Independent schools should scrap scholarship awards for bright children from wealthy families and spend it all on means-tested bursaries, Dominic Mott, head of Hurstpierpoint College, has told The Times. He said funding should be redirected to bursaries at a time when independent schools face rising costs, increasing scrutiny and growing pressure to demonstrate public benefit, adding: "It’s time to separate recognition from financial support, scrap cash payments for wealthy independent school families and use the money saved to fund bursaries." Speaking to the paper, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said: "One in three children at an ISC school receive some sort of fee assistance. Over the past decade, schools have been making moves towards more targeted, means-tested support. While it is up to individual schools to decide how they allocate bursaries and scholarships, we welcome any steps taken to increase opportunities for children from a variety of backgrounds to access an independent education." The article references the ISC's latest Census, which shows its 1,400 member schools gave £1.1 billion in fee assistance each year - half was not means-tested. By Nicola Woolcock. 

The Telegraph reports that Pitsford School in Northampton is to close, citing the introduction of Labour's VAT on fees policy. In a statement on the school website on Wednesday, Dr Craig Walker, the school’s headmaster, announced that the school’s final day will be July 10, and that the decision had only been reached after "exhausting every possible option to secure the school". The statement also said: "These challenges have affected many schools and have made operating in an already difficult environment even more challenging."

The Sunday Times explores the growing impact of independent school closures, arguing that increasing costs, including VAT on fees, the loss of business rates relief and wider financial pressures, have forced numerous schools to shut, disrupting the education of thousands of pupils and leaving families and staff in search of alternative options. Reference is made to figures from the ISC, which show that between January 2024 and January 2025 fees rose by 22.6 per cent, reaching an average of £22,146 compared with £18,063 the previous year. The article also notes that around half of the independent schools in England have charitable status, and these schools have also been affected by the removal of business rates charitable relief that came into effect in April 2025. Georgiana Copeland, whose daughter Keiana had a bursary place at Queen Margaret's School when it closed last year, shares her family's experience. "It was devastating", she says. By Louise Eccles, with additional reporting by Yennah Smart.

A number of schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned across this weekend's coverage.

In a letter to The Telegraph, Mark Brown from Leicestershire says the closure of Pitsford School in Northamptonshire shows the growing impact of financial pressures on independent schools, including the VAT on fees policy, the loss of business rates relief and higher employment costs. He argues affordable day schools are bearing the brunt, forcing pupils into the state sector and leading to significant job losses. On the closure of Pitsford itself, he writes: "It will close from the new academic year, meaning all the children will move to new schools (many back to the state sector, no doubt), and there will be a huge number of redundancies for teaching and administrative staff. This is a minor tragedy in what is fast becoming a major tragedy for education in this country." 
The letter appears just above halfway.

Alastair Chirnside, Warden of St Edward's School Oxford, has been selected as headmaster of Eton College from September next year, replacing Simon Henderson who announced this year that he would stand down after 12 years in the role. Eton said Mr Chirnside had been selected partly because of his deep concern for pastoral care and his commitment to the school's partnership work and public benefit, which is likely to include the state sixth-form colleges it is opening in Dudley and Oldham. At St Edward’s, he had also reinstalled landlines in boarding houses and banned mobile phones on weekdays for most pupils in a restriction on screen time. The appointment was announced by the fellows and Sir Nicholas Coleridge, provost of Eton, in a statement and a letter to parents. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

Once-in-a-generation reforms are needed to fix an education system that is "not serving the interests of white working class children" who remain the lowest performing large demographic in England's schools, an independent inquiry, commissioned by Star Academies and supported by the Department for Education, has found. The inquiry's co-chair, Baroness Estelle Morris, said responsibility "cannot sit with schools alone", while education secretary Bridget Phillipson said generations had been "robbed of opportunity". The item includes a summary of the report's key findings and its 24 recommendations, which include making reading fluency at primary school a national priority for white working class children. By Vanessa Clarke and Kate McGough, BBC News.

Children not attending school are costing parents thousands of pounds in lost income, a survey of 2,000 parents conducted by Censuswide has revealed. It found those whose children regularly miss school found that 42 per cent said they had lost up to £10,000 after being forced to take unpaid leave to care for a child who would not go toclasses. It also revealed that more than a third of parents were forced to take at least one month of unpaid leave. By Alice Lilley, The Telegraph.

Writing in Tes, Esther O’Connor, early years team leader at The British School of Brussels, reflects on the impact of sustained outdoor learning and revisiting familiar natural spaces. Ms O'Connor says that beyond formal curriculum goals, repeated experiences in the same outdoor environments help children develop deeper emotional and sensory connections with the natural world. "There is a growing sense of belonging. The forest becomes known. It becomes part of who they are", she adds.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.

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