Industry News
Independent sector overseeing "best changes and developments"
Posted on 13th July 2007
Retiring from his position as headteacher of an independent school in Blackburn, Dr David Hempsell claimed that the greatest developments in education have been ushered in by the independent sector.
Having been head of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for 12 years, Mr Hempsell criticised the present government for having "run out of ideas" and suggested that independent schools have led major changes in education, the Lancashire Telegraph reports.
"It shouldn't be the case, but it's left to the independent schools to make the radical innovations," Mr Hempsell told the newspaper.
This, he argued, is due to independent schools not being constrained by the national curriculum.
Last month, Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust suggested that the gap in achievement between state and independent schools in the UK is larger than in any other advanced country.
To address this problem, private schools should be more accessible to those who cannot afford their fees, he argued.