Reasons for Choosing an Independent School

Above all, evidence of high standards of achievement attracts parents to independent schools. Surveys (in 1989 and 1993 by Market & Opinion Research International – MORI) indicate that parents most frequently cite high standards as their reason for choosing an independent school, and that roughly one family in five chooses the independent sector because of specific dissatisfaction with state schools. Similar proportions of parents cite small classes and discipline as decisive factors in their choice. Socio-economic analysis of these surveys shows that around half the children entering independent schools come from families where neither parent was educated at an independent school, with some 30 per cent coming from social classes C, D, and E, that is, at the lower end of the scale.

Parents increasingly tend to use both independent and state sectors as they suit their children’s needs at particular stages in their schooling. Nearly half the children entering independent senior schools have been educated at state primary schools, while one in five of those leaving “prep” schools go into state schools. There is a similar crossover between sectors at the post-GCSE stage.

Given their complete dependence on fees, independent schools can only survive if they satisfy parents that they give value for money. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, in spite of fees rising by around 10 per cent each year, independent school numbers grew steadily. Between 1985 and 1991, pupil numbers in the independent sector grew by 8 per cent. Since 1991, the effects of the worst post-war recession have cut numbers by about 3.5 per cent, although by 1995 the number of day pupils was beginning to increase again.

The evident success and the social and economic prominence of many UK independent schools fuels a continuing debate about their position in society. Many believe that the state’s ability to provide high-quality education for all is compromised by the existence of a significant private alternative. The schools themselves argue that international conventions guarantee parental rights to an alternative to state education.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Text 7. Independent Schools	\|	Hints for choosing a proper school.

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.005 сек.