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Difficult choices, but help is at handDavid Lyscom, former Chief Executive of the Independent Schools Council
Parents are faced with a bewildering choice in the education sector these days – state or independent, day or boarding, single sex or co-educational – and most of these choices are available at all ages. While independent education is not an option for many, surveys suggest that more than half the population would – if they could afford it – send their children to an independent school. Some good news for parents is that the economic recession means that the average size of fee increases in independent schools this year has been kept to 3%. Further good news is that the recession has not forced lots of school closures, despite what you read in the press, so the choice of schools is as large as ever.
As a former Diplomatic Service parent, I have faced the same difficult challenges and choices that confront Service families on how and where to educate their children. While, in normal circumstances, parents have a broad menu of education options, most of them do not need, or indeed want, to exercise choice. That is not the case for those of us serving the UK overseas. Boarding education has experienced a renaissance in recent years, and the government has recognised the benefits that boarding can offer by announcing financial support for particular groups of children to attend boarding schools. My own choice for my children was the independent boarding sector. The key reason was to provide continuity in education and in their social environment. I had observed first hand the challenges that relocation can mean for children, and the problems they had had to overcome in dealing with them. Confidence can suffer and, with that, academic performance and well-being. Moving around the world also meant that the quality of a British education could not necessarily be guaranteed. One thing that the independent sector can offer is high standards of academic teaching coupled with extensive extra-curricular activity and a caring environment.
Many ISC schools give discounts to Service families. Individual schools often give details in their prospectuses. Even where this is not the case, it is always worth asking whether discounted fees are available. Although it is tempting to go for the largest discount, the overriding priority is to choose the right school for your child. The best advice is to do careful research and then to visit a shortlist of three or four schools. It is often the case that parents (and children) can sense whether the school is the right one. Different schools suit different children, and – apart from the feel of a school – it is not sensible to choose a highly academic school for an average pupil, or a school with not much in the way of playing fields for a child who loves team sports. Look at the school’s academic range and expectations; its concentration (or not) on sport, drama, art and music. If possible, find parents with children at the same school and talk to them. Other factors are transport and accessibility. If parents are abroad and the children will be flying out three times a year, the location of a school, or the airport service it offers, can make a difference of several days each year to the time that children and parents have together. It can also mean that parents do not have to rely on grandparents or friends for logistical help. As part of the research process, it is well worth using ISC’s information and advice service (ISCias). This incorporates a comprehensive search facility at www.isc.co.uk using the central ISC database of almost 1250 member schools, with details of each school. This search facility allows you to create your own shortlists of schools by inputting the criteria that are important to you. For example, a search for a senior girls’ boarding school in Kent, Sussex or Surrey produces a list of 18 schools. The same search for Lancashire or Yorkshire produces only three schools. However, if you search for co-educational schools in Lancashire and Yorkshire there are 20 schools. This facility also enables parents to search for schools that provide financial assistance options, including HM Forces bursaries. The ISC website is thus a quick means of getting to a shortlist of possible schools, and there are the usual links from our website to individual school sites. In addition to the information on the ISC website, ISCias provides a national helpline – 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657) – which is manned continuously from 9am to 5pm, five days a week. There is also an email facility: information@isc.co.uk. Helpline staff have full access in real time to a comprehensive information database, and also have a mass of reference material on a range of topics related to independent schools. Helpline staff also have links with charities, grant-giving trusts and other useful bodies. Please do get in touch if you need assistance of this sort. It did not exist when I was researching for my own children and I can fully appreciate the difference it could make for today’s prospective Service parents.  David Lyscom studied economics and statistics before entering HM Diplomatic Service. His last overseas mission was as UK Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Before that he was HM Ambassador in Slovakia. He also served overseas in Germany, Austria, Canada and Saudi Arabia, and several times in the FCO in London. He attended Latymer Upper School, London, and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He became Chief Executive of the Independent Schools’ Council in September 2008 and stood down pending the reorganisation of the ISC in June 2011.. |
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