Industry News
State school lottery 'will cause private school boom'
Posted on 18th June 2007
The implementation of a computerised system of allocating pupils' places at state schools across the country could cause a rise in the popularity of private schools, according to one headmaster.
Dr Martin Stephen, high master of St Paul's School in London - where the lottery system has been trialled - said that parents' dislike of the new selection system has seen many of them turn to the private sector.
He told the Daily Mail that this could be of benefit to the private sector if the system is implemented across the UKUK.
"My heart goes out to parents who have to trust their children's education to a lottery. Random allocation in the State sector is not exactly going to harm independent schools."
Another head teacher, Richard Cairns of Brighton College, remarked: "There has been a significant rise in interest from parents with children in state primary schools, virtually all of whom expressed deep concern about the council's recent changes."
A Department for Education and Skills spokesman told the Daily Mail that random allocation had been recommended to some schools to help avoid "using the housing market to buy access to the best schools".
Last week, the Edinburgh Evening News reported that parents in EdinburghEdinburgh are paying huge premiums for homes that fall into the catchment areas of the best nearby schools.