Industry News
Fee-paying schools only for 'super-rich'
Posted on 24th September 2007
Private schools may become the preserve of the "super-rich" as the rising price of education is leaving the middle classes unable to afford them for their children, an expert has claimed.
Sir Eric Anderson, the provost of Eton, made his comments to the Sunday Telegraph and said there was a risk only the "sons of hedge-fund managers" and students from abroad would be able to attend Britain's private schools.
The newspaper discovered that some private schools are giving bursaries to parents earning up to £80,000 a year to help them afford the termly fees.
Sir Eric commented: "There are far fewer trades and professions that could think quite happily of educating their children in boarding schools compared with 20 years ago."
The Independent Schools Council reports that the average termly fees at one of its day schools are £2,700, rising to £6,700 at a boarding school.
It reports that 31 per cent of pupils received help with their fees in 2007, mostly through scholarships and bursaries amounting to more than £300 million.