isthe most important ‘horses forcourses’ choice we make for ourchildren.” While some children pinefor home comforts, others thrive inthe company of other children theirown age.Moriarty adds: “In today’s worldwhere lots of parents work hard,leave home early and get back late,boarding can be a godsend. Parentsknow their children are safe withgood friends and lots to do. The oldimage of Mum who collected thechildren at the school gates, helpedthem to make fairy cakes and thensupervised homework, is dwindling.“And boarding schools havechanged. They are better attuned tochildren’s comfort and the childrenare no longer cut off from contactwith home — to the extent that ifthey don’t like the fish for dinner they

have texted their parents to reportthat within the hour.”Day schools also report adaptingtheir arrangements to help busyparents, by providing school buses,giving breakfast to earlycomers andorganising after-school clubs forchildren whose parents work late.The choice between day and

boarding is often decided by geo-graphy and cost. For parents whowork abroad, full boarding is oftenthe only choice. Jo Lindsay, whosehusband is a lieutenant-corporal withthe Army in Belize, decided that hertwo youngest children should boardat the age of 7 rather than be subject-ed to frequent changes of school. “We

are fortunate that our three childrenare happy. They come to Belize forthe holidays three times a year and Icome back to the UK every half-term.“The children get so much out of it.Alec, 12, who is at SunningdaleSchool in Berkshire, has friends ontap who can play football and cricketwith him. Tess, now 9, adores being atLeaden Hall in Salisbury. She’s neverbeen upset when we leave her.“I think boarding makes themmore responsible because from anearly age they don’t have mummy tosee they have their pencil case andthat they have done their homework.It also makes them more understand-ing of other children. They developcamaraderie and are much more con-fident than others their age.”Julie Lodrick, the headmistress ofThe Mount School in York, hasseen a shift from the simple choicebetween day or boarding to theflexible approach that offers fullboarding, weekly or occasional. Dayschool pupils can join colleagues forbreakfast and also stay for supper.“Weekly boarding suits people forlots of reasons,” she says. “Whenparents work long hours they can geteverything done in the week anddevote the weekends to their child-ren. Boarding gives parents peace ofmind, it frees both adults and childrenfrom daily journeys and gives theolder girls more time to study in astructured environment.”

Independentschools

Independentschools

To board or not to board?

Rugby union is one of the sports on which schools pride themselves

2 1GX THE TIMES Friday March 25 2011

The grand tradition thathas a class for everyone

Independent schools. The wordsbring to mind the great publicschools of Eton, Marlboroughor Harrow, the academichot houses of Westminster,Winchester and St Paul’s and

the bluestocking, all-female redoubtsof Benenden, Wycombe Abbey andCheltenham Ladies’ College. But, intruth, independent schools come inall shapes and sizes: day or boarding,single sex or coeducational, prepar-atory or secondary, urban or rural,prohibitively expensive or relativelycheap — the variety is legion.Independent schools are those forwhich parents pay fees not funded bythe State, and that are not subject tolocal or central government control.Parents choose to send their child-ren to such schools for a plethora ofreasons— the social cachet of attend-ing Fettes College, Haileybury or

Roedean, the academic excellence ofOxford High School for Girls, Radleyor Manchester Grammar School, orthe religious ethos of Ampleforth,Stonyhurst or West Buckland.The private sector offers somethingfor everyone. You want your childrento specialise in the arts, music ordrama? Consider the Italia ContiAcademy of Theatre Arts, the YehudiMenuhin School or Wells CathedralSchool. Your children want to servein the Army? How about Welbeck,the defence sixth-form college?Special needs? No problem—whatabout Sibford, a dyslexia-friendlyQuaker school catering for those whoneed special support; StandbridgeEarls, catering for those with specificlearning difficulties, or New CollegeWorcester, an international schoolthat specialises in educating the blindand partially sighted.Then there are the so-calledprogressive schools: Bedales, nouniform and everyone on first-nameterms; St Christopher (Letchworth),the Garden City school, which catersfor pupils from infancy to adulthood,and Abbotsholme, in Staffordshire,which has its own working farm.Many such schools pride them-selves on their extracurricular activi-ties — Duke of Edinburgh awards,Combined Cadet Force military train-

ing, community service, expeditionsto exotic places, young enterprisegroups, and sports such as rugby,cricket and hockey. Athletics andgymnastics are also very popular andextracurricular music, drama and artare invariably strong.These schools educate some 7 percent of the UK school population,about 620,000 pupils. Most of the2,600 independent schools are juniorschools. About 13 per cent of allindependent pupils are boarders, withabout 700 schools offering such anoption. Preparatory schools — juniorschools that prepare pupils for entryinto senior schools at 11 or 13 — caterfor pupils aged 7 or 8 to 13, seniorschools for those between the ages of11 or 13 and 16 to 18.Most independent schools use thesame entrance exam — the CommonEntrance set by the IndependentSchools Examinations Board — withthe papers marked by the seniorschool for which the child is entered.Each school has its own pass markthat reflects the demand for places. Ifyou fail to gain entry to your firstchoice, the scripts are automaticallyforwarded to your second choice.The exam is taken at the age of 11or 13. Subjects tested at 11 are English,maths and science. At 13 there mayalso be papers in languages, history,

geography and religious studies.Many schools also set their ownentrance exams.Fees can range from £2,700 to£8,000 a term for day secondaryschool pupils and £5,000 to £9,500 aterm for boarders. Eton, Gordon-stoun and Wycombe Abbey areamong the most expensive boardingschools. Among the most expensiveday schools are Highgate School,King’s College School and St Paul’sGirls’. Help to meet the cost is avail-able through an increasing number of

bursaries. Those seeking somethingreally grand might consider Welling-ton College in Berkshire — it has itsown 400-acre estate, golf course andRoyal Charter, and BuckinghamPalace still approves its governors.Founded in 1853 by public subscrip-tion in memory of the Duke ofWellington, traditionally it has stronglinks with the Army. While manyWellingtonians have gone on to bedistinguished soldiers, former pupilsalso include Sebastian Faulks, the nov-elist, and Will Young, the pop singer.

