UK private schools see record number of pupils

The number of pupils attending private schools has reached a record high, as the UK's economic recovery enables more parents to pay the fees, according to the Independent Schools Council.

The ISC's annual census, published on Friday, shows there are now 517,113 pupils attending the council's schools, up from 511,928 in 2014 and the largest increase in numbers since before the financial crisis and recession.

While the ISC estimates that 10 per cent of attendance growth is due to more schools joining its membership, and another 10 per cent down to a rise in the number of students from overseas, it calculates that the remaining 80 per cent is the result of a surge in British pupils.

Some of the most significant rises in pupil numbers have been in areas of the country that were badly hit by recession. In particular, attendances have grown by 4.7 per cent in Wales, 1.7 per cent in the West Midlands and 0.7 per cent in East Anglia. In the north, the increase was more marginal, at just 0.1 per cent.

Last year, the Financial Times reported on the difficulties facing independent schools in the north of England, revealing that while pupil numbers in London had increased by 14 per cent since the crash, those in the north had dropped by 12 per cent.

As a result, schools in the region embarked on mergers with nearby rivals, opened their doors to younger pupils and converted to coeducational status in an effort to remain afloat.

However, Barnaby Lenon, the ISC's chairman, said the more recent rise in attendances - which was the first positive growth the north had seen "in years" - supported the view that there was "a real recovery going on".

Hilary French, head of Newcastle High School for Girls, said she had noticed a "growing mood of optimism; a sense that local industry and businesses are thriving".

She added: "We are definitely seeing that translate into an increased demand for places, with a lot more interest in our school, particularly at junior level and in the sixth form."

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Mr Lenon said schools had made efforts to reduce the burden on parents by increasing funding for bursaries, and that the rise in fees over the past year, at 3.5 per cent, was the lowest increase since 1994. "Obviously we are helped by low inflation, but school governors are trying to keep the fee increase to an absolute minimum," he said.

He added that in the past, fee increases had been caused by "factors outside [schools'] control", such as rises in pension contributions and national insurance. "Those [increases] will no doubt continue," he said. "But our staff are not paid very much more than in the state sector."

Overall, day schools cost an average of £12,522 a year and boarding schools £30,369, the ISC data show.

Numbers of overseas pupils attending Britain's independent schools have continued to rise in the years since the crisis. At present, there are 27,211 international pupils whose parents live abroad, making up 5 per cent of the total ISC population. Of these foreign boarders, the largest proportions come from China and Hong Kong.

A smaller contingent comprises international pupils whose parents live in the UK: there are 16,821 such pupils, of whom 40 per cent come from Europe and a further 15 per cent are from the US.

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