Industry News
Private schools dominate the top 1,000 list
Posted on 10th March 2008
Independent schools lead the pack in the latest Financial Times rankings of the 1,000 top-performing institutions by A-level results once again, accounting for nine out of the top ten schools.
The newspaper gives a number of reasons as to why private schools consistently achieve the best academic results and send a disproportionately high number of pupils to Russell Group universities.
It notes that many schools now have tougher expectations of both teachers and pupils, with staff increasingly facing the sack if they fail to meet the high standards set.
Likewise, many private schools are now selecting children by academic ability rather than family background, with many institutions also making their sixth-form admissions systems more stringent.
Some schools in the independent sector that do not achieve academic ratings at the top of the tables, such as Wellington College and Bedales, focus instead on "instilling character" and developing holistic approaches to teaching and learning - as a result, their pupils tend to go on to be successful later in life.
This latest league table confirms the conclusion of a recent article in the Economist, which argued that the excellent results private schools achieve mean that they represent good value for money.