Present Day
As of 2011 there were more than 2,600 independent schools in the UK educating some 628,000 children, comprising over 6.5% of UK children, and more than 18% of pupils over the age of 16. In England the schools account for a slightly higher percentage than in the UK as a whole. According to a study by Ryan & Sibetia, "the proportion of pupils attending independent schools in England is currently 7.2% (considering full-time pupils only). This is slightly below the level seen in 1964, at the start of the time series, when around 8% of pupils attended independent schools. However, there has not been a gradual fall over time. Between 1964 and the late 1970s, participation fell from a little under 8% to reach a low of 5.7% in 1978. During the 1980s, participation rose, reaching 7.5% by 1991. Over these 13 years, participation in the independent sector increased by 1.8 percentage points or by just over 30%. The changes since 1990 have been less dramatic, participation falling to 6.9% by 1996 before increasing very slightly after 2000 to reach 7.2%, as seen at present."
Most of the larger independent schools are either full or partial boarding schools, although many are now predominantly day schools; by contrast there are only a few dozen state boarding schools. Boarding-school traditions give a distinctive character to British independent education, even in the case of day-pupils.
Most independent schools, particularly the larger and older institutions, have charitable status. The Independent Schools Council say that UK independent schools receive approximately £100m tax relief due to charitable status whilst returning £300m of fee assistance in public benefit and relieving the maintained sector (state schools) of £2bn of costs. The Charity Commission is currently formulating tests of public benefit for charitable schools as required by the Charities Act 2006.
Read more about this topic: Independent School (United Kingdom)
Famous quotes containing the words present and/or day:
“In Haydn’s oratorios, the notes present to the imagination not only motions, as, of the snake, the stag, and the elephant, but colors also; as the green grass.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The fox, he felt, had never seen his past disposed of like a fall of water. He had never measured off his day in moments: another—another—another. But now, thrown down so deeply in himself, into the darkness of the well, surprised by pain and hunger, might he not revert to an earlier condition, regain capacities which formerly were useless to him, pass from animal to Henry, become human in his prison, X his days, count, wait, listen for another—another—another—another?”
—William Gass (b. 1924)