John Edward’s comment to The Times came after a warning from the SCIS, which represents over 70 schools, that its members were under increasing financial pressure.

The SCIS says its members have warned fees will rise as they accommodate staff pay increases and pension contributions. The Scottish government also plans to remove non-domestic rates relief from private schools.

Mr Edward said to The Times: “You’ve either got to put fees up, reduce the amount of means-tested assistance, or sell off assets. Most of our schools barely break even.”

Public sector teacher pay has risen 13% and the need to attract the best staff means some independent schools have to offer more than the state sector.

The SCIS also thinks the Scottish government’s rates reform will put the nation’s private schools at a “competitive disadvantage” at a time when pay and pension pressures mount on all schools.

Writing in TES on the rates reform, Edward said “the impact on schools would be more than £7m per year” and “every penny of that additional tax burden will have to be derived from existing parental fee income, the salary costs of the staff roll, existing school assets, or from the money allocated to means-tested fee assistance”.

Additional pressure will likely be placed on private school finances by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) when employer contributions rise from 16.4% to 23.6% in September 2019.

English education company Alpha Plus Group, which runs 20 private schools and colleges, confirmed to Schools Week that it will leave TPS later this year because of the changes.

The post Many Scottish private schools ‘barely break even’ – SCIS appeared first on Independent Education Today.

The money will also be used to develop inspiring learning spaces for its students.

Almost 350 parents and alumni from ACS’s global community attended the gala at London’s Guildhall on 2 March and it was the first major fundraising event since ACS became a fully registered UK charity in 2018.

The funds raised will help support bursaries and scholarships for students who would otherwise be unable to attend the schools and create state-of-the-art learning facilities.

We have exciting plans to enhance facilities across our campuses, helped enormously by the generosity of our guests who share our vision

The evening featured the musical talent of students including ACS Cobham’s jazz band, The Messengers, and Kai Yamazaki and Yuki Zhang, aged 17, who duetted on violin and piano.

Tim Cagney, chief executive of ACS International Schools, said: “This was a fantastic night which truly highlighted our commitment to global citizenship and extending our renowned international education to talented young people who would otherwise be unable to come to our schools.

“We have exciting plans to enhance facilities across our campuses, helped enormously by the generosity of our guests who share our vision, to benefit the learning experience of our students now and for decades to come.”

In other news: ACS Egham students exhibit impressive final artworks

Pianist, Yuki Zhang, commented: “I was very excited about performing with Kai at the Guildhall which is such an iconic and historic space. It was an honour to represent ACS on such a special evening and the acoustics on the stage were incredible.”

Guests at the charity gala bid for a range of lots in a live and silent auction including breakfast at Tiffany’s flagship store in New York, a behind-the-scenes visit to the filming of TV series Marcella, and a tennis racquet used by Novak Djokovic in his 2019 record-breaking seventh Australian Open win.

The post ACS International Schools’ charity gala raises funds for bursaries and scholarships appeared first on Independent Education Today.

Equating to 2% of GDP for the whole of the Mendip area, Millfield schools have a long association with the local community and are active members of Somerset and the South West region. Through educational and community partnerships and providing employment, the schools support the local economy and open up cultural events and the use of their facilities to the public.

From the archive: Former British tennis number one, Andrew Castle, talks candidly about his time at Millfield, falling in love, and the Wimbledon moment he’ll never forget:
I still thank God that I went [to Millfield] as it was a fantastic opportunity. The facilities enabled me to play tennis and if I hadn’t gone there, how many hours would I have played a week? I don’t know
Click here to read the full article

In recent years Millfield has developed strong relationships with both staff and pupils at local state schools including Elmhurst Junior and St Dunstan’s through art, music and sport projects. It has also expanded the established volunteering programmes in the local area including activities with organisations such as Shapwick Moor, Street Harvest, Southlawns Care Home, South West Volunteers and Cheddar Vale Gateway Club. In addition, Millfield welcomes local teachers to join its teacher training programme.