GETTY IMAGES

OCEAN/CORBIS

Flexibility helpsfamilies to avoidthe painfulquestion, writesJenny Knight

The image of mothers collecting their children at the gates is fading

Parents are spoiltfor choice in thesearch for theright school, saysSimonMidgley T

he agonised debate aboutboarding versus dayschool is one that givesfewer parents sleeplessnights nowadays, asschools increasingly offer

flexible arrangements.The days when children were sentaway for a term, with only a weeklyletter to reassure parents, are longgone. Now the model at SeafordCollege, West Sussex, where childrencan dip in and out of boarding, iswidespread.Toby Mullins, the headmaster,says: “Over the past ten years wehave responded to parents’ wishes bymoving to a flexible system with acombination of day school and board-ing. The majority of our boarders doMonday to Friday but some childrenstop just one or two days a week toreduce travelling time. If there is avail-ability they can stay overnight with24 hours’ notice.“The beauty is that it allows

children to grow into boarding. Itsuits children who are gregarious,while others are not so keen. By thetime they have reached the sixthform, most board. Obviously it ischeaper to be a day pupil but as a sortof loss leader we allow day pupils fullaccess to our Saturday activities,which include golf, climbing, canoe-ing and mountain biking. Day pupilsalso get the benefit of longer days.Whereas most schools finish at about4pm, we go on to 6pm most days.”Hilary Moriarty, the nationaldirector of the Boarding Schools’Association, adds: “Boarding or day isthe most important ‘horses forcourses’ choice we make for ourchildren.” While some children pinefor home comforts, others thrive inthe company of other children theirown age.Moriarty adds: “In today’s worldwhere lots of parents work hard,leave home early and get back late,boarding can be a godsend. Parentsknow their children are safe withgood friends and lots to do. The oldimage of Mum who collected thechildren at the school gates, helpedthem to make fairy cakes and thensupervised homework, is dwindling.“And boarding schools havechanged. They are better attuned tochildren’s comfort and the childrenare no longer cut off from contactwith home — to the extent that ifthey don’t like the fish for dinner they

have texted their parents to reportthat within the hour.”Day schools also report adaptingtheir arrangements to help busyparents, by providing school buses,giving breakfast to earlycomers andorganising after-school clubs forchildren whose parents work late.The choice between day and

boarding is often decided by geo-graphy and cost. For parents whowork abroad, full boarding is oftenthe only choice. Jo Lindsay, whosehusband is a lieutenant-corporal withthe Army in Belize, decided that hertwo youngest children should boardat the age of 7 rather than be subject-ed to frequent changes of school. “We

are fortunate that our three childrenare happy. They come to Belize forthe holidays three times a year and Icome back to the UK every half-term.“The children get so much out of it.Alec, 12, who is at SunningdaleSchool in Berkshire, has friends ontap who can play football and cricketwith him. Tess, now 9, adores being atLeaden Hall in Salisbury. She’s neverbeen upset when we leave her.“I think boarding makes themmore responsible because from anearly age they don’t have mummy tosee they have their pencil case andthat they have done their homework.It also makes them more understand-ing of other children. They developcamaraderie and are much more con-fident than others their age.”Julie Lodrick, the headmistress ofThe Mount School in York, hasseen a shift from the simple choicebetween day or boarding to theflexible approach that offers fullboarding, weekly or occasional. Dayschool pupils can join colleagues forbreakfast and also stay for supper.“Weekly boarding suits people forlots of reasons,” she says. “Whenparents work long hours they can geteverything done in the week anddevote the weekends to their child-ren. Boarding gives parents peace ofmind, it frees both adults and childrenfrom daily journeys and gives theolder girls more time to study in astructured environment.”

Independentschools

Independentschools

To board or not to board?

Rugby union is one of the sports on which schools pride themselves

2 1GX THE TIMES Friday March 25 2011

The Holy Grail amonguniversity admissionstutors is the litmus testthat will allow them todistinguish the ferocious-ly brainy from the merely

remarkably brainy. It matters morethan ever now, with greater competi-tion for university places. So althoughBritain’s entire school examinationsystem is under permanent scrutiny,the hottest debate surrounds theuniversity entrance level.Not so long ago that meantA levels. In the majority of schools itstill does but a growing minority arenow switching to the InternationalBaccalaureate (IB) or the CambridgePre-U, largely because they arethought to provide a more finelytuned grading for admissions tutors.The IB requires all students to takeone subject from each of six areasincluding English, mathematics and asecond language, and is now offeredby some 223 British schools — 142 ofthem state schools.In 1978 Sevenoaks School becamethe first member of the Headmasters’and Headmistresses’ Conference —the elite group of schools entitled tocall themselves public schools — toswitch to the IB.Chris Greenhalgh, the deputy head,says: “We get lots of students,especially teenage boys, who findreading dull and by the end of the IBthey are reading again. And it makesthose who like literature numerate.We in the UK are unique in specialis-ing at 16.”He thinks that the modular

approach of many A levels is “inimi-cal to academic excellence”.That is the most frequently heardcriticism of A levels. Studying inmodules, each of which is separatelyexamined at different times, is said toremove some of the rigour.For most people the IB was thealternative until 2008, when Cam-bridge International Examinations(CIE), which already successfully ranthe International GCE, launched theCambridge Pre-U. The first studentstook the Pre-U qualification inSeptember and 120 UK schools nowuse it, about 55 per cent of them inthe private sector, but Sevenoaks isnot tempted to become one of them.“It harks back to the old A levels,”Greenhalgh says.However, that is just what attractsWinchester College. “Our pupilswant and deserve to be able to special-ise,” says James Webster, the directorof studies. “Those who have struggledwith maths can give it up with a sighof relief.”Winchester wants to lose modules:“They cut learning into bite-sizedpieces — little blocks that you can

