The Independent Schools Council is a politically independent, not-for-profit organisation representing 1,270 independent schools educating more than 500,000 children. It exists to promote choice, diversity and excellence in education, developing talent at all levels of ability and from all backgrounds.

Search by: Schools Site Suppliers

Enter Search Keywords:

The Daily Mail, BBC and other media print a response from ISC following research by Halifax

12 July 2008

The Daily Mail, BBC and other media have printed a response from ISC following school fee research carried out by Halifax Financial Services.

ISC's response in the Daily Mail - 12th July 2008
ISC's response in BBC News - 12th July 2008

ISC's media response following Halifax research
ISC is keen that the most accurate and up-to-date figures are used to inform parents and others about affordability of independent education.

In particular, ISC is concerned about figures presented by the Halifax in its release (embargoed for 00.01hrs, 12 July 2008) - ‘School fees rising at more than twice the rate of inflation'.

Halifax's research states that ‘31% of pupils at ISC independent schools receive financial help with their fees compared with 32% five years ago'. The figure for 2003 included 8,584 pupils who benefited from the government assisted places scheme, which is no longer in operation.

The fact that 31.4% of independent school pupils are receiving help with fees (according to the ISC Census 2008) demonstrates that more schools are helping their pupils financially. Five years ago 22.6% of those receiving help with fees were receiving that help from the school. This proportion is now nearly 80%.

Further points for consideration:

The average annual school fee is £9,579. The reason the figure differs from that quoted by the Halifax is that it was calculated using a new, more accurate method for the 2008 ISC Annual Census.
Using this correct figure, five more employment categories would be able to ‘afford' independent schooling based on Halifax's 25% affordability cut off.
25% is an unexplained level of affordability. Many parents will choose to sacrifice more than this and adapt their spending accordingly. There is no explanation of why 25% is chosen as the cut off.
Halifax ignores the likelihood of two income earners in a household. In ‘couple families', both parents work in 68% of households.
Halifax assumes income from earnings represents 100% of individuals' income. In fact, it only represents 70% of individuals' income.
The analysis also ignores wealth held by individuals. For example, over one quarter of adults have ISAs, and nearly half of all adults have more than one bank or building society account. If you assume that residential buildings, life assurance and pension funds are non-saleable, 38% of a households' net wealth is saleable. Many families can access these funds to help invest in their children's education.
Parents often receive help from other members of their family. It is estimated that around 15% of households receive such contributions to pay for school fees.
Halifax compares fee rises to overall inflation. A more accurate comparison should be made with the CPI index of education inflation. This shows that ISC fee inflation is currently less than half that of all education paid for from post-tax income, such as university tuition fees and private tuition.

ISC head of research Pru Jones said: "ISC schools take the issue of affordability very seriously and are responding sensitively to the current economic climate. Parents continue to recognise the value for money that independent education offers. The 2008 ISC Annual survey reported record numbers of children attending independent schools."