Forward to the past: Classical UK schooling

THE decision to place a child in an independent school in the UK is not one to be taken lightly. With fees for a day place starting at around £17,000 ($52,000) a year and HMC boarding schools charging in excess of £23,000, one needs to be sure that the investment is worth it. (The Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference is the organisation that brings together all the top public (= private) schools in the UK and a few international ones as well. The only HMC inspected school in Brunei charges a fraction of these fees!)



The British government, unlike the Australian government, does not subsidise private education, nor does it give any tax advantages to those who take their children out of the national system. Fees are paid after tax out of disposable income. If one's son or daughter shows little academic promise or has difficulty with authority, is it not a better bet to send them to the local comprehensive?



Independent education is undoubtedly still extremely popular in Britain despite the fees and many parents steer clear of state education if they can. The top schools are oversubscribed. They are highly selective and achieve very impressive examination results, certainly far better than the national averages. Guides to independent education rank schools by their results and parents look very carefully at the league tables. A public school education still has considerable cachet in British society, certainly one from a school in the premier league. To be an old Etonian, Harrovian or Wykehamist is to belong to a very distinguished club that looks after its own for life.



The range of extra-curricular activities offered can be the determining factor when parents decide to opt for independent education. Sport, music and drama will all be strong in a good school with many opportunities for pupils to compete and perform at a high level. The commitment of staff is demonstrated by the large number of school trips. In many UK state schools, the provision beyond the classroom can be less inspiring.



Perhaps though, it is the perception that children who have been to a public school are more confident, more polished and more socially competent that carries most weight with parents. Schools claim that they teach pupils to think, not just pass exams. They teach them manners and self-discipline, self reliance and initiative. As the great literary critic, George Steiner, put it, "they civilise our gentlemen". For the most academic, there are opportunities for challenging work and debate in small classes with highly qualified and motivated staff. And yet, if Alan Bennett's recent play The History Boys is anything to go by — the play examines the highly charged and immensely creative relationship between bright state school sixthformers and their history master — challenging lessons these days are certainly not the preserve of the private sector.



There are many more opportunities for leadership in the private school and in their boarding houses. Pupils become good at expressing their views in a measured and articulate manner. Participation, discussion and debate are encouraged, even if it is necessary to quash the outspoken occasionally and get on with the lesson. Teachers become deeply involved in the education of their pupils and relationships are easy and often very tolerant. Senior classes with the best teachers and pupils become hothouses for the exchange of information and ideas.



Of course, some products of private education spend their lives condemning the ancient schools in newspaper columns, books and even poetry: A keen ecclesiologist, A rather dirty Wykehamist wrote Poet Laureate John Betjeman.



But many pupils have an intense loyalty to their Alma Mater even if this develops after they have left. Boys who were always in the headmaster's study in their school days and succeeded in spending additional years in the Lower Fourth, sometimes develop a deep, even a sentimental, allegiance to their schools. They may end up on the school governing body as the spokesmen of tradition and the status quo despite their wayward youth. Tony Blair himself had plenty of run-ins with his housemaster Eric Anderson at Fettes College; Anderson interestingly later became the Headmaster, and then the Provost of Eton. Perhaps being difficult at school is a pre-requisite for occupying the highest office in the land.



Unlike state schools, the public schools have to fund themselves out of fee income and endowments. Some, but by no means all, own land and property and derive considerable income from these sources.

Many schools occupy ancient buildings which are extremely expensive to maintain, but which they must maintain, because the buildings are listed. Income from endowments is a vital component in helping them to balance their books.



Nowadays fees seem to rise inexorably and a private education is increasingly the preserve of the rich. In Australia, fees are much lower and private schools receive large subsidies from the government. Capital investment for many schools is difficult. Many have development campaigns that seek to raise funds from old boys and girls for new music schools or boarding houses or teaching blocks.

Universities are of course the same. Graduates of the ancient schools and universities are forever receiving unsolicited phone calls from bright young freshmen asking for a stake in their legacies in return for a mention on the wall of a dark and ancient cloister.



There are clouds on the horizon for the private sector. Things are not all rosy. Tony Blair's government has invested hugely in state education; an ancient private institution with gloomy Victorian classrooms can find itself not a mile away from a spanking new Blairite Academy with glass atriums and cutting edge technology. There are twenty or thirty schools at the top of the tree that have no difficulty in filling their places. No one is doubting that they will be around for a while. But the other 270 schools have to think seriously about marketing and the intense competition from the sixth form college down the road.

The new headmaster of St Cuthbert's may think that in the Groves of Academe he can sit in his office all day, penning his autobiography or slim volume of poetry that will rocket him to fame in the columns of the Times Literary Supplement. Not so. Soon he will realise that he must write development plans and talk about the next sales push in Hong Kong.



Demographic trends suggest that a good proportion of private schools will close in the coming decade if the proportion of UK children in private education remains at 7%. UK independent schools will have to try harder and harder to justify the investment that parents make. No one would want to see the ancient institutions go to the wall, but they certainly need to evolve. A rather good joke was circulating at Winchester College when I left:

Question : How many Wykehamist dons does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: Change?!

The author is the principal of Jerudong International School (JIS) and can be reached at John.Price@jis.edu.bn

The Brunei Times