mug up for an exam,” Webstersays. “We wanted something thatwould stretch our students over twoyears.”The Pre-U is a bit like A levels usedto be. It is linear, with examinationsat the end. The university admissionsservice Ucas provides a tariff for alluniversity entrance examinations, sothat attainment can be measuredroughly equally across them all and itrates the highest grade of Pre-U alittle higher than A* at A level. That isthreatening for A levels in the presentclimate because, the CIE claims, thePre-U is finely calibrated.Sevenoaks is now all-IB andWinchester aims to be all Pre-U onceit can offer all subjects (it offers 26 atpresent). But schools can mix andmatch. It is not easy but the ColomaConvent Girls’ School, a comprehen-sive in Croydon, Surrey, teaches Alevels, the IB and the CambridgePre-U and lets its pupils choosebetween them.This ambitious offer is in its infancyand, so far, Coloma only offers thePre-U in business studies and sportsscience but it aims to expand to other

subjects. “It is very complicated logisti-cally, says Maureen Martin, the headteacher. “But if you have pupils want-ing to do it and staff trained to do it,you should do it.”Martin is not critical of A levels —she just wants to ensure that herpupils are given a choice.“The content and assessment of theIB and Pre-U are different. They arealternatives, not better,” she says. Itworks for her — the school sends agroup of girls to Oxbridge every year

and a third of sixth formers goto the Russell Group of 20 leadinguniversities.And that, in the end, is what it isgoing to be about. All schools, butespecially schools that charge fees,are under pressure from parents togain places at top universities and, ifthe admissions tutors perceiveA levels to be insufficiently wellcalibrated and therefore suspect,schools will continue to move awayfrom them.

Alexander Sutherland Neill(1883-1973) was a Scottishprogressive educator, best knownas the founder and headmaster ofSummerhill School in Leiston,Suffolk. Neill’s early experiencesas a headmaster in Scotland atthe start of the First World Warconvinced him that conventionaleducation of the time wasoppressive and damaging.Strongly influenced by Sigmund

Freud and Wilhelm Reich, Neillbelieved that repression inchildhood created many of thepsychological disorders ofadulthood and he wanted to givechildren a sense of freedom. Hefelt that children learnt betterwhen free from coercion andbelieved that externally imposeddiscipline prevented internalself-discipline from developing.In 1921 he founded Summerhill,

which continues to follow hisphilosophy. Children do not have

to attend lessons, or to takeexams, and they can choose howthey spend their time. The schoolis managed democratically, withregular meetings to determineschool rules at which pupils haveequal voting rights with staff.The school, Neill argued, had to

respond to a child’s emotional aswell as intellectual needs. “I wouldrather Summerhill produced ahappy street sweeper than aneurotic prime minister,” he said.His approach has attracted

controversy, with critics calling itpermissive or excessivelyidealistic. But, in 2007, Ofstedinspectors said that Summerhillprovided a “satisfactory” qualityof education and found pupils’personal development“outstanding”.Neill also wrote many books,

including Summerhill: A RadicalApproach to Child Rearing.DIANA HINDS

A levels face stiffcompetition inthe quest for thebest exam, saysFrancis Beckett

Arow over what constitutescharitable status for an inde-pendent school — bringing tax

breaks and the kudos of being goodcorporate citizens — is about to cometo a head.The Independent Schools Council(ISC) goes to judicial review on May17 to challenge the Charity Commis-sion’s criteria, in particular the term“public benefit”. The commission’s

interpretation is that qualifyingschools must offer help to disadvan-taged pupils, while the ISC arguesthat this is too narrow a definition ofthe word “public”.The ISC believes that the commis-sion has misinterpreted charity lawby insisting that public benefit meansoffering help exclusively to poorfamilies. It believes that the lawmeans advancing education for every-one and is keen to test this throughthe judicial review.Until the Charities Act of 2006,there was a presumption that schoolswith charitable status offeredsufficient public benefit. But, saysSarah Miller, of the commission,everything has changed.“Now the schools must demon-strate they offer public benefit andinclude in their annual reports howthey do this,” she says. “Independent

schools charge fees but, if these feesare so high that poorer families areunable to pay them, the schools haveto offer some provision to those whocan’t afford it — via bursaries, feeassistance or partnerships with stateschools.”A 2009 Charity Commission reportfound that two out of the five schoolsit assessed were not meeting therequirements. Both schools havesince made the changes required toqualify for charitable status.David Ward is the headmaster ofSaint Felix School in Suffolk, whichcharges £12,000 a year (£23,000 forboarders). One of its 443 pupils is ona full bursary while six others get upto 90 per cent of their fees paid by theschool.“Working with communities isintegral now. It is not just aboutbursaries but allowing community

organisations access to our facilities,from the netball team to communityradio,” Ward says.He admits that it is difficult tojustify free places to parents. He says:“They work very hard to pay ourfees and their taxes and everyone digsin their pockets nowadays for RedNose Day and so on. People arestruggling — children who playedtwo instruments now play only one,or they have given up judo — but westill manage to offer scholarships andbursaries because it is a whole socialissue now, not just tax breaks. It iswhat we feel comfortable with.”Research carried out by the SuttonTrust, a charity dedicated toachieving social mobility througheducation, found that more than aquarter of 348 schools surveyeddevote less than 5 per cent of theirincome to bursaries and scholarships,

with the wealthier, most prestigiousschools giving the least.Marion Gibbs has been the head ofJames Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS), inDulwich, South London, for l7 years.Set up in 1741 as a free reading schoolfor the poor, JAGS has a long historyof educational help for poorerfamilies from the deprived neighbour-hoods nearby. It has 109 girls onassisted places out of 1,070, more thanhalf of whom are fully paid for. Theremainder are 90 per cent funded.Gibbs says: “This whole issue hasbeen muddy and misunderstood inthe past, but most schools now workhard with local communities. We hireout our sports facilities to corporateoutfits and I write a column for alocal paper, so that money all goesinto the pot.”JAGS established a “good neigh-bours” policy of social inclusion in

1995 and it shares its communitymusic centre with local schools andother groups. Gibbs says that mostschools just need to be more entrepre-neurial to find cheap ways to help.Lee Elliot Major, the researchdirector for the Sutton Trust, agrees.He believes working on confidenceand presentation skills are just asimportant for Oxbridge entry asacademic study.“Independent schools could workwith state school pupils on the lifeskills that can lead to an escalation ofgrades,” he says. “They are so good atplanning, working towards goals andat things like inviting high-achievingpupils to come back and give talks.“Sharing best practice is acost-effective way to help and it ismuch needed now because the dividebetween state and independentschools is becoming a stark one.”

