12 minute read
EDUCATION
SCHOOL FEES p.31 BOOKS p.41
EALING ABBEY CHOIR’S FIRST GIRLS
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…
WHAT WILL PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES LOOK LIKE IN A FEW YEARS’ TIME OR LONGER? IF YOU’RE HOPING TO EDUCATE YOUR CHILD PRIVATELY FOR SOME OR ALL THEIR SCHOOL YEARS, YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW WHAT LIES IN STORE. WE ASKED THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE FOR AN EXPERT VIEW.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Independent schools are expensive. Putting to one side all the optional (and not so optional) extras - music lessons, trips, uniform, sports kit etc - those parents shelling out for full fees are often paying sums well above the average UK annual income. Few families choosing independent schools can do so without a certain amount of belt tightening and penny counting. The first thing you need to know is that fees will continue to rise. As sure as death and taxes. With the exception of the last year (when Covid prompted an average increase of only 1 per cent), average fees have risen at a rate far greater than inflation - between 3 and 3.5 per cent. And with parents willing to pay them, the trend is only likely to continue. The most expensive schools - the ones with the steepest increases - are in or within touching distance of London where the big salaries and property assets help foot the bill. The ripple effect is huge, with strong fee inflation evident across the country as schools target constant improvements to buildings, facilities and equipment.
HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING?
We recently analysed independent day school fees to work out what parents can expect to pay for the duration of their child’s education. A family whose child starts school (in reception) in 2022 at the expensive end of the market in London will be looking at an eye watering bill close to £470,000 by the time that child has finished their A levels. A school which prices itself at the UK average will be considerably less, but at £270,000 it’s still a major investment. No surprise that many parents choose both sectors.
Not all London schools cost the same as Wetherby Prep (£24,285) or St Paul’s Girls’ (£26,406) and if you look further afield, you will find a private school for half the price - Littlegarth Prep School in Essex charges up to £11,721, Sheffield High School for Girls up to £13,626.
SO WHY PAY IT?
Demand from UK and overseas families shows that a British private school education, regardless of price, remains an attractive option. Greater resources and smaller classes when compared to their state school counterparts, means that children at private schools have generally fared better with work and their mental health during the pandemic. A recent survey of visitors to The GSG website revealed that 15 per cent had already or will move their child from a state to a private school. Parents want their children to experience breadth, ambition and extracurricular - all things available in the state sector of course but traditional fortes for the independent schools where the effects of educational fads and political interference are less likely to be felt.
SET IN STONE?
So, can anything get in the way of this inexorable growth of school fees? Ralph Lucas, editor in chief of The Good Schools Guide and member of the House of Lords, believes that political forces are unlikely to alter much: ‘Conservative support for independent education wanes slowly and steadily - there’s no way you can educate
three children privately on an MP’s salary - but that won’t result in an existential threat to the sector any time soon.’
In contrast Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, promised an end to independent schools’ charitable status as a step towards greater equality in education. This would see them treated as businesses and mean they would have to charge VAT and pay business rates. But Lord Lucas says any such move is unlikely to have the desired effect: ‘It’s just a bone to throw to the diminished left wing of his party. If Labour got into power and enacted this change, some schools would close. Those that stayed open would do so by having clientele willing to shoulder the VAT or by cutting their outgoings so that the addition of VAT did not manifest as a huge hike on termly bill. Money coming into the Treasury as a result would quickly leave to fund state school places for the now former independent school pupils. Either way, the fees are only going up.’
Some schools are taking matters into their own hands, with an expanding portion of the independent sector doing away with traditional charitable status and instead operating ‘for profit’. Their fees are not so different from the those of the old guard
Littlegarth School
when comparing like for like and they are often able to make savings because, as part of school groups, they benefit from shared resources and economies of scale.
WHAT NEXT?
Lord Lucas would like all independent schools to work together in the event of losing charitable status in order to achieve something similar. ‘A universal threat such as VAT allows for a universal response. All schools simultaneously reducing their fees means no relative disadvantage and no risk to reputation. At its heart independent education is not about fees, it’s about education. Discipline, breadth, ambition, curriculum and ethics is what parents pay for and there are plenty of examples of schools where these can be obtained for far less than £470,000.’
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BUSING FROM CENTRAL LONDON
HISTORIC CELEBRATIONS FOR ST CATHERINE’S
St Catherine’s School in Bramley is celebrating 125 years of prep education for girls. Girls’ schools were seen as fairly radical in the 1880s when a number of prestigious schools were opened for the first time. Over that time, St Catherine’s has championed women’s roles in society and promoted the role of single-sex education. The school helped evacuees during the First and Second World Wars and there is evidence that work in girls’ schools such as St Catherine’s helped educate many women who flew unarmed aircraft, drove ambulances, served as nurses and worked behind enemy lines in the European resistance in the Special Operations Executive.
Speaking of the 125th anniversary of the foundation of St Catherine’s Prep School, Naomi Bartholomew, Prep School Headmistress, reflected that, “Back in 1896, we were proud to be one of the first schools to champion primary education for girls and today we continue to lead the way.