Headmaster Gavin Horgan said: “Millfield has always been an active member of the local area and we are proud to be both a leading employer and a keen participator in community and educational partnerships.

“Our work on a local and national level seeks to promote accessibility and collaboration at all levels and I look forward to expanding our relationships still further in the future and encourage everyone across the country to do the same. Together we can make a difference.”

An infographic released by the school shows figures such as Millfield delivering 1,800 jobs in the community, putting on 80+ music, drama and dance productions open to the public every academic year and raising £26,000+ annually for charity.

(Click on image to enlarge in new tab)

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Further afield, the school contributes over £33m to the UK’s GDP, a figure which comprises the school’s own GDP plus that of its UK-based supply chain and the induced GDP which is generated through the spending of staff and the school’s suppliers’ staff. The school employs 460 staff and has 2,260 pupils.

Headmistress of the girls’ division Sue Hincks said: “The impact of independent schools can often be overlooked. Besides offering an outstanding education and stimulating social mobility – over 300 of our senior school pupils receive help with their fees – we make a significant contribution to the local economy.

“Directly or indirectly, we account for 0.47% of all jobs in Bolton, the country’s largest town! For every four jobs in school, a further three are supported beyond our walls. 

The total number of jobs in Bolton supported by our activities is 580 and, across the country, it is 796. 

“Payments to other businesses for goods and services relating to our core school operations amounted to just over £5.5m and 90% of this was spent locally. Last year we paid £12.5m in tax into the Exchequer’s coffers, which included income tax, NICs, plus indirect and induced tax contributions.”

Philip Britton, headmaster of the boys’ division, added: “Independent schools save the tax payer £3.5bn every year, through educating children who would otherwise be expected to take up a place in the state-funded sector. Had all independent schools ceased to exist in the 1940s, this new report found that UK GDP would have been 3.6% lower, or £73bn, than it was in 2017.

“In the last year alone, independent schools contributed £13.7bn to the UK economy, generating £4.1bn of annual tax revenues and supporting 303,000 jobs, more than the total number employed in the city of Liverpool. Aside from financial input into the economy, our pupils contribute enormously to the region through their volunteering and work in the community and the school collaborates regularly with local state schools and opens its doors to the public.” 

The Impact of Independent Schools on the UK Economy report was commissioned by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and supported by RSAcademics.

You might also like: Bolton School wins TES Independent School of the Year

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Why is fundraising important for independent schools?

Many independent schools were created with a philanthropic vision, and by subsidising school fees, today’s schools can support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Laura Osei is headteacher of The Eden School, a co-educational independent faith school in West London. Commenting on the importance of providing financial support to students, she says: “It remains part of the mechanism through which schools are run and continue to contribute to the lifeline of education. It ensures that provisions are available and that students have every opportunity for success.”

At Lady Eleanor Holles School, an independent day school for girls in London, creating a sense of community has always been a core goal, especially in regards to fundraising and development. The school has been running its Development Programme since 2016, and discussing the impact their fundraising has had, Heather Hanbury, headmistress, says: “To date we have been particularly successful in raising money for our bursary fund, and we currently support 56 students, with 41 on 100% means-tested bursaries.”

I want our students to feel connected to our chosen charities, be generous and, as a result, feel more fulfilled

Fundraising also provides independent schools with a way of improving their facilities. At Edge Grove School, a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged three–13-years-old in Hertfordshire, they are halfway through a £3.6m project to build a new Lower School building. Speaking of how fundraising can support construction projects, headmaster Ben Evans says: “The only way that schools can raise revenue is through their fees, however they also need to be careful to maintain the affordability of their fees as year-on-year fee increases risk pricing parents out. 

“To take your school forward and do something different from your competitors, headteachers need to fundraise.”

Implementing effective fundraising strategies

To help independent schools meet their aspirations for philanthropy, growth and development, having a strong fundraising plan is essential, but what are the best ways for them to implement this?