Parents choosing a schoolfor their children mustsometimes think that theentire education systemis engulfed by leaguetables, examination re-

sults and the frenzied pursuit ofA* grades. But some independentschools go out of their way to empha-sise that they offer something morerounded — an education for the“whole person”.Gordonstoun is one such establish-ment, a coeducational boarding andday school in Moray (boarding fees£29,000 a year). “Whereas schoolsusually have a brief to prepare youngpeople for the next stage in life,Gordonstoun prepares its studentsfor life as a whole,” says Mark Pyper,the recently retired principal.Gordonstoun, which counts thePrince of Wales and the Duke ofEdinburgh among its former pupils,was founded in 1934 by Kurt Hahn,who fled Nazi Germany determinedto help young people to develop bothas individuals and within communi-ties. His “outward bound” philosophyremains central to the school’s ethos,involving all students in internationallinks, outdoor education challengesand community service.Academic achievement is valued aspart of this overall package, with, onaverage, more than half its A-levelstudents gaining A and B grades.Sporting activity takes a lesser roleat Bedales in Hampshire (boardingfees £28,815 a year). Keith Budge, theheadmaster, is proud of the fact thatsport does not dominate the extra-curricular programme in the way thatit does at more conventional board-ing schools. Educating the whole per-son (“head, hand and heart”) was theintention of the founder, J. H. Badley;the school continues to rejoice inbeing different from the mainstream.“The thing that strikes visitors mostis that there is a different atmospherein the school, compared with mostother independent boarding schools,”Budge says. Students call teachers bytheir first names and dress as theyplease and rules are kept to a mini-mum. Enthusiasm, frankness andspontaneity are encouraged, andexam results are respectable —despite a persistent myth, accordingto Budge, that Bedales students areall “wild and on drugs”.Summerhill School in Leiston,Suffolk, has known more controversythan most — hardly surprising if youcreate a school, as A. S. Neill did,where students can choose whetherthey go to lessons. Neill’s philosophy,that children learn and develop betterif given personal freedom, is firmlyadhered to by his daughter, Zoë Read-head, the principal of Summerhill.“The philosophy of Summerhill hasnot changed in 90 years because thephilosophy is right,” she insists. “Thisschool is not just about academiclearning but about becoming a whole

person. We want people to learn byexperience about life, about decision-making and taking responsibility foryour actions.”The school roll has fallen slightly to63 pupils, aged from 5 to 18 (boardingfees are about £12,000 a year for an11-year-old). The pupils inevitably in-clude children who have had difficul-ties elsewhere. Exams, like lessons,are not compulsory at Summerhill,but most students take some GCSEs.“You won’t get a Summerhill pupiltaking 11 GCSEs and weeping becausehe or she didn’t get 11 A* grades,”Readhead says. “They are interestedin the broader picture.”Giving children a broader educa-tion is one of the chief aims of SteinerWaldorf schools, of which there arenow 33 in the UK and Ireland.

Michael Hall School in East Sussex(day fees from £5,000 to £10,000 ayear) is one of a small number in theUK that takes children from the ageof 3 to 18. Formal learning begins at 6and children stay with the same classteacher until 14. In the upper schoolpupils take GCSEs (no more thanseven) and A levels, with a raft ofSteiner subjects, such as craftworkand music, to ensure breadth.Contrary to the misconception thatSteiner education is all play, the cur-riculum is structured and “rigorous”,says Sarah Wilson, class five teacher.“It gives them a more roundededucation,” says William Forward, anupper school teacher. “They come outwith a readiness to take on anything,a willingness to have a go and say‘yes’ to life.”

Diana Hindslooks at schoolscommitted tonurturingfree thinkers

The hunt forthe Holy Grail

Students taking the InternationalBaccalaureate study six coursesat higher level or standard levelfrom each of five groups: alanguage, a second language,experimental sciences, individualsand societies and mathematicsand computer sciences. Studentswho find, say, mathematics orlanguages difficult must continuewith them, although not in thedepth that they study their bestsubjects. Their sixth subject maybe an art or another subject fromgroups one to five.The programme also has three

core requirements that areincluded to broaden the

educational experience and tochallenge students to apply theirknowledge and understanding:6 An extended essay, requiringindependent research through anin-depth study of a questionrelating to one of their subjects.6 Theory of knowledge. Studentsexamine the nature of knowledgethrough ways of knowing(perception, emotion, languageand reason) and different kinds ofknowledge (scientific, artistic,mathematical and historical).6 Creativity, action and service.The aim is to learn from theexperience of doing real tasksbeyond the classroom.

The Cambridge Pre-U is atwo-year course, withexaminations at the end, forstudents who want to go touniversity. It was developed byCambridge InternationalExaminations (CIE), the world’sbiggest provider of internationalqualifications for 14 to19-year-olds and a department ofCambridge University. Currently26 subjects are available but it isintended to cover the full range.The course is a little like A levels

as they used to be beforemodular courses. Studentschoose their subjects in the sameway as they choose A-levelsubjectsbut there is moreemphasis on making students findout things for themselves, ratherthan being given all theinformation in the classroom. Andin addition to the student’s threeprincipal subjects, there is a corecomponent to gaining thediploma — an independentresearch report on a subject ofthe student’s choosing.Claimed benefits are:6 Deep learning — a chance toexplore chosen subjects ingreater depth.6 Joined-up understanding,making links between topicswithin a subject.6 Time to grow into a subject.There is a nine-point grading

scale which equates to A-levelgrades, plus a “distinction” grade.The first 59 schools began

teaching the Pre-U in 2008 andthe first principal subjectexaminations were in 2010. UCIEalso developed the InternationalGCE, taught in 127 countries, analternative to the GCSE.

