Text 7. Independent Schools

Independent schools in the United Kingdom that are neither controlled nor financed by local or central government. They are sometimes referred to as fee-paying, private, or, in some cases confusingly, public schools. Why? A long time ago when education was a privilege of the rich, the only schools where poor people could go were funded by charities. As it was public money, the schools for the poor were called public schools. However, in the course of history many public schools became very successful and turned into expensive private schools but the conservative British continued to call them public schools.

A notable characteristic of independent schools is their variety. They include some of the most famous schools in the world—Eton, Harrow, and Rugby among them—and some of the oldest. The oldest schools in Britain, with years of foundation, are as follows: King’s School, Rochester (604); St Peter’s School, York (627); Wells Cathedral School (909); Warwick School (914); St Alban’s School (948); King’s School, Ely (970); Salisbury Cathedral School (1091); The High School of Glasgow (1124); Dundee High School (1239); Abingdon School (1256); Ruthin School (1284); and Bablake School, Coventry (1344).

Independent schools range in size from a few dozen pupils to more than 2,000, and may be day schools, boarding schools (which provide accommodation for pupils during term time), or a mixture of both. Boarders form a declining proportion of pupils, however. In 1995, 18 per cent were boarders, compared with 28 per cent in 1982. Several factors are responsible for this trend: changing family patterns, cost (in 1995 the average boarding school fee was £10,200 annually, compared with £4,400 for day pupils), and the rapid reduction of the armed services, many of whose personnel traditionally boarded their children at school. About two thirds of independent schools are co-educational, with the remainder split roughly equally between boys’ and girls’ schools.

Junior, or preparatory (“prep”), schools educate children up to the age of 11 or 13, senior schools generally to 18. Many independent schools offer teaching at all ages, from 3 to 18. Most preparatory schools now have their own “pre-prep” departments, covering the nursery and infant stages.

In 1994 there were more than 2,400 independent schools in Great Britain, educating 587,000 children. In England this represented about 7.2 per cent of the school-age population (with lower proportions in Scotland and Wales). Within England, there are considerable variations, by age and region. Whereas in London 10.3 per cent of children attend an independent school, in the West Midlands the proportion is only 3.3 per cent. At the primary stage, 5.4 per cent of children are in independent schools; among over-16s this rises to 19.1 per cent.

Many independent schools have religious foundations.

Independent schools are not obliged to follow the National Curriculum, but they prepare their students ultimately for the same public examinations; in England and Wales, for example, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) at the age of 15 or 16, and GCE Advanced Level at 18. That independent schools achieve high academic standards is not disputed. Of the 500 schools achieving the highest GCSE results in 1995, for example, 374 were independent. What is disputed by some is the extent to which this academic success is entirely or largely the result of selective admission policies. Some independent schools admit only children of the highest academic ability; many, however, admit a much wider range of ability.

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Equal opportunities	\|	Reasons for Choosing an Independent School

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