Jane Prescott is headmistress of Portsmouth High School for girls in Hampshire. She believes that it’s important to emotionally engage potential donors in order to maximise the funds that are raised, and says: “Philanthropy is all about building and nurturing relationships which will strengthen links within the school and external community.”

The need to engage stakeholders and secure their interest in a fundraising campaign is also something that Laura Osei thinks is key to success. She adds: “Support from the entire school body is important as staff, parents and students alike need to buy into any strategy being proposed.”

Edge Grove School established a Development Office in 2017, and it has a 10-year development plan for its fundraising. 

My advice to other independent schools is do not think of fundraising as a short-term gain, instead think of it as a journey that is sustainable in the long term 

For Ben Evans, a successful fundraising strategy involves building relationships with potential donors and making them feel valued, as well as thinking about longevity, rather than short-term gains. He says: “If someone wants to donate to your school, they need to feel like you really want their donation, whether it’s £10 or £1m. It’s about taking the time to show them round the school, meeting the headteacher, showing them your plans and making them feel valued.

“For us it’s a long-term strategy, and we’re now engaging with people who may not donate for 20 years. My advice to other independent schools is do not think of fundraising as a short-term gain, instead think of it as a journey that is sustainable in the long-term.”

Fundraising success

When it comes to creating a fundraising strategy, what types of activities have the most success?

Jane Prescott thinks that Portsmouth High School’s fundraising campaign for a climbing wall was successful because it was short, clear and engaging. Commenting further, she said: “We tied in the fundraising with our 135th birthday, so each girl was encouraged to raise £13.50 and parents and alumni any variable of £1, £3 and £5. There was a clear ending and a clear purpose to the campaign which was extremely successful.”

In Heather Hanbury’s experience, donors should also be able to clearly see the difference their donation has made. She said: “For our new Gateway Path, our community were invited to sponsor bricks, trees and benches, and we raised over £50k. The campaign was very successful because we invited our community to quite literally become part of LEH’s history.”

You might also like: Derby Grammar School beats fundraising target

Ben Evans also agrees that it’s important to ensure that donations are as tangible as possible. Discussing his experience of fundraising for Edge Grove School’s new Lower School building, he said: “For a new building, people want to be part of it and want to be able to make a difference without giving millions. With our campaign we gave people the chance to pay for a particular element of the building, for example the interactive teaching walls for each classroom at £7,000 each, or classroom bag storage units at £1,000 each.

“In my experience, what doesn’t work is simply saying we want to build this and we are looking for donations, it’s very short sighted.”

Giving back to external causes

All of our heads agree that involving students in charitable fundraising activities is key to their success, and for Jane Prescott, it’s also about listening to student’s suggestions. She says: “If the girls have chosen who or what they want to support, there is usually an emotional connection with that choice. The girls then pass on that passion and the activity gains momentum.”

Laura Osei thinks it’s important for students to understand the important life skills that they can learn from taking part, and added: “It teaches responsibility and helps build character.”

Kate Reynolds is head of Leweston School in Dorset, a day and boarding school for pupils from three months to 18 years. Fundraising at the school is led by pupils, with each house choosing one charity to support per term. Commenting on the school’s process for deciding which charities to support, she says: “The head of house prefect makes a case for support and puts together a proposal which is submitted to the staff charities team. The houses then plan and implement whatever activities they want to do which range from sponsored events, cake sales and sports matches.”

If the girls have chosen who or what they want to support, there is usually an emotional connection with that choice. The girls then pass on that passion and the activity gains momentum

At Lady Eleanor Holles, the girls are involved in choosing the charities that are supported through their Charity Committee. Heather Hanbury believes that this provides an effective way of engaging pupils in the school’s charitable giving, and says: “I want our students to feel connected to our chosen charities, be generous and as a result, feel more fulfilled.”

