Breaking down the barriers

The way forward for independent schools lies in greater co-operation with the maintained sector and local communities, argues Nick Bevan, Headmaster of Shiplake College and Chairman of the Society of Headmasters and Headmistresses
of Independent Schools.

Who could possibly argue with David Blunkett’s consultative policy paper Excellence in Schools in which he points out that: “the best independent schools can offer children extensive facilities in sport, music and the other arts, specialist teaching in subjects such as the less common foreign languages, nationally important provision for certain types of special educational needs, and a variety of patterns of boarding provision.” Further, he states that: “The educational apartheid created by the public/private divide diminishes the whole education system.”

Whatever shade of government sits in Whitehall, there can be no denying that the independent schools of this country provide excellence in the all-round education they offer. From the largest and most famous to the smallest and most local, such schools have a common purpose in challenging their pupils with as wide a range of opportunities as possible and in adding value over and above the requirements of the National Curriculum and the formal national examination structure. Rightly all the independent schools associations are proud of their achievements and it is not surprising that there is still a very healthy public interest in them.

However, an education in an independent school does not come cheaply and numbers remain a concern for many of us. Falling rolls and the subsequent economic constraints mean that some of the services hitherto offered may have to be limited. A way forward must now be sought and it surely lies in greater co-operation with the maintained sector and the local community.

About 20 years ago when I taught briefly at a well-known large, independent day school in Melbourne, Australia, the new middle school building was opened by the State Minister for Education because one-third of the funding had come from his coffers. Independent schools there were all given a subsidy because, of course, they recognised that were there not a flourishing independent system, the financial burden for the state would be much more considerable.

So how can the two systems work much more closely together? I believe that my school provides a wonderful comprehensive education in a very small setting. It matters not to me where the pupils come from. We have a very wide ability range on entry, with little real selection. I would be delighted to be subsumed into a maintained system which recognised our strength and supported us financially and enabled us to remain competitive.

After nine years as Headmaster, I am trying to draw a line under everything that has happened in that time and build a vision for the future. In a way, I want to start from scratch all over again and plan for the next 20 years. The only thing that is holding me back is a lack of confidence in governmental support and encouragement. We have excellence in both maintained and independent schools in our area and we should surely be working more closely together to improve things still further.

Of course the new government provides a significant threat. We have already seen the Assisted Places go. What is next on its list - Charitable Status perhaps? But there is also a huge opportunity for a visionary government and it is significant here that independent schools as a whole viewed the recent election with far less trepidation than we had for the last 25 years. However, while the government is, of course, in a very strong position, David Blunkett has declared that what he wants to see are very good schools and that he will monitor developments closely to ensure this.

I think the signs are encouraging and we have little to fear unless we bury our heads in the sand and fail to recognize the olive-branches being offered.

Most of our schools have wonderful facilities and huge amounts of staff expertise, sometimes in areas only on the fringe of the National Curriculum and these assets must now be shared as fully as possible with local communities. There has to be a way forward here and, if Heaven forbid such a thing occurred and Shiplake College came to be closed down, then our local community would be deprived of a place where the design studios are used for local classes, the theatre is used regularly by outside arts groups, the local squash and rowing clubs would be forced to find alternative headquarters and, above all, the excellent village primary school in which so many of our staff children are educated, would lose its use of our IT facilities as an important part of their educational programme.

The opportunities for co-operation are endless and examples are given by the Secretary of State in his paper. Saturday enrichment classes, holiday arts, sports and languages courses are examples already in place in Dulwich, Birmingham and elsewhere. He goes further and suggests that local partnerships can include the use of flexible boarding at independent or state schools for children who need that environment at a particular time of their lives.

Minority subjects such as Latin or Greek, which are still taught at many large schools, could now be offered to those local maintained schools which have been unable to support teachers in these areas. Perhaps too often we talk of co-operation even within the independent sector without taking the necessary action. That only helps to build up the walls rather than break them down. It is time that we all looked 20 years ahead not two.

The future surely lies in sharing and working together to ensure that our schools are seen as an essential part of a good education system. I wonder if our masters in Downing Street can be this visionary and give us the necessary encouragement.

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