Ruling will havea big effect onhopes for a taxbreak, reportsLynneWallis

Commission faces court challenge over ‘too narrow’ interpretation of charity law

Aworld away from thefrantic pursuit of grades

We in the UK areunique in specialisingat the age of 16

Summerhill School was created to give children a sense of freedom

Independentschools

Alexander NeillA head ahead of his time

Independent Schools Councilisc.co.ukIndependent Schools Council(bursaries and scholarships)isc.co.uk/FactsFigures_BursariesScholarships.htmThe Good Schools Guidegoodschoolsguide.co.ukSchool feesemetis.com/primer/fees.htmAdvice to parentsisc.co.uk/ParentZone_SchoolFeeAssistanceCosts.htmThe Independent Schools Directoryindependentschools.comState Boarding Schools’ Associationsbsa.org.uk

Independentschools

International Baccalaureate

Cambridge Pre-U

Alternative exams are seen to offer a more finely tuned grading to help admissions tutors to assess candidates’ abilities

RUI VIEIRA/PA ARCHIVE

Community link: Saint Felix School

BRIAN HARRIS/REX FEATURES

4 THE TIMES Friday March 25 2011 51GX

The Holy Grail amonguniversity admissionstutors is the litmus testthat will allow them todistinguish the ferocious-ly brainy from the merely

remarkably brainy. It matters morethan ever now, with greater competi-tion for university places. So althoughBritain’s entire school examinationsystem is under permanent scrutiny,the hottest debate surrounds theuniversity entrance level.Not so long ago that meantA levels. In the majority of schools itstill does but a growing minority arenow switching to the InternationalBaccalaureate (IB) or the CambridgePre-U, largely because they arethought to provide a more finelytuned grading for admissions tutors.The IB requires all students to takeone subject from each of six areasincluding English, mathematics and asecond language, and is now offeredby some 223 British schools — 142 ofthem state schools.In 1978 Sevenoaks School becamethe first member of the Headmasters’and Headmistresses’ Conference —the elite group of schools entitled tocall themselves public schools — toswitch to the IB.Chris Greenhalgh, the deputy head,says: “We get lots of students,especially teenage boys, who findreading dull and by the end of the IBthey are reading again. And it makesthose who like literature numerate.We in the UK are unique in specialis-ing at 16.”He thinks that the modular

approach of many A levels is “inimi-cal to academic excellence”.That is the most frequently heardcriticism of A levels. Studying inmodules, each of which is separatelyexamined at different times, is said toremove some of the rigour.For most people the IB was thealternative until 2008, when Cam-bridge International Examinations(CIE), which already successfully ranthe International GCE, launched theCambridge Pre-U. The first studentstook the Pre-U qualification inSeptember and 120 UK schools nowuse it, about 55 per cent of them inthe private sector, but Sevenoaks isnot tempted to become one of them.“It harks back to the old A levels,”Greenhalgh says.However, that is just what attractsWinchester College. “Our pupilswant and deserve to be able to special-ise,” says James Webster, the directorof studies. “Those who have struggledwith maths can give it up with a sighof relief.”Winchester wants to lose modules:“They cut learning into bite-sizedpieces — little blocks that you can

mug up for an exam,” Webstersays. “We wanted something thatwould stretch our students over twoyears.”The Pre-U is a bit like A levels usedto be. It is linear, with examinationsat the end. The university admissionsservice Ucas provides a tariff for alluniversity entrance examinations, sothat attainment can be measuredroughly equally across them all and itrates the highest grade of Pre-U alittle higher than A* at A level. That isthreatening for A levels in the presentclimate because, the CIE claims, thePre-U is finely calibrated.Sevenoaks is now all-IB andWinchester aims to be all Pre-U onceit can offer all subjects (it offers 26 atpresent). But schools can mix andmatch. It is not easy but the ColomaConvent Girls’ School, a comprehen-sive in Croydon, Surrey, teaches Alevels, the IB and the CambridgePre-U and lets its pupils choosebetween them.This ambitious offer is in its infancyand, so far, Coloma only offers thePre-U in business studies and sportsscience but it aims to expand to other

subjects. “It is very complicated logisti-cally, says Maureen Martin, the headteacher. “But if you have pupils want-ing to do it and staff trained to do it,you should do it.”Martin is not critical of A levels —she just wants to ensure that herpupils are given a choice.“The content and assessment of theIB and Pre-U are different. They arealternatives, not better,” she says. Itworks for her — the school sends agroup of girls to Oxbridge every year

and a third of sixth formers goto the Russell Group of 20 leadinguniversities.And that, in the end, is what it isgoing to be about. All schools, butespecially schools that charge fees,are under pressure from parents togain places at top universities and, ifthe admissions tutors perceiveA levels to be insufficiently wellcalibrated and therefore suspect,schools will continue to move awayfrom them.

Alexander Sutherland Neill(1883-1973) was a Scottishprogressive educator, best knownas the founder and headmaster ofSummerhill School in Leiston,Suffolk. Neill’s early experiencesas a headmaster in Scotland atthe start of the First World Warconvinced him that conventionaleducation of the time wasoppressive and damaging.Strongly influenced by Sigmund