Examples of fundraising activities

At Edge Grove School, Ben Evans wants to ensure that pupils understand the reasons for supporting a charity and the cause at hand. Commenting on their external fundraising activities, he says: “Internationally we support the Rainbow Centre in Sri Lanka, which provides a daycare centre for disadvantaged children. 

Our children recently visited the centre and four of our teachers also gave three weeks of their time last summer, which means we have really strong links with the cause. 

“The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is our national charity, and we also support the Hertfordshire Community Foundation on a local basis. I am running the London Marathon this year in aid of them, and have been keeping the children up to date with my training so that they can understand the efforts that go into raising money for charity.”

At Lady Eleanor Holles School, they alternate between supporting an international charity one year and a national one the next. Discussing this further, Heather Hanbury says: “In September 2018 the LEH Hampton Boat Club raised over £65k for CHASE Shooting Star charity, and in 2017/18 over £10,000 was raised for the international charity Lumos, which is dedicated to improving the lives of institutionalised children throughout the world.”

The Sixth Form at Leweston School organise and run a 24-hour ‘triathlon’ every spring term, consisting of 10 hours of dancing, eight hours of cycling and six hours of running. Commenting on the fundraising that they have done, Kate Reynolds says: “Our head girl organised Leweston’s second 24-hour triathlon in memory of a friend.

“The entire school took part from Reception to Year 13, as well as staff, and raised £1,500 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.”

You might also like: New sixth form centre for Rydal Penrhos

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Anita Gleave, founder and CEO of Chatsworth Schools, said: “We are delighted to make this announcement. All of these schools fit the profile of the high quality schools that Chatsworth chooses to work with, and we are confident that the change in ownership will ensure bright futures for pupils and staff.”

Chatsworth Schools’ focus on quality as the foundation for building a successful, education-led group fits with Synova’s approach to long-term value creation. Tim Ashlin, Synova Capital

“The Chatsworth team has a passion for schools as learning communities, and a commitment to enabling outstanding futures for all our children,” added Gleave. “By continually raising standards and fostering a love of learning, we aim to create world citizens and strong communities with resilience and integrity. We look forward to bringing our extensive experience to each and every one of our schools.”

Tim Ashlin, partner at growth investor, Synova Capital, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Chatsworth team, who have a track record of exceptional educational leadership. Their focus on quality as the foundation for building a successful, education-led group fits with Synova’s approach to long-term value creation and our commitment to providing support throughout the life of our investments. We look forward to continuing to work with Chatsworth Schools in the years ahead and seeing the group grow from strength to strength.”

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The UK’s leading independent schools are approaching this area with different strategies, depending on each school’s vision and financial adaptability, but one thing is common to all: they aim to reach out and offer their unique, enriching education to a range of gifted, characterful pupils who, a generation ago, would not even have been able to consider it.

For example, the recent 100 Bursary Campaign at Bolton School – the Times Educational Supplement’s 2019 Independent School of the Year – raised £5m, helping to ensure that one in five senior school pupils now receives fee assistance. On average, these bursaries cover 85% of a student’s fees, while almost 100 other Bolton girls and boys enjoy a completely free place. The school is currently spending £2.5m per annum on means-tested bursaries, giving children from families that earn £20,000 or less the potential to enjoy a free education. 

Those transformative free places will allow us to seriously open up access, and this vision has at its heart our founding principles

Sue Hincks, headmistress of Bolton School Girls’ Division and president of the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA), said: “Our recent fundraising campaign was undertaken in honour of the school’s centenary and aimed to help fulfil the aim of [philanthropist and school founder] Lord Leverhulme, who envisioned an education for every child of ability, irrespective of financial means.

“Support for the campaign came from right across the school community, including old boys and old girls, charitable trusts, current and former parents and other friends of the school as well as from our parents’ associations. Our vision for the future is to be a school that any talented child can access, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay the fees.”

Whilst other school fee assistance schemes have come and gone, Christ’s Hospital has stuck to its charitable aims since it was founded in 1552: financially supporting the education of those in financial, social and other needs, in a caring boarding environment.

