Private schools have a 'moral duty' to their pupils - not the Government's academies

The history of education in the UK is a history of private success and public failure.

Research regularly tells us the best education systems in the world are those with little central interference.

This is not the model I see in the academies and free schools initiatives.

Over the years state education has become less about children and more about the fortunes of governments and individual ministers.

Schools have become caught up in an unseemly web of legislation that blows this way and that.

The independent school model works because it responds to a fundamental right and a fundamental responsibility.

Parents have the right to have their children educated as well as possible. They therefore have the responsibility to pay for it.

The partnership between hard-working parents, motivated students and committed schools has ensured no stakeholder rests on their laurels.

The freedom of schools as charities to charge fees in order to make a surplus means investment can be made in a school’s provision.

It is a virtuous cycle. Introducing the state into the equation removes motivation of all parties.

The over-involvement of government in many areas of our lives is a socialist hang-over that has infantilised the nation for generations.

All that has resulted is a lacklustre parade of cheap and low quality provision funded by an agency, the state, which has failed to create successful and lasting change in the way children are educated.

I believe the state, among many things unrelated to education, is there for the most vulnerable. It is there for those who cannot help themselves.

I am the first in line to pay my dues to a government that will lavish care on the unloved, the problematic and often unruly in our society.

That is the original philosophy of the Welfare State.

Dr Seldon says the perceived difficulties associated with fee-paying schools sponsoring academies “need not be burdensome” and the practical difficulties “are much exaggerated”.

As I see it, transforming a failing school or starting a new one is a Sisyphean task.

If an independent school wants to sponsor an academy properly, they need to invest time and energy into it.

If the practical difficulties are easily overcome, the task is not challenging enough and the reward not worth the effort.

We do not have money to spare to send teachers and deputies to form schools elsewhere. And we are behoven to our parents who are already paying twice for education.

As regards private schools “perpetuating social divides”, I want rather to perpetuate the right sort of divide – where the deserving are rewarded and the indolent do not prosper.

However we have lost sight of what a genuine meritocracy is.

Too many do well because of unearned advantage. Others expect help when they are unwilling to give of themselves.

By making education something all parents buy into and make sacrifices for, we have more chance of seeing motivated pupils and united families working towards common goals.

The engine room of the private sector is the hard working school that has to pull together a tough budget each year and strain every sinew to ensure that the educational offering is as high quality as it could be.

It is a tough ask, because they live in an unpredictable and unstable environment and must deliver or die.

As I walk the corridors of my school, I am acutely aware of the sacrifice families are making in financial terms to enjoy the first class education we offer. I am under pressure, as are my fantastic colleagues, to give value for money.

It has created, in the vast number of cases, a co-operation between parent and school for the success of those children in my care. It works. And it has worked here at Taunton School for 164 years.

I often get told independent schools do not live `in the real world’ and commercial organisations know all about survival in tough economic conditions.

Yet I know of few organisations that have lasted more than 100 years.

However, I know of dozens and dozens of fee-charging independent schools who have thrived and been successful over generations.

I believe education should be paid for – yes with a contribution through the tax system from the Government, called by many a voucher scheme.

Otherwise, parents should be allowed to top up what they want and go where they choose.

Schools, logically, would be free to teach and deliver as they please, and charge whatever top up they saw fit.

An inspectorate would guarantee basic standards. Such vouchers would be allowable also at independent schools.

A marketplace develops.

Competition between schools ensues. Schools improve or go under.

Parents see where their hard earned money is going.

Parents are more likely to work better together as a family for the good of their children if they are paying for their education.

‧ Dr John Newton is the Headmaster of Taunton School.

Private schools cut back in downturn

One school which was enjoying high pupil numbers, a teacher admitted the closure of other local independent schools had allowed them to take advantage and recruit more students?Photo: Alamy

More than one in three teachers and four in 10 non-academic and support staff have are facing pay freezes this year, according to figures from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) union.

A survey of more than 1,500 school staff found that 46 per cent had seen spending fall in their school this year, with the same percentage expecting a drop this year.

But more than a quarter of those questioned claimed their school had raised fees by at least two per cent this year, with ten per cent saying they had gone up by four per cent or more.

While some schools are thriving despite the economic downturn, others are suffering from a fall in pupil numbers, the ATL said.

More than a quarter of respondents reported that their school had fewer pupils this academic year, but 37 per cent said numbers had gone up.

Some reported that competition from local grammar schools and financial pressures were turning parents away, while a teacher at a school in Lancashire said they were recruiting fewer British and European pupils and more from Nigeria.

At one school which was enjoying high pupil numbers, a teacher admitted the closure of other local independent schools had allowed them to take advantage and recruit more students.

Almost two thirds of staff said they did not expect their school to make any redundancies this year, but there were fears that staff numbers could still fall as recruitment slows down.

One head admitted: "Financial constraints meant when a member of the leadership team left they were not replaced – and we are all doing extra work to cover it – very long hours are now almost impossible hours."

Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: "The majority of staff in independent schools are feeling the full pain of a pay freeze or a well below inflation increase.

"While it is understandable that schools need to keep their costs down in the current economic climate, it is not acceptable for any to use it as an excuse to exploit their staff."

A-level results: private school pupils monopolise top grades

Pupils from private schools were more likely to gain top grades in this summer's A-levels, according to the Department for Education.?Photo: PA/Gareth Fuller

Data published today shows almost 32 per cent of teenagers in the private sector gained three A or A* grades this summer compared with just over eight per cent in mixed-ability state schools.

At the same time, fewer than one-in-20 students taking exams in further education colleges and one-in-10 candidates from sixth-forms were awarded a string of top grades.

It puts private school pupils at a huge advantage when applying for Britain's elite universities which increasingly fail to consider candidates unless they score at least three As.

Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, branded the figures “astonishing” and suggested thousands of children were being left behind.

"We must close this gap - which is why we are driving up teaching standards across the profession and developing a world-class curriculum for all," he said.

He added: "A-levels are a key stepping stone towards higher education and future careers. It's only right that we make sure our qualifications match the best in the world and keep pace with the demands of employers and universities."

Figures published by the Department for Education represent the first full breakdown of A-level results for 381,181 teenagers in England.

According to data, 12.8 per cent of students – almost 48,800 – gained three As nationally. This was the same as last year.

Numbers increased to 31.8 per cent among independent school pupils, compared with 27.5 per cent in selective state grammars, 9.8 per cent in sixth-form colleges, 8.3 per cent in comprehensives and 4.7 per cent in FE colleges.

Boys scored more top grades than girls for the second year running, the figures show. Some 13.1 per cent of boys scored three or more As, compared with 12.5 per cent of girls.

The Government has already indicated that top universities will be able to recruit unlimited numbers of students who gain at least two As and a B next year.

According to the figures, almost 45 per cent did so in independent schools, compared with just under 15 per cent in state comprehensives. This could further tighten private school pupils' grip on sought-after university places.

Data also showed a drop in the number of students gaining at least two A-level passes – from 94.8 to 92.7 per cent.

This comes amid claims that grade boundaries have been toughened up this year following warnings from the Coalition Government against “dumbing down”.