Heads-Up: Rising School Fees
The rising cost of private school fees means that it’s become a preserve only for the rich. Not so, says Mark Bailey, a generous bursary scheme puts paid to that
The annual Independent Schools Council census contains a wealth of information. In 2015, it documented a welcome 31% rise in the number of bursaries awarded at ISC schools since 2011, and confirmed that 33% of pupils receive fee support of some sort.
The bad news is that escalating fee levels mean that fee remission is needed more than ever. Over the last 25 years, school fees have increased at twice the rate of average earnings, so the pool of parents able to afford them is shrinking.
Only for the rich"
Various articles in the media have attributed rising fees to a ?facilities arms race?, driven by a determination to attract wealthy families from across the world. To prove the point, the Economist (May 2016) showed that capital expenditure in independent schools has risen threefold between 1997 and 2010. But all is not quite what it seems. The building price index has doubled in the same period, so the increase in building expenditure in real terms is modest. Many schools fund construction projects from donations, not debt, and most are day schools, so are not in the market for wealthy foreign boarders.
St Paul?s School in London exemplifies these objections to the arms race argument. We have spent £65m rebuilding the school since 2011, because the original 1960s prefab buildings are already 20 year...
Source:
independentschoolparent
URL:
http://www.independentschoolparent.com/
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