Pupils’ fees are assessed according to family income, and selection is determined by a child’s potential to benefit from a Christ’s Hospital education, rather than family finances. “This results in a social and cultural diversity that enriches our school community and offers our pupils unique opportunities as we prepare them for the modern world,” explains school spokesperson Clare Phillips. “The resulting social and cultural mix at Christ’s Hospital is unique in the independent sector. The pupils come from all over the UK and overseas, and from every kind of background.” 

The school’s results are testament to this: 98% of pupils go on to top universities and the majority of A-level grades are at A*–B, with a number of International Baccalaureate (IB) students achieving some of the best scores in the UK. “Of our 662 pupils on means-tested bursaries, 14% pay no fees, and 35% pay less than a tenth of the fees,” Phillips explains. “The school’s pupil profile is one of which its royal founder, Edward VI, would have been proud.”

Enhancing diversity

The expansion of bursary programmes is certainly enhancing the social diversity of independent schools. Elsewhere, Ampleforth College has recently extended its bursaries for high achievers. New head Deirdre Rowe has set out to recruit scholars who will truly contribute to life at the North Yorkshire boarding school, and donations have enabled a new raft of means-tested bursaries.

“Since 1802, Ampleforth has always recruited students of all ability,” Rowe explains. “However, improved A-level and GCSE results and a newly reinforced academic team in disciplines from classics to coding means that gifted students, with the personalities and values to contribute to school life, will now have even more chance to join us here.” 

Rowe is clear that scholarships and bursaries can benefit pupils and schools alike. “Following our exam results in the past few years, and the investment we have made in our own academic offering, bursary students will also act as role models to their fellow students, setting the bar high and encouraging all students to surpass expectations. However, as well as strengthening the academic standard of private schools, bursaries also enable us to create a more diverse environment for all pupils to play music, sport and develop their social skills as part of a thriving school community.”

Founded in 1818, Scotland’s Dollar Academy has always admitted both boys and girls and, over its 200-year history, has provided financial support in a variety of forms. In 2018, the school supported over 70 pupils amounting to a total of over £700,000. Additionally, provision is often made for the supply of uniform, to cover travel to school and for participation in school trips.

Last year we were able to help over 70 children and we would like to do more

Resources across many schools such as Dollar, however, are limited. Each year bursary places are oversubscribed, and the school is keen to help as many children as it can. As such, and in celebration of Dollar’s 2018–19 bicentenary anniversary, the school recently decided to launch a Bicentenary Bursary Fund. In a nod to the ethos and values of the school (‘be kind, work hard and get involved’), the fund will aim to increase access to the school and to support as many children as possible.  

“The Bicentenary Bursary Fund will help us continue to provide an outstanding education to as many as possible, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay the fees,” Rector David Knapman explains. “Last year we were able to help over 70 children and we would like to do more.”

Sharper focus

Woldingham School, established 175 years ago upon principles of intellectual scholarship and social awareness, offers a combination of talent scholarships, means-tested bursaries and free places. Scholarships are typically awarded at 5%–20% reduction in fees. However, in the last five years the contribution towards assisted and free places has taken on a sharper focus as the school looks to cement its place within the local community – and to see all pupils, regardless of circumstance, benefit from membership of a diverse student body.

Bursaries are available for both new pupils and existing families whose circumstances change. In addition to academic performance, Woldingham also considers the child’s potential to benefit from the wider opportunities at the school. And this approach is paying dividends for schools and pupils alike: bursary students are throwing themselves into the wider co-curricular opportunities and taking on positions of leadership, with some elected head girl and/or gaining entry to Oxbridge.

To take one example, five years ago Woldingham introduced an annual award of an 11+ scholarship, at 50% fee reduction, specifically for a girl at a local state-maintained school. “As a Sacred Heart School we emphasise a truly rounded education with particular focus on community, so meaningful scholarships for local girls is critical in reinforcing our roots in our own area,” explains Simon Hopkins, director of finance, resources and operations. “This has proved very popular in the local community and has increased awareness of assisted places across a range of local primary schools.”

