Independent schools how many

The detailed Annual Census is completed by all ISC schools and is therefore a comprehensive and dispassionate reflection of trends within the sector. Every year ISC collects information on exam performance from member schools in the week following publication of exam results. This report from , highlights the huge impact of the independent school sector on the UK economy. Research looking at soft skills development and an analysis of mental toughness at UK independent schools.

Research looking at the differences in attainment between pupils who are educated in independent and state schools. The ISC Annual Census is the authoritative source of data providing a picture of where independent schools sit within the UK's education landscape. The ISC annual Census is the authoritative source of data providing a picture of where independent schools sit within the UK's education landscape.

The cookie settings on this website are set to 'allow all cookies' to give you the very best experience. Third, the high — and therefore exclusive — price tag sustains a peer group of children mainly drawn from supportive and affluent families. Far greater resources are available for diagnosing special needs, challenging exam results and guiding university applications.

The relevant figures for university admissions are thus almost entirely predictable. Top schools, top universities: the pattern of privilege is systemic, and not just confined to the dreaming spires.

Going to a top university, it hardly needs adding, signals a material difference, especially in Britain where universities are quite severely ranked in a hierarchy. Ultimately, does any of this matter? Why can one not simply accept that these are high-quality schools that provide our future leaders with a high-quality education? Given the thorniness — and often invidiousness — of the issue, it is a tempting proposition. Yet for a mixture of reasons — political and economic, as well as social — we believe that the issue represents in contemporary Britain an unignorable problem that urgently needs to be addressed and, if possible, resolved.

The words of Alan Bennett reverberate still. Those who pay for it know it. Those who have to sacrifice in order to purchase it know it.

And those who receive it know it, or should. Consider these three fundamental facts: one in every 16 pupils goes to a private school; one in every seven teachers works at a private school; one pound in every six of all school expenditure in England is for the benefit of private-school pupils.

The crucial point to make here is that although extra resources for each school whether private or state are always valuable, that value is at a diminishing rate the wealthier the school is. Each extra teacher or assistant helps, but if you already have two assistants in a class, a third one adds less value than the second.

Given the very unequal distribution of academic resources entailed by the British private school system, it is unarguable that a more egalitarian distribution of the same resources would enhance the total educational achievement. There is, moreover, the sheer extravagance. Multiple theatres, large swimming pools and beautiful surroundings with expensive upkeep are, of course, nice to have and look suitably seductive on sales brochures — but add relatively little educational value.

The resources lift up children in areas where their rank position on the ladder of success matters, such as access to scarce places at top universities.

To the considerable extent this happens, the privately educated child benefits but the state-educated child loses out. This lethal combination of private benefit and public waste is nowhere more apparent than in the time and effort that private schools devote to working the system, to ease access to those scarce places. What about the implications for our polity?

The way the privately educated have sustained semi-monopolistic positions of prominence and influence in the modern era has created a serious democratic deficit. The unavoidable truth is that, by and large, the increasingly privileged and entitled products of an elite private education have — almost inevitably — only a limited and partial understanding of, and empathy with, the realities of everyday life as lived by most people. One of those realities is, of course, state education.

It marked some kind of apotheosis when in July the appointment of Nicky Morgan Surbiton High as education secretary meant that every minister in her department at that time was privately educated.

On social mobility, there has been in recent years an abundance of apparently sincere, well-meaning rhetoric, not least from our leading politicians.

We cannot accept that. The Social Mobility Commission, with cross-party representation, reported regularly on what government should do, but in December all sitting members resigned in frustration at the lack of policy action in response to their recommendations.

The underlying reality of our private-school problem is stark. Through a highly resourced combination of social exclusiveness and academic excellence, the private-school system has in our lifetimes powered an enduring cycle of privilege. It is hard to imagine a notable improvement in our social mobility while private schooling continues to play such an important role. Allowing, as Britain still does, an unfettered expenditure on high-quality education for only a small minority of the population condemns our society in seeming perpetuity to a damaging degree of social segregation and inequality.

This hands-off approach to private schools has come to matter ever more, given over the past half-century the vastly increased importance in our society of educational credentials. The reproduction of privilege is now tied in inextricably with the way we organise our formal education. Ineluctably, as we look ahead, the question of fairness returns. If private schooling in Britain remains fundamentally unreconstructed, it will remain predominantly intended and destined for the advantage of the already privileged children who attend.

We need to talk openly about this problem, and it is time to find some answers. What they all share is a sense of autonomy.

All schools in Victoria operate within the bounds of state and Australian Government legislation in areas such as finance, accountability, curriculum, and assessment and reporting. Independent schools are distinguished by their own management and governance structures. Parents choose independent schools for many reasons. Some independent schools are established primarily to support youth at risk, meeting and addressing a real community need.

Ultimately the benefit of an independent school is that it will provide an education which is right for the student. Independent schools can open up more pathways, allowing each student to be their best.

Get up-to-date fast facts and figures about Independent schools — how many schools, how many students, how many staff, how they are funded — and more. Teachers at Independent schools must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, a statutory authority that regulates the teaching profession in all schools.