independent schools GREAT
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
ISC Independent Schools Worth Two Extra Years of Schooling T
he Independent Schools Council Census, published in 2016, demonstrated a strong year for independent schools across the UK and the facts and figures collected by the ISC show our 1,280 schools are in robust health.
Nowhere is the continued success of independent schools better seen than in the south east region, where 379 schools of all shapes and sizes educate 145,000 pupils - both numbers an increase on the year before.
In Surrey alone, from Oxted in the west, Farnham in the east, Egham in the north and Haslemere in the south, there are over 50 schools teaching children from nursery all the way through to A level.
But why do independent schools continue to succeed? First and foremost academic achievement is at the heart of what our schools do. Recent exam results showed that half of all A levels were graded A* and top GCSE A* grades were five times higher in independent schools than national average.
Research earlier in the year revealed that an independent education to the age of 16 is
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equivalent to two extra years’ schooling - and a 0.64 grade increase in all GCSE exams. This is not insignificant.
But more than this, ISC
independent schools are innovative centres that can offer a breadth of curriculum, exciting and diverse extra-curriculum activities and unrivalled pastoral care, all of which go towards shaping young men and women who have the skills and confidence to move into higher education and the workplace.
Sport is particularly strong in independent schools as shown in the success of many former pupils on the worldwide sporting stage; at the 2016 Rio Olympics 32% of the medallists were from the independent sector. 53% of the England cricket team, who toured India this winter, were former independent school pupils. Similarly, 41% of the England rugby union squad, who finished the autumn internationals in November, are independent school alumni.
Choosing the right school for your child may seem a daunting prospect, but you’ll find that most schools have excellent admissions information available on websites
and by contacting the schools’ offices. Open days provide the chance for parents to see schools ‘in action’ and allow you the opportunity to meet with the admissions team, registrar and head teacher.
A big worry for many would-be independent school parents is of course the cost. Running successful schools can be expensive and this is reflected in fees, but fee increases are continuing to decrease whilst at the same time opportunities for means-tested bursaries increase.
Over 160,200 pupils receive help with their fees; a third of pupils at independent schools. The value of this help totals over £850 million annually. A significant majority (85%) of total fee assistance is provided directly from the schools themselves and 5,629 pupils at ISC schools pay no fees at all. While schools rightly extend bursary places to those on the lowest incomes, there are also growing options for middle income families and parents should always approach the school to see if they might qualify for some help with fees.
For further information, please visit
www.isc.co.uk
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