The ISC research team works to ensure that the ISC is the hub of accurate and timely information on the independent sector in the UK.
Pupils in ISC schools account for around 80% of the total number of pupils in independent schools in the UK. The UK independent sector as a whole educates around 625,000 children in around 2,600 schools. The independent sector educates around 6.5% of the total number of school children in the UK (and over 7% of the total number of school children in England) with the figure rising to more than 18% of pupils over the age of 16.
Our 2013 Census revealed that
- There are 508,601 pupils at 1,223 ISC member schools, more pupils than last year.
- There are 25,441 non-British pupils at ISC schools whose parents live overseas, up 1.4% on last year in like-for-like terms.
- 66,776 pupils at ISC schools are boarding pupils.
- 83.3% of Boarders are full boarders; 8.5% are weekly boarders; 8.2% are flexi-boarders
- 26.1% of pupils at ISC schools are from a minority ethnic background.
- 91% of ISC pupils go on to Higher Education with 3.4% of these choosing to study overseas.
- There is one teacher for every 9.4 pupils in ISC schools.
- ISC schools provide more than £300million annually in means-tested bursaries, an increase of 6.7% on last year, with over a quarter of all pupils receiving fee assistance from their school.
- 41.4% of pupils on means-tested bursaries have more than half of their fees remitted
- More than 9 in 10 ISC schools are involved in partnerships with state schools or the wider community.
- 20 ISC schools sponsor academies and 14 co-sponsor academies.
2013 Annual Census
ISC Bulletin 29, June 2012
Articles include - ISC: lobbying for the independent sector, An update on public benefit, Examination access arrangements for candidates with disabilities, Independent schools and exam performance in 2011 and the ISC Census 2012 Regional breakdown.
ISC Bulletin 29: 2012
Exam results, Summer 2012
- 31.0% of all exam entries received the A* grade, down from 31.4% last year (national average 7.3%, down from 7.8% in 2011).
- 60.0% were graded A* or A, down from 61.4% in 2011 (national average 22.4%, down from 23.2% in 2011).
- 94.4% were graded A* to C, compared with 95.2% in 2011 (nationally, 69.4% were graded A* to C, compared with 69.8% last year).
- 91.1% achieved five or more A* to C grades including maths and English (national figures for 2012 are not yet available, but in 2011 the national figure was 58.9%). 76.6% of ISC pupils this year achieved five or more A* to C grades including maths, English, a science and a modern foreign language.
- In 218 ISC schools (38.7% of the total), every pupil achieved five or more A* to C grades. In a further 133 schools (a further 23.6% of the total) 95% or more of pupils achieved this standard.
- For ISC schools as a whole, the figures show that candidates achieved an average total of 483.7 points – approximately equivalent to a nine subject result of 3 A*s and 6 As – and an average subject entry result of 49.9, which is closer to an A than a B.