Freud and Wilhelm Reich, Neillbelieved that repression inchildhood created many of thepsychological disorders ofadulthood and he wanted to givechildren a sense of freedom. Hefelt that children learnt betterwhen free from coercion andbelieved that externally imposeddiscipline prevented internalself-discipline from developing.In 1921 he founded Summerhill,

which continues to follow hisphilosophy. Children do not have

to attend lessons, or to takeexams, and they can choose howthey spend their time. The schoolis managed democratically, withregular meetings to determineschool rules at which pupils haveequal voting rights with staff.The school, Neill argued, had to

respond to a child’s emotional aswell as intellectual needs. “I wouldrather Summerhill produced ahappy street sweeper than aneurotic prime minister,” he said.His approach has attracted

controversy, with critics calling itpermissive or excessivelyidealistic. But, in 2007, Ofstedinspectors said that Summerhillprovided a “satisfactory” qualityof education and found pupils’personal development“outstanding”.Neill also wrote many books,

including Summerhill: A RadicalApproach to Child Rearing.DIANA HINDS

A levels face stiffcompetition inthe quest for thebest exam, saysFrancis Beckett

Arow over what constitutescharitable status for an inde-pendent school — bringing tax

breaks and the kudos of being goodcorporate citizens — is about to cometo a head.The Independent Schools Council(ISC) goes to judicial review on May17 to challenge the Charity Commis-sion’s criteria, in particular the term“public benefit”. The commission’s

interpretation is that qualifyingschools must offer help to disadvan-taged pupils, while the ISC arguesthat this is too narrow a definition ofthe word “public”.The ISC believes that the commis-sion has misinterpreted charity lawby insisting that public benefit meansoffering help exclusively to poorfamilies. It believes that the lawmeans advancing education for every-one and is keen to test this throughthe judicial review.Until the Charities Act of 2006,there was a presumption that schoolswith charitable status offeredsufficient public benefit. But, saysSarah Miller, of the commission,everything has changed.“Now the schools must demon-strate they offer public benefit andinclude in their annual reports howthey do this,” she says. “Independent

schools charge fees but, if these feesare so high that poorer families areunable to pay them, the schools haveto offer some provision to those whocan’t afford it — via bursaries, feeassistance or partnerships with stateschools.”A 2009 Charity Commission reportfound that two out of the five schoolsit assessed were not meeting therequirements. Both schools havesince made the changes required toqualify for charitable status.David Ward is the headmaster ofSaint Felix School in Suffolk, whichcharges £12,000 a year (£23,000 forboarders). One of its 443 pupils is ona full bursary while six others get upto 90 per cent of their fees paid by theschool.“Working with communities isintegral now. It is not just aboutbursaries but allowing community

organisations access to our facilities,from the netball team to communityradio,” Ward says.He admits that it is difficult tojustify free places to parents. He says:“They work very hard to pay ourfees and their taxes and everyone digsin their pockets nowadays for RedNose Day and so on. People arestruggling — children who playedtwo instruments now play only one,or they have given up judo — but westill manage to offer scholarships andbursaries because it is a whole socialissue now, not just tax breaks. It iswhat we feel comfortable with.”Research carried out by the SuttonTrust, a charity dedicated toachieving social mobility througheducation, found that more than aquarter of 348 schools surveyeddevote less than 5 per cent of theirincome to bursaries and scholarships,

with the wealthier, most prestigiousschools giving the least.Marion Gibbs has been the head ofJames Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS), inDulwich, South London, for l7 years.Set up in 1741 as a free reading schoolfor the poor, JAGS has a long historyof educational help for poorerfamilies from the deprived neighbour-hoods nearby. It has 109 girls onassisted places out of 1,070, more thanhalf of whom are fully paid for. Theremainder are 90 per cent funded.Gibbs says: “This whole issue hasbeen muddy and misunderstood inthe past, but most schools now workhard with local communities. We hireout our sports facilities to corporateoutfits and I write a column for alocal paper, so that money all goesinto the pot.”JAGS established a “good neigh-bours” policy of social inclusion in

1995 and it shares its communitymusic centre with local schools andother groups. Gibbs says that mostschools just need to be more entrepre-neurial to find cheap ways to help.Lee Elliot Major, the researchdirector for the Sutton Trust, agrees.He believes working on confidenceand presentation skills are just asimportant for Oxbridge entry asacademic study.“Independent schools could workwith state school pupils on the lifeskills that can lead to an escalation ofgrades,” he says. “They are so good atplanning, working towards goals andat things like inviting high-achievingpupils to come back and give talks.“Sharing best practice is acost-effective way to help and it ismuch needed now because the dividebetween state and independentschools is becoming a stark one.”

Parents choosing a schoolfor their children mustsometimes think that theentire education systemis engulfed by leaguetables, examination re-

sults and the frenzied pursuit ofA* grades. But some independentschools go out of their way to empha-sise that they offer something morerounded — an education for the“whole person”.Gordonstoun is one such establish-ment, a coeducational boarding andday school in Moray (boarding fees£29,000 a year). “Whereas schoolsusually have a brief to prepare youngpeople for the next stage in life,Gordonstoun prepares its studentsfor life as a whole,” says Mark Pyper,the recently retired principal.Gordonstoun, which counts thePrince of Wales and the Duke ofEdinburgh among its former pupils,was founded in 1934 by Kurt Hahn,who fled Nazi Germany determinedto help young people to develop bothas individuals and within communi-ties. His “outward bound” philosophyremains central to the school’s ethos,involving all students in internationallinks, outdoor education challengesand community service.Academic achievement is valued aspart of this overall package, with, onaverage, more than half its A-levelstudents gaining A and B grades.Sporting activity takes a lesser roleat Bedales in Hampshire (boardingfees £28,815 a year). Keith Budge, theheadmaster, is proud of the fact thatsport does not dominate the extra-curricular programme in the way thatit does at more conventional board-ing schools. Educating the whole per-son (“head, hand and heart”) was theintention of the founder, J. H. Badley;the school continues to rejoice inbeing different from the mainstream.“The thing that strikes visitors mostis that there is a different atmospherein the school, compared with mostother independent boarding schools,”Budge says. Students call teachers bytheir first names and dress as theyplease and rules are kept to a mini-mum. Enthusiasm, frankness andspontaneity are encouraged, andexam results are respectable —despite a persistent myth, accordingto Budge, that Bedales students areall “wild and on drugs”.Summerhill School in Leiston,Suffolk, has known more controversythan most — hardly surprising if youcreate a school, as A. S. Neill did,where students can choose whetherthey go to lessons. Neill’s philosophy,that children learn and develop betterif given personal freedom, is firmlyadhered to by his daughter, Zoë Read-head, the principal of Summerhill.“The philosophy of Summerhill hasnot changed in 90 years because thephilosophy is right,” she insists. “Thisschool is not just about academiclearning but about becoming a whole

person. We want people to learn byexperience about life, about decision-making and taking responsibility foryour actions.”The school roll has fallen slightly to63 pupils, aged from 5 to 18 (boardingfees are about £12,000 a year for an11-year-old). The pupils inevitably in-clude children who have had difficul-ties elsewhere. Exams, like lessons,are not compulsory at Summerhill,but most students take some GCSEs.“You won’t get a Summerhill pupiltaking 11 GCSEs and weeping becausehe or she didn’t get 11 A* grades,”Readhead says. “They are interestedin the broader picture.”Giving children a broader educa-tion is one of the chief aims of SteinerWaldorf schools, of which there arenow 33 in the UK and Ireland.