I am honoured to lead the Prep School and to see girls benefit from our world-class facilities and excellent teachers, a winning combination which enables our girls to find their strengths, realise their potential and fulfil their dreams. Nothing thrills me more than to see our girls leave St Catherine’s, able to give back not only in their selected area of specialism but also to continue to uphold and defend the importance of self-belief in young women.”
stcatherines.info
FOREST SCHOOL FUN IN PUTNEY
Wild about Play, a forest school in Putney, is hosting an open day on Saturday 20 November. It’s an opportunity to meet with staff, view the facilities and understand what a forest school education entails.
With birds-eye views of Putney Common and woods from their rooftop base camp at Oasis Academy, staff run their Ofstedapproved outdoor nursery all year round, after-school sessions during the school term, outdoor learning camps during school holiday breaks, and wild families sessions on select weekends. The mission is to spark, inspire and extend children’s imagination and learning at nursery and primary school age.
Sessions are curated to incorporate the natural world and the EYFS curriculum into children’s education ensuring they unleash their full potential. Children are also encouraged to explore their surroundings and spearhead their learning through a mix of fun physical, musical, artistic and also construction challenges. The calming and rich effects of nature coupled with skilled adult support provides the framework to support meaningful play, enriching learning and developing key skills such as enquiry, expression, experimentation and also teamwork.
wildaboutplay.com
MATHS IN MINUTES
Cubie Education, a new maths subscription programme supporting Early Years and Key Stage 1 has launched. It is designed by teachers, who felt that the idea that children read 10-15 minutes per day could be used similarly to create a daily maths programme. The teachers behind the project felt that maths reinforcement at home was being ignored as parents were unsure of how to help support their child learning each day. The aim is to give parents the tools to make maths accessible for their children.
Peregrines Nursery and Falcons School for Girls have been awarded ‘Thinking School’ status by the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter.
When Headmistress Sara Williams-Ryan came into post in 2018, she noticed pupils were reliant on staff to help rather than using their own initiative to solve problems and seek answers. This sparked the start of Falcons Girls’ Thinking School journey with the goal to change how pupils approached their learning. As Williams-Ryan elaborates: “This approach uses a range of tools such as Thinking Frames, the Habits of Mind, Growth Mindset and Bloom’s Taxonomy. These tools equip children with the ability to demonstrate independent and co-operative learning skills, high levels of achievement and enjoyment in learning.”
The school steadily embedded the Thinking School approach across all areas of learning, led by Assistant Head James Kelly, who commented: “It has been a delight to see the whole school, from Early Years up to Year 6, develop a range of metacognitive strategies and thinking tools to help support their learning over the last two years. From independently solving pastoral issues by being more reflective in their thoughts and actions, to showing flexible thinking and persistence when overcoming challenging tasks in lessons, our boys and girls are growing into life-long learners and leaders, ready for the demands of the fast-changing world outside.”
In the accreditation report by University of Exeter’s Dr Dave Walters, Peregrines and Falcons are praised for their “full commitment to developing and embedding cognitive education throughout the school.” He describes the school as “a fine example of educational creativity where cognitive tools, strategies and resources are adapted to meet the specific needs of the entire learning community.”
falconsgirls.co.uk
CHILD’S PLAY AT FALCONS NURSERY
Falcons Pre-Preparatory’s head Ms Liz McLaughlin has been reflecting on a busy start to the school’s new nursery. Now welcoming girls between 2-4 years, the nursery provides a gentle start to education, with Forest School sessions and play at the heart of teaching.
“Just before half-term, I was out in the playground during a learning session for our nursery students and to most observers, you would have seen a few children on balance bikes zooming around, a few other children playing on the ladder and slide, some children drawing with chalk and a few others seated on a teacher’s lap having a cuddle and eating their snack. As an educator, what I saw was a group of children gaining confidence on a resource that targeted gross motor skills (the balance bikes), a group of children learning to share and take turns (ladder and slide), a group of children beginning their literacy learning with mark making (chalk) and a group of children recharging their emotional needs (cuddles and food).”
falconschiswick.co.uk
London International Bilingual School from Nursery to Year 10
Enrolment for 2022-2023 is now open!
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Fri. 3rd Dec. 2021 Sat. 8th Jan. 2022
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SeaSonS ReadingS
DIARY OF A CHRISTMAS ELF by Ben Miller
Suitable for ages 7+ Tog has been selected as an apprentice elf in Santa’s workshop! But someone has been stealing the presents… Can Tog discover the real thief and save Christmas? The perfect stocking filler from bestselling author Ben Miller!
A NIGHT AT THE FROST FAIR by Emma Carroll, illus. by Sam Usher
Suitable for ages 7+ Capture the magic of winters past with this glorious gift book. Maya travels three-hundred years back in time to the glittering Frost Fair on the banks of the frozen River Thames. Filled with music, sweet treats, warm fires and thrilling rides, this wintry story is sure to become an instant Christmas classic.
THE GOOD BEAR by Sarah Lean, illus. by Fiona Woodcock
Suitable for ages 8+ When Thea travels to Norway to spend Christmas with her father, she never expects to meet a bear. He’s scared, hungry and desperately needs Thea’s help. A celebration of the unspeakable bond between humans and animals that will warm your heart and take you on an adventure you will never forget.
WHO WILL YOU MEET ON SANTA CLAUS STREET by Gareth Peter & Tim Budgen
Suitable for ages 3+ Welcome to Santa Claus Street! Home to Wrapping Elf, Flapping Elf, Shhh-I-think-she’s-napping Elf, and a whole host of other loveable characters. This bonkers, rhyming picture book will make the perfect gift this Christmas.
