Demand for private schools is at a five-year high, despite the credit crunch and successive above-inflation fee increases.
Parents are digging deep and saving on luxuries such as holidays in order to allow their children to avoid the state system. The average cost of private education may be more than £11,000 a year but that is not deterring eager parents. According to the Independent Schools Council (ISC), the number of children enrolling in schools is at an all-time high of 511,677.
Peter Bodkin, headteacher at Tettenhall College, said places at his school were most definitely in demand. For a Year 7 pupil to board at the Wood Road school, it costs £6,203 a term.
“I would concur with my colleagues in that we are experiencing an increase,” Mr Bodkin said. “Places for our nursery and sixth form are in demand.
“Our success is down to small classes, good discipline and the all-round education we can offer. Parents are buying into that.”
He said that while professional parents made up a large portion of the clientele, there were also a number of small businessmen who worked long hours to keep their children at the school.
“It is expensive,” he said. “But we are not making huge profits; we are continually investing in new facilities for the good of our students. The fees are above inflation but when you have small class sizes, you are left with a substantial bill for teaching.”
At Wolverhampton Grammar School, the annual fee is £9,693.
Headteacher Bernard Trafford said: “What continues to make us desirable is the broad curriculum and wide range of subjects on offer, particularly at A-level.
“For many parents, independent schools are regarded as a fast track to higher education.”
The increase has been put down to more independent schools offering nursery places. Longer working hours, commuting and the rising cost of childcare have seen more families turn to private education.
Chairwoman of the Independent Schools Association Deborah Odysseas-Bailey said: “Parents are buying into independent education at a much earlier age.
“Once they are in, they wish to remain.”
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2 Comments
Or… could it be, that people are so unhappy with the state education system that they want to give thier child a chance to get an education.
‘Our success is down to small classes, good discipline and the all-round education we can offer. Parents are buying into that.”…
Yes…Because they cant get it in our state schools even tho they’ve already paid for it!
My children go to the one of the above mentioned schools.It is a very good school.But please dont think for a minute they do anything different to any other school, all they have is better facilities.I wanted my children to go to private school not because of the so called better standard of education or more diverse and opportunities but becuase i simply didnt like the look of my local school and the way children were behaving there.Thats not the schools fault or the teachers fault its the parents fault for allowing children to run riot.
Private education is not the all its cracked upto be, your child will only have better opportunities and more chances to do things if they are one of the best in the school.If your child is of average intelligance and average ability in a sport or instrument then just like at state schools they will dissapear unnoticed into the crowd.I was not prepared to play the ” i will go to church for acouple of years card” so ST Peters was out of the question.Money well spent?the jurys out.