As the state sector improves standards by leaps and bounds, is an independent school education still worth the cost" Lucy Elphinstone, Headmistress at Francis Holland School, explains why she believes the answer is “yes!”
“What?s the difference between an independent school education and a state one"? my friend repeated sarcastically. ?The size of your ego!? Her joke taps into a change in the landscape of education: the state sector has improved in terms of governance, leadership, academic standards and teachers? incentives, so why bother paying for the private version"
According to the Department for Education, 82% of primary schools and 71% secondary schools are now being judged as ?good? or ?outstanding? by Ofsted, so can paying up to £25,000 a year for a day school, and around £35,000 for a boarding school, really be worth it" Leaving aside the obvious proviso that there are good and bad schools in both sectors, I would say the answer is still a resounding ?yes?. It is a well-known and, some might say, uncomfortable fact that despite privately-educated students making up only 7% of the population, more than half of Oxbridge undergrads are from independent schools. 
The same is true of many industries such as law, finance, and journalism, and of chief executives in Britain. Not only does the teaching produce top grades, but the careers guidance on offer also aids confidence, focus and self-belief. Work experience and internships a...