Industry News
Independent school advantages 'continue into later life'
Posted on 14th January 2008
The benefits of attending an independent school continue well beyond the age of 18, a new study has concluded.
A research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation and led by Professor Francis Green of the University of Kent found that independent schools have better facilities, smaller class sizes and better-qualified teachers than maintained schools.
It also discovered that the advantages carry on to university - where more than half of privately-schooled students obtain a first or 2:1 - and into later life, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Researchers found evidence that people educated at independent schools have better post-university job prospects and also earn an average of 19 per cent more than their state-educated peers.
"The significant benefits are exclusively associated with the academic qualifications attributable to private schooling," the report concluded.
Statistics compiled by the Independent Schools Council show that 57.4 per cent of GCSEs taken by pupils from its member schools in 2007 were given an A* or A grade, compared with a national average of 19.5 per cent.