Talking Head
Headmaster's blog at Newcastle School for Boys
Don’t fear the reaper
There have been some grimly pessimistic headlines this weekend about the future for independent schools following comments made last week by the publisher of The Good Schools Guide.
Without citing any particular evidence, the Guide asserted that better standards in state schools – attributed to improved ambition and discipline – and allied with economic downturn and rising fees threaten the future of hundreds of independent schools. Sunderland High School was quoted in my newspaper as a recent example.
If the observations of The Good Schools Guide about state school educational standards can be substantiated, then this is to be celebrated. It is clearly good for children, good for schools and good for the nation.
And if they ever did, independent schools can no longer base their existence on a presumption of flawed state school provision. Competition raises standards and challenges complacency.
So, in the face of this weekend’s headlines, why would parents – and record numbers do – continue to choose independent schools?
Firstly, consider the concept of independence and what it actually means for schools. An independent school has greater freedom to design and implement a curriculum and learning experience that meets the needs of its pupils.
State-funded schools have far less opportunity to adapt and respond to their own contexts. They remain at the prescription of OFSTED and the whim of here today, gone tomorrow government ministers driven by political expediency.
As a small example, take GCSE reforms – the subject of my previous blog piece. In order to fulfil league table requirements, all mainstream state school pupils must study one foreign language at GCSE. Whilst this is an entirely admirable approach – and one that we encourage in our boys – it doesn’t necessarily suit all pupils, such as those who may be challenged by dyslexia. As an independent school, we don’t have to enforce one size fits all uniformity. We have the freedom to create more individualised pathways matched to individual needs.
Central government control and cultural expectation can also make it much harder for some state schools to offer their pupils a wide range of opportunity and experience beyond the classroom. For example, you are far more likely to be a British Olympian or to gain national honours in certain sports if you were privately educated.
Class sizes – whilst the evidence of educational outcomes in relation to class size remains contradictory, parents continue to value increased opportunity for the individual attention and engagement afforded by smaller classes in independent schools. Outcomes in absolute terms can also be better in independent schools although this is often in large part down to the opportunity for selection. Of the top 100 schools in the 2015 A level league tables , the vast majority were highly selective – either oversubscribed independent schools (55) or state grammars (45).
There has been much debate in recent years about university admission and the disproportionate representation of privately educated students at top universities. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, it occurs mostly because independent schools – to a greater extent than state schools – make it their business to know how to deliver these outcomes and invest time and energy to do so. This benefits their pupils and meets the expectations of their parents.
In many respects, The Good Schools Guide is right. The challenge is on for independent schools – particularly outside London and the home counties – to provide sustainable and affordable education of the highest quality.
In the north east in the past seven years, seven independent schools have gone out of existence: closing, merging and/or reforming with a different status or source of funding.
During this time, Newcastle School for Boys has grown and extended its age range to establish a successful secondary provision including at Sixth Form. Demand for places continues to grow. And as we celebrate our tenth anniversary, we’re busy planning for the next ten years and beyond.