Independent Schools in England

Great Britain has very diversified and complex school system, which has been undergoing frequent changes and reforms. However, there are still many controversies concerning the structure of the education system, one of them being organization and availability of independent schools.

There are 2,400 schools in the UK which are not subject to local or central government control. They are sometimes called fee-paying (or, more accurately, fee-charging) schools because they charge parents fees and receive no state support. Nevertheless, there is no commonly agreed definition of the term.

The core of independent sector is formed by several hundred public schools, which despite the name are not part of the state education system. Originally public meant that school offered free education to the public and was under public management, as opposed to private schools that were run for the benefit of their proprietor. Some of them date back to Middle Ages: Winchester was founded in 1394 and Eton in 1400. But the majority was established during the 19th century, since when the term public school has been applied to grammar schools that began charging some pupils fees, while the others were paid for from public funds.

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Some schools, on the other hand, offer grants to children of clergy, teachers and those of armed forces – not a very democratic idea indeed. However, Eton continues to recommend registration ‘at any time between birth and the age of 10 years and 6 months’ on their official website. It is worth mentioning that league tables are to be abolished in Wales because of their divisive character and placing an unnecessary burden on schools. Some go through the state primary system and then on to a public school, although there are problems here, one being the difference in the age at which transfer is affected: state primary is attended until the age of 11, public prep –13. Eton maintains two lists, one for the children of ‘old boys’ and the other for outsiders. Of the 500 schools listed in The Times as achieving the highest GCSE results in 2000, about 380 were independent schools.

Quite unexpectedly, league tables were condemned by teachers from both state and independent schools in England, despite the fact that the latter routinely top the tables. Instead, they offer a wider range of academic subjects, Classical Latin and Greek often being included. The numbers are very significant as they show that even thought some changes were made, the system is not much more egalitarian or democratic. The most recent include Assisted Places scheme, introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s first Conservative Government in 1981, which provided places at independent schools for able children who could not afford fees. In the country which has the highest percentage of students ending their education at the age of 18 in the whole European Union this means a lot. It may be asked, who all these people really represented: the 93 percent of population or the prestigious 7 percent. Still, this is just a part of the overall expenditure, with extras like instrumental tuition or school trips, and costs of books, entries for public examinations, stationery, medical supplies and uniforms adding to the total price.

There have been some attempts to change the situation. And desire to choose an independent school must be overwhelming when you see such results as published in 2001 in Daily Mail.

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