Parents hit via charity ruling on private schools
- July 14, 2009
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Keywords:
- charity commission
- prep school
- school fees
- Comments (2)
Fees could rise further as the Charity Commission puts added pressure on independent schools to justify their charitable status
This will lead to fee increases for the majority of parents, putting the benefits of an independent education beyond the reach of a greater number of children
David Lyscom, head of the Independent Schools Council
Today the Charity Commission has revealed the controversial findings of its long-awaited ruling on whether independent schools provide sufficient ‘public benefit’.
After examining five schools in the UK, the Commission has ruled that two fail to fulfil their criteria. Both are small prep schools - Highfield Priory School in Lancashire and Saint Anselm’s School in Derbyshire. After praising the schools for their work with the community, the Commission failed them because they did not offer sufficient free places. The schools will be given a year to devise a new business plan in order to maintain their charitable status.
The rulings of the Commission will be rolled out to more than 2000 independent schools in Britain over the next 18 months. Most independent schools are registered charities and the sector receives tax relief worth approximately £100 million per annum. The ramifications of the report could have a huge impact on the sector, in particular on those smaller prep schools that cannot afford to subsidise a large number of free places. Educationalists believe that the extra financial burden will be forced on to the parents, many of whom can ill afford it at the moment.
Independent schools have criticised the report, stating that it has focused too much on financial support without taking into consideration the wider social benefits that they offer to the community. Many feel that the criteria used is ambiguous, also.
Headteacher of Highfield Priory School Simon Northcott released a statement, saying: “Nowhere in the course of this process has the commission given us a clear idea of what we need to achieve. It’s like being told you’ve failed a maths exam but without being told what the pass mark is.”
Pressure on parents
David Lyscom, head of the Independent Schools Council, was quick to condemn the report: “The implication of the commission’s findings appears to be that many schools must now aim to provide a significant — but still unspecified — proportion of their turnover in full bursaries.
“This will inevitably lead to fee increases for the vast majority of parents, putting the benefits of an independent education beyond the reach of a greater number of children.”
The three that passed were Pangbourne College, Moyles Court School and Manchester Grammar School (a Tom-Brown.com featured school), which offers 203 bursaries, 120 of which are full bursaries. MGS offers use of its facilities to the community, provides Oxbridge entrance coaching to local children and sends representatives to train teachers in schools in developing nations.
The commission stated: “This is a large school with resources which can be and are used to provide opportunities to benefit in a material way . . . those who cannot afford the fees, including those in poverty.”
Exclusive: a leading headteacher speaks out against the report
Dr Martin Stephen is High Master of St Paul’s School in London and has also been the head of Manchester Grammar School and The Perse school in Cambridge.
“More than 15 years ago at Manchester Grammar School we began a drive to offer major fee assistance to a large number of pupils – in fact, it was up to 17 per cent. It is wrong of the Charity Commission to present this as a recent drive.
“More than 10 years ago there was a major move in the sector from scholarship to bursary, which we knew was the right direction to aim for. Why reward parents simply for having clever children?
“At St Paul’s, we hope to become needs-blind in 30 years and are aiming to build up a new endowment fund financed from alumni in order to finance this. We want to turn ourselves into a pure meritocracy, based on the models of Harvard and Yale. 
“Each year, we spend between £750,000 and £1 million a year on subsidised places and are aiming to help at least 10 per cent of our pupils. Currently between 75 and 100 pupils receive assistance with fees. This is nothing new, however. We have always been a vastly mixed cultural melting pot.
"The major problem is the Charity Commission hasn’t taken the fairest way of judging charitable worth. Why should parents pay a third time? It’s like a stealth tax, asking people to sub their own.”
Have your say
What do you think will be the consequences of this ruling?
Bring it down to brass tacks and the government is penalising very good schools... Many parents have turned to private schools due to chaos in the classroom in state schools and the dreadful fear that by not choosing the best performing school in their area, they're letting their kids down. This is what it comes down to, Brown, not politics or social aspiration. The parents pay 'twice over' through tax and fees and the private schools provide essential support within a system that simply does not make the grade - especially at secondary level. Has he ever had experience of 'Hell High' - not being able to use the toilets at lunchtime through fear or because the bullies are barricading pupils out, and lessons that consist of 40 minutes of abuse of teachers and fellow pupils in class by thugs? I doubt it
MalYoung Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 17:07
David Lyscom often highlights the massive saving that the independent sector makes to the government of up to £3 billion a year. If many private schools went under, how would the government support the added cost to the state sector?
gail Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 17:07