Michael Hall School in East Sussex(day fees from £5,000 to £10,000 ayear) is one of a small number in theUK that takes children from the ageof 3 to 18. Formal learning begins at 6and children stay with the same classteacher until 14. In the upper schoolpupils take GCSEs (no more thanseven) and A levels, with a raft ofSteiner subjects, such as craftworkand music, to ensure breadth.Contrary to the misconception thatSteiner education is all play, the cur-riculum is structured and “rigorous”,says Sarah Wilson, class five teacher.“It gives them a more roundededucation,” says William Forward, anupper school teacher. “They come outwith a readiness to take on anything,a willingness to have a go and say‘yes’ to life.”

Diana Hindslooks at schoolscommitted tonurturingfree thinkers

The hunt forthe Holy Grail

Students taking the InternationalBaccalaureate study six coursesat higher level or standard levelfrom each of five groups: alanguage, a second language,experimental sciences, individualsand societies and mathematicsand computer sciences. Studentswho find, say, mathematics orlanguages difficult must continuewith them, although not in thedepth that they study their bestsubjects. Their sixth subject maybe an art or another subject fromgroups one to five.The programme also has three

core requirements that areincluded to broaden the

educational experience and tochallenge students to apply theirknowledge and understanding:6 An extended essay, requiringindependent research through anin-depth study of a questionrelating to one of their subjects.6 Theory of knowledge. Studentsexamine the nature of knowledgethrough ways of knowing(perception, emotion, languageand reason) and different kinds ofknowledge (scientific, artistic,mathematical and historical).6 Creativity, action and service.The aim is to learn from theexperience of doing real tasksbeyond the classroom.

The Cambridge Pre-U is atwo-year course, withexaminations at the end, forstudents who want to go touniversity. It was developed byCambridge InternationalExaminations (CIE), the world’sbiggest provider of internationalqualifications for 14 to19-year-olds and a department ofCambridge University. Currently26 subjects are available but it isintended to cover the full range.The course is a little like A levels

as they used to be beforemodular courses. Studentschoose their subjects in the sameway as they choose A-levelsubjectsbut there is moreemphasis on making students findout things for themselves, ratherthan being given all theinformation in the classroom. Andin addition to the student’s threeprincipal subjects, there is a corecomponent to gaining thediploma — an independentresearch report on a subject ofthe student’s choosing.Claimed benefits are:6 Deep learning — a chance toexplore chosen subjects ingreater depth.6 Joined-up understanding,making links between topicswithin a subject.6 Time to grow into a subject.There is a nine-point grading

scale which equates to A-levelgrades, plus a “distinction” grade.The first 59 schools began

teaching the Pre-U in 2008 andthe first principal subjectexaminations were in 2010. UCIEalso developed the InternationalGCE, taught in 127 countries, analternative to the GCSE.

Ruling will havea big effect onhopes for a taxbreak, reportsLynneWallis

Commission faces court challenge over ‘too narrow’ interpretation of charity law

Aworld away from thefrantic pursuit of grades

We in the UK areunique in specialisingat the age of 16

Summerhill School was created to give children a sense of freedom

Independentschools

Alexander NeillA head ahead of his time

Independent Schools Councilisc.co.ukIndependent Schools Council(bursaries and scholarships)isc.co.uk/FactsFigures_BursariesScholarships.htmThe Good Schools Guidegoodschoolsguide.co.ukSchool feesemetis.com/primer/fees.htmAdvice to parentsisc.co.uk/ParentZone_SchoolFeeAssistanceCosts.htmThe Independent Schools Directoryindependentschools.comState Boarding Schools’ Associationsbsa.org.uk

Independentschools

International Baccalaureate

Cambridge Pre-U

Alternative exams are seen to offer a more finely tuned grading to help admissions tutors to assess candidates’ abilities

RUI VIEIRA/PA ARCHIVE

Community link: Saint Felix School

BRIAN HARRIS/REX FEATURES

4 THE TIMES Friday March 25 2011 51GX

Aprivate education isbecoming more acces-sible as schools in-crease the number ofbursaries on offer tohelp parents meet the

cost. The big shift away from scholar-ships, which reward academicexcellence, to bursaries, based mainlyon financial need, has put fees withinreach of a wider cross section of thepopulation.The smallest increase in school feesfor 16 years — an average of 4 percent this academic year, according tocensus data from the IndependentSchools Council — is another factor.Janette Wallis, of The Good Schools

