The benefits of private education - Business Works

The benefits of private education

Greenacre Students

Independent schools have to be good because, like the business world, they exist in a tough and demanding market. When we are asking parents to pay a lot of money – and often it is a lot – we had better provide an efficient, professional and highly effective service or we too will not survive. Despite the publicity given to the occasional threat, and even more occasional reality, of state school closures, this marks the underlying economic reality of the difference between the sectors.

« a culture of learning, of seeking solutions, with a judicious balance of competitiveness and cooperation »

Independent schools have to be good, because like the business world, they exist in a tough and demanding market. When we are asking parents to pay a lot of money – and often it is a lot – we had better provide an efficient, professional and highly effective service or we too will not survive. Despite the publicity given to the occasional threat, and even more occasional reality, of state school closures, this marks the underlying economic reality of the difference between the sectors.

Yet despite the competition, schools like ours have never been more popular. Why does the private sector not only survive but flourish? Independent schools offer support for ability, whether it be academic intelligence or gifts in music, the arts, and drama. They are skilled in identifying talent, and then nurturing it. They foster a culture of learning, of seeking solutions, with a judicious balance of competitiveness and cooperation.

Motivation is far more positive than in many other school environments. It is a good thing to do well. In too many schools, achievement is not ‘cool’. Any employer will insist on fostering the former, and will not be able to tolerate the latter. Achievement is measurable: despite only 7% of all children attending independent schools, they gain half of all the GCSE grade As. According to the Times in June 2007 88% of all private sector candidates achieve five ‘good’ A levels compared with 57% in state schools.

« facilitate confident self-expression ... fulfilling potential »

Independent schools facilitate confident self-expression, both orally, for example in representing the school in outside events, and in fulfilling the young person’s highest potential in non-verbal talents, such as the visual and performing arts. Our pupils are used – quite literally – to ‘putting on a good show’. These are all characteristics that are highly valued by every type of business.

We can offer the opportunity to stretch oneself by taking hard options, setting goals which stretch pupils to their highest potential – and this is true whether the independent school is highly academically selective or not. Many businesses rely on formal or informal targets, which are likely to be individually tailored to stretch their employees, including the managers and directors who offer leadership.

Greenacre Students

Much of the value a school offers depends on teaching. There are great teachers excelling in the face of different kinds of challenge in all types of school, but independent schools tend to have the best chance of attracting the teacher who most wants to be there – and to be there for the students and parents – with the best qualifications to lead young people forward. It is not coincidental that the teacher-pupil ratio is better than 1 to 10 in the independent sector, compared with 1 in 17 in state schools.

One of the reasons why dedicated teachers are so favourable towards the independent sector is that it is relatively free of the restrictions found in the state system – not only are we able to deviate from the National Curriculum when we judge it best, but the amount of administration that heads of department and classroom teachers face is far reduced. Rather than having to respond to endless ‘top-down’ initiatives, which often change for purely political reasons, for the sake of being seen to ‘do something’, the imagination and enterprise of the teachers and heads can be channelled into positive development which suits the individual school, and the individuals who make up its community.

« more than half of the top 500 managers were privately educated »

In general discipline in independent schools is better. This does not just mean that children behave in a purposeful and positive, focused way, but that they can develop and express their own personalities without so much fear of the aggressive pressure of the peer group. This means that when they enter the outside world of employment, they will be less fearful of suggesting radical new ideas, of bucking the norm, and thus of making a unique contribution to the business of their employer. Thinking laterally is fine. It may seem odd, but discipline is actually the enemy of mindless conformity.

It is not surprising in the light of all this that the Guardian reported in June 2007 that more than half (53%) of the top 500 managers and professionals in the UK were privately educated. Yet independent schools are no longer for an elite. More families take this option now than ever before – over 40,000 more than when the present government came into power ten years ago. Despite a sharp rise in average fees, it is clear where the value lies.

The importance of being, literally, well-educated is that it creates an individual who is flexible, sparky, yet cooperative, who can work well on her own and well with other people. This is, perhaps, just who a business would want to employ, as in the end all businesses are dependent on their human resources.

For information about Greenacre School: www.greenacre.surrey.sch.uk




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