Comprehensives see surge in private school pupils applying to do A-levels in their sixth forms
A growing number of teenagers from private schools are applying to attend top comprehensives for their A-levels, it has emerged.
Headteachers from leading state schools have told Education Guardian that in the last couple of years, the number of teenagers from private schools who are applying for a place in their sixth forms has, in some cases, quadrupled.
They argue that this is partly because families have less money to spend on school fees, but also because more parents are realising that many state schools provide as good an education as their nearby private schools do.
Some believe that it may also be because parents think the switch to the state sector will give their children a better chance of a place at a top university. Some universities, such as Bristol, now take into account when making offers whether an applicant has had the benefits of a private school, with its smaller class sizes, or has attended a comprehensive.
The Guardian has spoken to 11 headteachers, all of whose state schools are in The Good Schools Guide.
Norman Hoare, head of St George's school, a comprehensive in Hertfordshire, says the number of teenagers from private schools applying for a place in the sixth form has quadrupled over the last few years. Its sixth form has only 10 places for students who do not already study at the school. This year it has had 80 applications for those places, half of which were from pupils at private schools.
"There is at long last a realisation [on the part of parents] that there are some very good state schools," Hoare says. "Ofsted – the school inspectorate – has done a good job of identifying the good schools and blowing our trumpets."
Hoare says parents may be making the switch to the state sector to give their teenager a better chance of getting a place at a top university, but that "they had not declared this to be a reason for changing schools".
Alasdair Coates, head of St Christopher's Church of England high school, a comprehensive in Lancashire, says the number of private school pupils applying to his sixth form has doubled in the last year. Out of 39 places available to pupils not already at the school, 13 applications have been made from private school pupils this year.
Sexey's school, a comprehensive in Somerset, has found the number of private school pupils applying to its sixth form has more than doubled in the last two or three years. This year about 20 private school pupils started in the sixth form, compared to six a couple of years ago. "The standard of education that pupils get is at least comparable with that of the independent schools in the area, and it's obviously substantially cheaper," Raymond McGovern, the headteacher, says. "I think people are realising this more and more."
This year, half a dozen private school pupils applied to the sixth form of The Latymer school, a selective grammar in north London, compared to none or very few in previous years. "It is more of a sacrifice for parents to send their children to independent schools in the current climate," Mark Garbett, the head, says. And at Slough grammar school, the proportion of applications to its sixth form from private school pupils rose 3% this year.
However, Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, head of research and intelligence at the Independent Schools Council, which represents 1,260 schools, says there is no evidence of a drop in interest in independent schools' sixth forms. A survey conducted in January by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an association of 250 private schools, "points to the same conclusion", he says.
"Parents choose independent sixth forms because year on year their pupils achieve outstanding results at A-level and equivalent, and we have seen nothing to suggest the picture is changing this year."
The Good Schools Guide says half the parents who phone its advice service now inquire about state schools, compared to just 10% five years ago. It receives about 50 calls a week.
Janette Wallis, senior editor of the guide, says the "new middle-class dream was finessing a top education via a high-achieving state school, topped up with tutoring.
"Most parents asking about independent schools are now also asking for recommendations of state schools ... that is a recent development. First choice for many affluent parents is a top comprehensive or grammar school, but they will have an independent school up their sleeve as a safety net."
All 11 headteachers Education Guardian has spoken to say competition for places at their schools is getting more fierce, despite a drop in the number of pupils of secondary school age across the country. All but one of the schools has already become, or is looking into becoming an academy.