From the HEADMASTER

that happiness they need,especially children from other countries where they cannot stay any more.Thank you for giving the children such opportunities.“

If you want to find out more about the many community partnerships with which Canford is engaged please do visit https://www.schoolstogether.org/ and type in ‘Canford’.

Our school values which focus on Purposeful Engagement, Courageous Attitude, Humble Ambition and Gracious Leadership underpin our culture and our community, and have had the privilege and pleasure of seeing Canfordians ‘walking the talk’. To further emphasise and acknowledge the importance of these values as influences on what we think, say and do, we have launched a half-termly ‘Canford Values Award’ which is presented to one member of each house who has embodied those values through their deeds.

Our desire to make a difference to the lives of others in a meaningful way also lies at the heart of our bursary programme through the Martin Marriott Foundation and we are fully committed to broadening access to a Canford education through the provision of financial support. The Labour Party’s plans to raise £1.7 billion from putting VAT on school fees and removing business rate relief will put a huge strain on this ambition and it is clear that those driving this policy have not done their homework. A new report from Oxford Economics provides national level data to quantify the economic contribution of independent schools. In 2021, according to independent economic analysis:

• Schools affiliated to the Independent Schools Council (ISC) made a £14.1 billion contribution to the UK economy. That is equivalent to 0.7% of total UK GDP in that year, and to the total economic activity generated in a city the size of Sheffield.

• The activities of ISC schools also have a significant impact on UK employment. In 2021, they supported around 282,000 jobs across the country, equivalent to the total employed population of Liverpool.

• ISC schools also supported £4.3 billion in tax revenues for the UK Exchequer.

• Scaling the results up to all independent schools across the UK, we estimate their total economic footprint to have been £16.5 billion, associated with over 328,000 jobs, and £5.1 billion in tax revenues.

• The study also found that independent schools save the taxpayer £4.4 billion every year by providing places for pupils who could otherwise be expected to take up a place in the state-funded sector. The ISC schools’ share of that total is £3.8 billion.

Canford is no different in terms of its contribution to our local community, the local job market and the local economy. Should this policy become reality it will have a real and significantly negative impact on the lives of many young people, and many of these are not the children of the super rich or even the reasonably wealthy. To give a human example I opened a Christmas card from one of our bursary pupils which contained some of the most beautiful sentiments I have read from a pupil since I started teaching in 1994. These words were not all about gratitude to the school for being given such a wonderful education, although that reflection was there, but it was more about the raw excitement and pure joy when viewing the vistas which had opened up through being part of the Canford Community – and I am in no doubt that this young man will have a real impact on our world as a result of this opportunity. It is for this reason that we must keep finding the means to give that bursary support as we look ahead. feel strongly that society and the world will be a better place as a result of such efforts which go far beyond the charge of tokenism which some level at us. As Mother Teresa said “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”