Guide, says: “Many top independentschools now cap scholarships at 10per cent on merit, which can betopped up with bursaries. This meansthere are lots of winners and losersbut, for those least able to afford

places, there is now more financialhelp than ever.”Three factors have influenced thechange, she says. “First, partlybecause of pressure from the CharityCommission, schools are directingmore of their academic scholarshipfunds into means-tested bursaries,leaving scholarships as mere shellswith all the honour but little cash.”Second, schools have a genuinedesire to assist and, third, there is thelogic of the marketplace. “Why assistthose already converted who can wellafford to pay the fees?”Tackling the question of fees andwhat financial support is available isdaunting. The Independent SchoolsDirectory (ISD), set up to give parentsthe facts they need to make informedchoices, urges caution over the hugerange of services, many on the web,offering advice.While some are very good, it says,“some make themselves look likeeducation advisers but are only out tosell you standard financial packages”.Advice from leading agencies is tofocus on proven avenues such as theIndependent Schools Council (ISC),The Good Schools Guide and the ISD.The financial support available isconsiderable — 32.5 per cent of ISCpupils are receiving help with fees thisacademic year, with those schoolsproviding £540million in assistance

annually. Top independent schoolscharge about £30,000 a year butthere are excellent schools with con-siderably lower fees. Average fees aterm, ISC figures show, are £5,367(sixth form), £4,458 (senior, 11 to 16years) and £3,294 (junior prep, 3 to 11years). Boarding school fees average£8,003 a term.An alternative is State BoardingSchools’ Association schools. Theycombine state-funded education andboarding for about £10,000 a year.Mike Lower, general secretary ofthe Independent Schools’ BursarsAssociation, urges parents to consider“first and foremost” the type of schoolthat they are seeking. “The ISC offersguidelines to parents on how to findthe right school. Your ability to pay isalmost secondary to that. A lot ofpeople fail to appreciate that they arenot signing up for just that year butfor five or more and they have to bein a position to maintain that. It isreally not fair on the child otherwise.”Despite the changes, scholarshipsare still an attractive option, particu-larly for children with specific talents,Wallis says. Oakham, Millfield,Harrow and Hampton Court Houseoffer chess scholarships and Loretto,Charterhouse, Oundle and othersoffer scholarships for organ players.“There is a wide range of possibili-ties for bursaries linked to religions

and professions,” she adds. Schoolsrun by Quakers, such as LeightonPark in Reading, offer bursaries tofamilies from their religion as do theMethodists for schools such as KentCollege in Canterbury. WellingtonCollege has bursaries for children ofdeceased servicemen and women.St Paul’s School, London, says itsgoal is to have “need-blind” entry, sofinancial need is not an impediment

to admission. “We aspire to becomethe first leading academic school inthe country to adopt this approach,welcoming gifted young pupils regard-less of economic background.”Bedford School has introducedcomputerised scholarship tests, forwhich students cannot be coached.The scholarships, which cut fees by 10per cent, are then awarded on merit.All other awards are means tested.

Independentschools

More children are giventhe chance to go privateCash help frombursaries throwsopen the doors toa new generation,reports Ian Nash

Parents will not have to break the bank to send children to private school

PETER DAZELEY

Aprivate education isbecoming more acces-sible as schools in-crease the number ofbursaries on offer tohelp parents meet the

cost. The big shift away from scholar-ships, which reward academicexcellence, to bursaries, based mainlyon financial need, has put fees withinreach of a wider cross section of thepopulation.The smallest increase in school feesfor 16 years — an average of 4 percent this academic year, according tocensus data from the IndependentSchools Council — is another factor.Janette Wallis, of The Good Schools

Guide, says: “Many top independentschools now cap scholarships at 10per cent on merit, which can betopped up with bursaries. This meansthere are lots of winners and losersbut, for those least able to afford

places, there is now more financialhelp than ever.”Three factors have influenced thechange, she says. “First, partlybecause of pressure from the CharityCommission, schools are directingmore of their academic scholarshipfunds into means-tested bursaries,leaving scholarships as mere shellswith all the honour but little cash.”Second, schools have a genuinedesire to assist and, third, there is thelogic of the marketplace. “Why assistthose already converted who can wellafford to pay the fees?”Tackling the question of fees andwhat financial support is available isdaunting. The Independent SchoolsDirectory (ISD), set up to give parentsthe facts they need to make informedchoices, urges caution over the hugerange of services, many on the web,offering advice.While some are very good, it says,“some make themselves look likeeducation advisers but are only out tosell you standard financial packages”.Advice from leading agencies is tofocus on proven avenues such as theIndependent Schools Council (ISC),The Good Schools Guide and the ISD.The financial support available isconsiderable — 32.5 per cent of ISCpupils are receiving help with fees thisacademic year, with those schoolsproviding £540million in assistance

annually. Top independent schoolscharge about £30,000 a year butthere are excellent schools with con-siderably lower fees. Average fees aterm, ISC figures show, are £5,367(sixth form), £4,458 (senior, 11 to 16years) and £3,294 (junior prep, 3 to 11years). Boarding school fees average£8,003 a term.An alternative is State BoardingSchools’ Association schools. Theycombine state-funded education andboarding for about £10,000 a year.Mike Lower, general secretary ofthe Independent Schools’ BursarsAssociation, urges parents to consider“first and foremost” the type of schoolthat they are seeking. “The ISC offersguidelines to parents on how to findthe right school. Your ability to pay isalmost secondary to that. A lot ofpeople fail to appreciate that they arenot signing up for just that year butfor five or more and they have to bein a position to maintain that. It isreally not fair on the child otherwise.”Despite the changes, scholarshipsare still an attractive option, particu-larly for children with specific talents,Wallis says. Oakham, Millfield,Harrow and Hampton Court Houseoffer chess scholarships and Loretto,Charterhouse, Oundle and othersoffer scholarships for organ players.“There is a wide range of possibili-ties for bursaries linked to religions

and professions,” she adds. Schoolsrun by Quakers, such as LeightonPark in Reading, offer bursaries tofamilies from their religion as do theMethodists for schools such as KentCollege in Canterbury. WellingtonCollege has bursaries for children ofdeceased servicemen and women.St Paul’s School, London, says itsgoal is to have “need-blind” entry, sofinancial need is not an impediment

to admission. “We aspire to becomethe first leading academic school inthe country to adopt this approach,welcoming gifted young pupils regard-less of economic background.”Bedford School has introducedcomputerised scholarship tests, forwhich students cannot be coached.The scholarships, which cut fees by 10per cent, are then awarded on merit.All other awards are means tested.

Independentschools

More children are giventhe chance to go privateCash help frombursaries throwsopen the doors toa new generation,reports Ian Nash

Parents will not have to break the bank to send children to private school

PETER DAZELEY