Sector Statistics

Pupil Numbers
 
Overseas Pupils
 
Teaching Staff
 
GCSE Results
 
A-Level Results
 
Entrance to Higher Education
 
Bursaries & Scholarships


Pupil Numbers
Pupils in ISC schools account for more than 80% of the total number of pupils in independent schools in the UK. The UK independent sector as a whole educates 671,000 children in around 2,600 independent schools. This represents around 7% of the total number of schoolchildren in the UK.

There are now 511,677 children in ISC schools. Of these:

  • 67,046 are boarders and 444,631 are day pupils
  • 257,506 are boys and 247,734 are girls
  • 45,814 are nursery age (0-4)
  • 160,852 are primary age (5-10)
  • 222,393 are senior age (11-15)
  • 82,467 are sixth form age (16-19)

In schools that were members of ISC in 2008 and 2007 numbers rose from one year to the next. There was a 0.8% rise (around 2500 pupils). Numbers have risen in 18 out of the last 22 years. Total pupil numbers in 2008 reached an all-time record.


Overseas Pupils
20,545 pupils are non-British with parents living overseas. 8,882 new non-British pupils whose parents live overseas joined ISC schools in 2008. Approximately one third of these were from Hong Kong and China and nearly 40% were from Europe. Detailed figures can be found in the ISC Census 2008.


Teaching Staff
In 2008, there were 46,160 full time teachers in ISC schools and 15,188 part time teachers who worked 225,126 hours. Teacher turnover, as a proportion of the number of full-time staff employed, remained relatively constant at 12.4%. A total of 2,116 teachers from maintained schools took up posts in ISC schools, while 597 moved from ISC schools into the maintained sector, giving a net gain of 1,519.


GCSE Results
In 2006, 39,904 candidates from 563 ISC schools took GCSEs. Candidates took an average of 9.4 subjects each, and:

  • More than one entry in four (26.5%) received the A* grade, up from 26% in 2005 (compared to 6.3% nationally, up from 5.9% in 2005)
  • 57.2% of all exam entries were graded A* or A, up from 56.9% in 2005 (compared to 19.1% ntionally, up from 18.4% in 2005)
  • More than 19 out of 20 entries (95.1%) achieved grades A* to C (compared to 62.4% nationally, up from 61.2% in 2005)
  • 93.5% achieved 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C including Maths and English, and 84.2% achieved 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C including Maths, English, a Science and a Modern Foreign Language
  • In 227 schools (40% of the total), every pupil achieved five or more A*-C grades. In a further 150 schools (a further 27% of the total), 95% or more of pupils achieved this standard


A-Level Results
In 2007 31,347 candidates from 476 ISC schools took A-Levels. Of the 101,649 entries from these candidates:

  • 99.4% of all entries (101,020) received pass (A-E) grades, as in 2006 (national average 96.9%, up from 96.6% in 2006)
  • 50.0% of entries (50,854) were awarded the top A grade, up from 47.9% in 2006 (national average 25.3%, up from 24.1% in 2006)
  • 76.1% of entries (77,332) were graded A or B, up from 74.3% in 2006 (national average 49.7%, up from 48.1% in 2006)

Comparisons in 2006 with national figures show that pupils from ISC schools account for 12.8% of entries at A-level and 25.4% of the total A grades awarded.


Entrance to Higher Education
92.9% of sixth-form leavers from ISC schools continue to higher education, well over double the national average.

98% of ISC school students that apply for university get at least one offer; the majority of them from a Sunday Times top 15 university.

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that around 45% of Oxbridge students come from ISC schools. HESA figures also show that the number of independently educated students at top universities have increased in the last few years.


Bursaries & Scholarships
159,859 pupils at ISC schools (31.4%) received helped with their fees in 2008. The majority of these pupils - 125,168 (or 24.46% of all pupils) - received scholarships or bursaries from their school. The value of this assistance was over £350 million.

The increasing number of children receiving help with fees from schools is a trend that began in the recession of the early 1990s as more families needed bursaries to enable pupils at crucial examination stages to remain at the school. It has been boosted in recent years as schools have provided more financial help to compensate for the loss of Government Assisted Places. Since numbers on assisted places reached their zenith of 40,331 in 1998, the number of pupils helped by schools has increased by 36,145, almost making up the difference.