12th December 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
In a surprising move, the Independent Schools Council (ISC) have made a proposal to government where, for a contribution equivalent to the price of a state school place, independent schools will offer a number of free places per year to those who cannot afford fee paying schools. While many schools do offer scholarships, bursaries or subsidies, they are limited in number and the new scheme would act to increase capacity within the state system, offering 10,000 more high quality school places each year across 1,200 schools.
The deal would see the government contributing £5,500 per student per year towards the cost of tuition, totalling £50 million per year for each admitted cohort, and the difference in cost will be covered by the institutions themselves. Some parents already paying considerable amounts for their place are concerned their fees will rise as a result, in order to make up for the subsidy. Private schools currently cost on average £15,000 per year, and twice that for boarding. The places will be means-tested but not assigned purely on the basis of ability, and may offer a real chance of social mobility to those selected for the scheme. It aims to target those who are just missing out on things like free school meals, but also tend to fare worse than wealthier students in gaining grammar school places.
Some have questioned whether this proposal from the ISC, which is similar to Thatcher’s assisted places scheme, is as a response to the government’s recent consultation on the future of education. The recent green paper on expanding grammar schools has raised a challenge to the charitable status of fee paying educational institutions. ISC deny this, pointing out that the proposal was made before the green paper was published. The scheme would be equivalent to building ten new state schools, but at a vastly reduced coast, however labour MPs say that this is merely a reinstatement of an old, failed scheme and slippery slope with costs set to increase to £250,000 within 5 years without building more capacity within the state system.