February 09: Is the recession biting?

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2009, our regular run-down of the key education news stories of the moment.

Recession proof?

Is the recession opening up more spaces in schools for relocating families? That seems to be the assumption of many families that we have been helping since the turn of the year.

Without doubt schools have been feeling the squeeze – ten have recently closed, six have been forced into mergers and three have decided to move into the state sector. The UK government is considering “nationalising” struggling private schools.

But is there greater availability? Not yet. International schools say applications are currently holding up and English schools don’t seem to be experiencing any churn in families.

A key time will be Easter - the last date that parents can pull their children from a private school without financial penalty. Also, will the schools force up their fees at the rate of recent years (6% on average last year, over 30% over the last five years). If they do there may be a parental backlash.

In the end it may come down to parental responsibilities – a poll of our families shows that over 90% see school stability as their chief priority alongside paying the mortgage or rent.

New league tables released

The new league tables for secondary school performance in the 2008 public examinations have been released. Because of the mistakes in the marking of the primary school, Year 6 SATs, the release date for these is as yet unconfirmed.

Home education under the microscope

Many relocating families – especially those on short assignments – consider home education as an alternative to placing their children in a school. Although no official statistics, estimates places over 50,000 children being taught outside of mainstream schools. To date this has required no more than a call to the local education authority to advise them that this is happening. However, there are now plans to fully review home education to ensure that children receive an appropriate education, which may herald new regulation in this field.

Spiralling costs of state schooling

The cost of sending a child to a state secondary has risen to nearly £1,200 a year, as the price of uniforms, school trips and lunches has rocketed, according to new research.

The research found that families are increasingly struggling to pay for everything their child's school requests. In 2003, 27% said they found it difficult. This has now risen to 40%.


Fee cap decision delayed

The decision on whether to increase the university “top-up” fee in England – currently just over £3000 a year – has been delayed until 2010, probably to keep this political hot potato cool until after the next General Election.

Grammar schools

Many parents are now interested in grammar schools as a long-term, low-cost education option.

Grammar school are state secondary schools that select their pupils based on academic merit – with children sitting a competitive, “11+” examination. The schools tend to have much stronger academic profiles than ordinary, non-selective state schools. Only a minority of England's education authorities offer a grammar school option.

However parents may be underestimating the level of competition for places and that just moving to a grammar school area will not guarantee success. In a small education authority, such as Kingston in south London, 40% of pupils who sit the test obtain a place. In a larger county, such as Kent, only a quarter of pupils gain entry.