The Times publishes a response from ISC

13 March 2008

The Times has published a letter from the Independent Schools Council's General Counsel Matthew Burgess in response to their 'Best state schools are breaking the rules by demanding payment for places' and 'Independents must put up fees for the rich to subsidise the poor.'

ISC's letter in the Independent - published 13th March 2008.

Letter to the Times

Sir,

With reference to your stories Best state schools are breaking the rules by demanding payment for places and Independents 'must put up fees for the rich' to subsidise places for poor (12 March).

Choice in the UK education system for parents and children, particularly in low and middle-income brackets, is being eroded at an alarming rate. The admissions statistics released by DCSF yesterday show that one in five children has not been offered a place at their first choice secondary school - in London this rises to one in three. The economic cost of improving one's chances of winning the school lottery has traditionally been reflected in house price inflation in preferred catchment areas. And it now appears that there are more direct, and less transparent, methods to rig the ballots. It is therefore an irony that, at a time when many disappointed parents turn to the independent sector to exercise a choice of education which is increasingly unavailable in the maintained sector, the Charity Commission publishes draft guidance which may have the effect of increasing fee levels beyond their reach. Independent schools already spend £300m each year on fee assistance, triple the much-publicised tax benefits of being a charity. But the Commission's requirement that independent schools provide opportunities to benefit at all income levels will have the surely unintended consequence of forcing many schools to pass additional costs on to parents who are already paying twice for education.

Matthew Burgess

General Counsel, Independent Schools Council