For these bursaries to be truly meaningful, says Hopkins, it’s important to assess each one on an individual basis. 

“We take a pragmatic approach whereby each family is assessed and funds are spread as widely as possible. It’s important to us not to turn bursary awards into a sausage machine where awards are a by-product of a cold calculation. We must identify those prospective students where the award is likely to be genuinely transformational.”

You might also like: Bursaries and scholarships: a win-win situation?

Co-curricular scholarships are awarded in Art, Drama, Music and Sport, and heads of department look for genuine curiosity, originality and joy in their subject. As head of Drama Stacey Williams says: “We see so many students who attend performing arts classes, have taken LAMDA exams and have been in productions – that seems to be part and parcel of many kids’ lives these days. However, for a scholarship there needs to be something other than coached ability – a spark, an originality and a realness in their performances.” 

Simon Hopkins says: “As our development programme grows, it is our intention that this will allow us to award even more genuinely transformative bursaries every year.

“Opening up a Woldingham education to talented girls who, historically, would not have been able to contemplate it is crucial to our long-term vision. Those transformative free places will allow us to seriously open up access, and this vision has at its heart our founding principles. We aim to achieve nothing less than to teach, inspire and enable a generation of women who will change the world.” 

The post Are scholarships and bursaries the solution? appeared first on Independent Education Today.

The means-tested scholarships will be offered to young people who excel academically, musically, in the creative arts, or in sport. Also available will be a special ‘all-rounder’ award, in memory of the school’s founder and first principal, David Arthur, who died in December.

Arthur successfully merged St. Bride’s School for Girls and the boys’ Larchfield Academy in in 1977. The scholarship named in his honour will be bestowed upon a candidate “who will contribute to the life of the school in a range of ways”.

Worth a possible reduction of up to 50% of school fees, pupils aged from nine to 18 are invited to apply for scholarships by the deadline of 29 March. For more information or to apply, visit lomondschool.com/scholarships

School principal, Johanna Urquhart, said: “As we celebrate the past 40 years of our school and look forward to the future, we are conscious of a desire to offer places to many more young people who may not ordinarily have the opportunity to attend Lomond School. These 40 new scholarships will do just that, and we are very excited to welcome talented young people from all backgrounds to our Lomond School family.

“We must also reflect on our past and our traditions, and an important part of that is the legacy of David Arthur. The ‘all-rounder’ scholarship will be a lovely way to celebrate his commitment to the school.”

David Arthur’s daughter, Seonaid Brown, said: “As a family we are tremendously proud of what our father achieved in his life, especially his legacy and the ethos he left at Lomond School. To have this scholarship in his name is a great honour to him, and I know he would have felt very proud, but also very humbled by it.”

You may also be interested in: How can bursaries and scholarships help?

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Although to date relatively few schools have used edtech to maximise their international reach, this seems likely to change. Certainly investors in education in China – including the likes of Goldman Sachs – see edtech as being the next big horizon. They are busy making plans to capture as much of this massive market as they can.

The business model is very different to that of brick and mortar schools which focus on lower numbers and high per capita spend. Edtech platforms depend on high numbers with a lower per capita spend. The open source solution Moodle claims to have more than 78 million registered users from 222 countries all over the world. The success of EtonX – Eton’s leadership studies module – shows that there is a ready market for well-developed edtech products in markets such as China.

However, edtech solutions need to be both well planned and well executed. They require more than mere content and technology. No school has the resources to fly solo with the development of edtech products and so strategic alliances with technology providers and local partners are essential. These are complex relationships, so schools need to access expert support and guidance on how they enter into them.

As an acknowledged leader in both edtech and the internationalisation of schools, Bird & Bird and its consultancy practice Baseline are uniquely positioned to advise schools on how they can best include edtech as part of their international growth strategy and support them in their development and implementation.

