In this week's Friday Feature, we highlight a recent visit to Bedales School that offered valuable insights for 35 leaders from ARISE, an organisation representing more than 1,800 of India’s 1.47 million schools as part of the country's drive to reimagine education. The delegation travelled to the UK to explore new ideas in practice, and Bedales was a key stop on their tour.

Once at the school, the group were able to see first-hand how staff approach autonomy, creativity and student wellbeing. Delegates were particularly interested in the Bedales Assessed Courses and how the school maintains its distinctive ethos and academic rigour while continuing to innovate. Conversations with staff and students helped bring these ideas to life and offered practical examples for the visitors to take home.

For the Bedales team, the exchange was equally fascinating. Hearing how ARISE supports such a large and diverse network of schools provided a valuable glimpse into the scale and ambition of educational reform in India. The morning concluded with a strong sense of shared purpose, and the two parties look forward to keeping in touch.

For more information about ARISE, please click here.

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Malvern College has announced it will open the first British heritage brand school in South America, in a move that further reflects the popularity of the continent for international school developments. Malvern College São Paulo will open in partnership with Bossa Nova Edulink LTDA and will cater for pupils aged three to 18. Commenting on the plans, Keith Metcalfe, headmaster of Malvern College, said: "Brazil’s vibrant educational landscape and cultural richness make it an ideal location for our first South American campus." Reference is made to a number of other schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations. By Emma Seith, Tes. 

Alderley Edge School for Girls has announced it is to close this July, citing "unprecedented cost pressures including the introduction of VAT on school fees". Catering for 400 girls aged two to 18, the school was founded in 1999. In an announcement posted online, the school said: "This is an immensely difficult message for us to share, and we recognise the sadness, shock and uncertainty it will bring to our pupils, families and staff. This comes after exhaustive efforts over recent years to secure the school's future amidst major financial pressures, a significant decline in pupil numbers, and substantial sector-wide challenges." By Eleanor Harding and Liz Hull, Daily Mail.

During a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, which had been secured by Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon, ministers discussed the impact of the VAT on fees policy on independent faith schools. In his introduction, Mr Shannon said: "Although it may take a few years for us to see the full impact, it is clear that there has been an initial impact. Opposition to the VAT on independent schools, particularly independent faith schools, has been an aggravating factor for the parents back home in my constituency whose children attend the independent faith school in Bangor. They are not rich people. They are working people who scrimp and save to put money aside so that they can ensure that they will be in a position to provide the faith education that they wish for their children." He later added: "I say respectfully to the government that their policy has, in a way, discriminated against those from independent schools who might have, and probably do have, a religious denomination that they wish to adhere to and stay with." Referencing the closure of 110 independent schools since the general election in July 2024, Mr Shannon highlighted the particular impact on independent faith schools and said: "What was portrayed as a tax on the rich has instead turned out to be a tax on those with a strong faith."

Ministers continued to discuss the tax, described by Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Commons) Joy Morrissey as "vindictive". Calling for legislation to be revised, she added: "If your child has autism, is being bullied, or is not getting the faith education that they need in the state sector, that is what independent faith schools exist for. If you wish to sacrifice your income and other comforts to send your child to that school, it should be your choice."

A number of other ministers shared their views, before Mr Shannon concluded the debate, saying: "If the funding benchmark is set at £7,690 per pupil, and if all the independent schools were to close, all their pupils would have to go into mainstream schools, which just could not cope. The figures we have presented today indicate that some 270 schools would qualify, and 54,000 pupils would benefit. The revenue loss would be reduced from £1.5 billion to £32 million. I think that those figures indicate an opportunity to review this."

The debate can be read in full at Hansard and also viewed on Parliament TV.

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