Uni's & Scholarships top agenda

6 January 2003

Continuing concerns about university entrance and the need to increase the value of means-tested scholarships to encourage wider access to independent schools are amongst the issues that Graham Able, the new chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), aims to address during his year of office.

Mr Able, Master of Dulwich College since 1997, takes over this month as chairman of HMC, which represents the heads of more than 240 leading co-educational and boys' independent schools.

He said: "Given the current focus on independent schools' charitable status, I hope to gain members' support in negotiating, with the other ISC heads' associations, a reduction in the maximum value of non-means tested scholarship awards in order to increase funds available for means-tested bursaries.  This already has considerable support and it would send a very positive message if we can make rapid progress on this matter."

A decade ago, HMC schools reached a voluntary agreement to place an upper limit of 50 per cent of the value of school fees on all scholarships, with any extra assistance being limited to families with demonstrable financial need.

Mr Able added: "Although I was pleased that divisive state/independent benchmarks for university entrance were being dropped by the Government, there are concerns about university issues, including funding and the applications procedure, and I hope that we will address those effectively in the coming months.  We aim to hold a one-day joint GSA/HMC meeting on various university issues, probably in the early summer."

Aged 55, Mr Able was educated at Worksop College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read natural sciences. He began his career teaching chemistry at Sutton Valence School, Kent, where he was also a boarding housemaster and responsible for both hockey and cricket. He was appointed second master at Barnard Castle School, Co.Durham, in 1983; during his time there he was awarded an MA by Durham University for research into boarding education.

In 1988, he was appointed headmaster of Hampton School, a boys' day school in south west London, before taking up his present post nine years later.

A former co-chair of the joint GSA/HMC Education/Academic Policy committee, he is a member of the councils of Imperial College, London, Edexcel and Roedean. Married, with two grown-up children, Mr Able is also a lifelong supporter of Norwich City football club.

Dulwich College, founded in 1619, is a boys' school in south east London with 1,460 pupils aged between seven and 18 and nearly 400 in the sixth form. There are in addition 230 boys and girls in DUCKS, the college's nursery, kindergarten and infants school. Predominantly a day school, Dulwich also has boarding facilities accommodating more than 100 pupils.