Schools need not re-invent the wheel and should draw upon the experiences of international digital transformation programmes in other sectors.

Key lessons include:

● A working technology delivery platform is a necessary pre-requisite but is no guarantee of a successful international programme. Edtech solutions need to be stable, reliable and provide high-quality educational content to give any chance of success. Any unreliability in availability or difficulties in accessing the service are likely to result in users looking elsewhere. Luckily, there is a wide range of edtech service providers that can provide the necessary quality of service. Partnering with an established and recognised provider is essential.

● Working in partnership with a strong local delivery partner is also essential. There have been several successful examples of disruptive technology providers working in partnership with established and more traditional incumbents who have the knowledge and understanding of the relevant business environment. The combination of disruptive technology solutions and well-established incumbents with a desire to change can be powerful and successful.

This brings the additional complexity of a three-way working arrangement between technology solution providers, the school and local partners who can deliver the solution ‘on the ground’.

The role of the local educational providers is not merely to ‘embed’ and deliver the education services which are enabled by the edtech solution. It is to build a strong distribution network and provide ongoing support, training and quality auditing. This is particularly so with blended platforms.

Edtech solutions without high-quality and corresponding physical services will generally be sub-optimal. They need to be provided in an appropriate context, with relevant branding and with strong quality control.

W: www.twobirds.com/en

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This is something that many of the country’s best known private schools benefit from. The controversy between independent schools’ ‘charitable’ status and their elitism is best illustrated by a recent story of 16-year-old Hasan Patel, a self-described socialist, who accepted a £76,000 scholarship to study at the prestigious Eton College. A staunch supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, Patel had previously called Eton’s charitable status ‘absurd and corrupt’. However, his indignation did not prevent him from applying to the elitist college, nor accepting a place. The young man, being assured that he was not a traitor to his socialist ideals, as he has been called by some, but that his intention was to benefit from the school’s excellent resources in order to ‘go out and tackle injustice’.

This story, full of contradiction, reflects the young man’s confusion as much as our society’s conflicted view on independent education. Nothing is black and white, and unfair as it may seem at times, there is excellence in private education which is hard to deny or resist.

In 1981, in an attempt to bridge the divide between state and private education, Margaret Thatcher’s first Conservative Government introduced the Assisted Places Scheme, which provided places at independent schools to gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Twenty years later, Tony Blair’s first Labour Government phased it out, to spend the savings on reducing class sizes in state infant schools. The pendulum had swung back and forth.

Today, a third of the children educated in England’s independent schools receive some kind of financial assistance

Since then, independent schools’ fees have rocketed disproportionately to wages, and private schools have become inaccessible to the majority of the population. After the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme, to justify their charitable status and continue providing opportunities to children from less affluent backgrounds, private schools devised a system of scholarships and bursaries. According to the Independent Schools’ Council, nearly £1bn was spent by private schools on providing financial aid.

Today, a third of the children educated in England’s independent schools receive some kind of financial assistance. Scholarships are awarded for excellence in particular areas – such as academia, sports and music – and are usually worth between 10% and 25% of the fees. Bursaries are worth much more. They are awarded to gifted children whose parents otherwise wouldn’t have the means to pay the fees.

For the brightest of the bright, like Hasan Patel, bursaries can be worth up to 100% of fees. In some cases, additional help is provided to pay for uniforms and school trips. There are also other initiatives to battle against the idea that independent schools are inaccessible, like classes run by teachers from King’s College School in Wimbledon at seven local primary schools, helping children prepare for entrance exams to independent schools.

The story of Hasan Patel illustrates that these initiatives work. A bright young man, brought up on a council estate in east London, blessed with exceptional academic abilities, he worked hard and when financial support became available, he seized the opportunity to study at Eton College. There is little doubt that he will get an excellent education there, equipped with which he will either, as he has professed, ‘go out and tackle injustice’ – or seek other opportunities to expand his horizons.

E: info@gabbitas.com
T: 02077 340 161
W: www.gabbitas.com

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