The main man

With a general election only months away, the Conservative Party is in pole position to win. That means that the next likely education minister is Michael Gove MP. Here he answers questions put to him by Andrew Maiden

Andrew Maiden: Will the Conservative Party (CP) seek to toughen up the public benefit requirements for
independent schools (ISs)? If so, how?

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The Lib Dems’ view on independent schools

David Laws MP sets out his party’s strategy

In a free society, parents should be free to choose independent, fee-paying, schools for their children, if they wish to do so. I am impressed by the sacrifices that many parents are willing to make to secure the best education for their children.

I am also impressed by the generally very high quality of education that is delivered by the UK’s independent schools sector – some of our independent schools are among the best schools in the world, and we should be very proud of that.

So, I do not waste my time worrying about whether independent schools are a good thing or a bad thing in English education: they are here to stay, and the real issue is how we can ensure that the start in life that most children in the fee-paying sector receive is shared by those in the maintained, state-funded, sector.

I want our state schools to deliver a similarly high-quality, broad-based education to every child, regardless of his or her own background. I also want schools in the maintained sector to be able to enjoy more of the freedom from political meddling that independent schools enjoy, within an accountable framework which ensures that all schools are delivering for their children.

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The shame of the sector

John Richardson of the ATL implores independent school leaders to treat their members with the respect they deserve

Easter 2009 provides the first opportunity for the independent sector to assess the impact of the economic recession on pupil numbers. This is because of the traditional time-lag between the recession – generally accepted to have started in April 2008 – and its effect on pupil numbers; and the term’s notice required from parents thinking of removing their child from September.

Judging by the calls from ATL members, the recession is having a significant impact: redundancy is now commonplace across the country and a few schools have been forced to close their doors. Unfortunately, in addition to the painful loss of jobs and schools, the recession is revealing a lack of professionalism among some leadership teams.

Recently, a number of independent schools have closed abruptly, with little or no notice. Loyal, hard-working staff have been left unemployed and owed money, in addition to having missed the recruitment round.

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Poor marking

Richard Russell criticises league tables for their inability to recognise true quality

I have been particularly aware of the importance of league tables. Parents at our school noticed it when Colfe’s was misrepresented in the DCSF government league tables for GCSE results in 2008. The Evening Standard was first to report that only 56 per cent of Colfe’s pupils gained at least five A*-C grades at GCSE, although the actual figure was 100 per cent. To our further detriment, all the main papers followed suit the next day.

The confusion arose from the government’s failure to include the international (IGCSE) results. In common with many independent schools and universities, we prefer the IGCSE maths exam to its national equivalent for sound academic reasons: the syllabus contains more algebra and prepares pupils better for further study. Precisely 44 per cent of the Colfe’s cohort sat the IGCSE Maths exam last summer: hence the discrepancy.

Other independent schools fared worse. According to the government, only 1 per cent of pupils at Eton and Sevenoaks, both distinguished institutions, managed to gain five A*-Cs, including English and maths. Two other bastions of independent strength, Manchester Grammar and North London Collegiate, sank to zero. We can safely infer that all of their pupils, along with many others in the independent sector, were entered for IGCSE in either maths or English.