Independent Schools Council » School Fees – Private Schools

Pre preparatory, prep, junior, senior and sixth form what do they mean

Rosie Keeling — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:10:30 +0000

An Independent or ‘private’ school generally contains four different departments according to the age range of the pupils. Some independent schools contain all four departments where as others may only cater for pupils within a particular age range such as prep.

Independent pre-preparatory (pre-prep) school
Pre-preparatory or pre-prep, caters for two to seven year olds and is also known as nursery school.

Independent preparatory (prep) and junior school
Preparatory or prep is also known as junior school. Traditionally prep school begins at seven years and ends at eleven or thirteen. On the whole the independent sector tends to use the terms preparatory and prep and the maintained sector junior. However, independent junior schools are becoming more frequent.

Independent senior school
Senior school caters for pupils from eleven years to eighteen or from thirteen to eighteen. The latter being particularly the case with some boy senior schools.

Independent sixth form
Sixth form is for students aged sixteen plus and lasts for two years.

If you are looking for a school then why not use our school search? The school search allows you to search for schools by a range of criteria including options such as pre-prep, prep, senior and sixth form as well as other criteria such as geographic region and school type such as day or boarding school as well as whether the school is coeducational or not

For an even more detailed search you can use our personalised advanced school search. The personalised advanced school search allows uses to refine their search by factors such as subjects, sports and exam types offered as well as the schools religious affiliation and whether or not the school offers school fee assistance such as school scholarships or bursaries.

A list of independent schools by London borough is also available as well as a list of independent schools by county and town.

Looking to attend a school open day? Then search for upcoming school open days using our school open day search.

Further information on pre-prep, prep, junior, senior and sixth form:
School structure (state vs independent schools)
Pre-prep schools
Prep schools
Senior schools
Sixth form

Looking for schools offering bursaries or other types of school fee assistance?

Rosie Keeling — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:00:40 +0000

The ISC Personalised Advanced School is a sophisticated school search that allows those looking for an independent school to find schools best fitting their requirements. One aspect of the search is that it can be used to find schools offering different types of school fee assistance, such as bursaries and scholarships, with users being able to select if they only wish to receive information on schools offering one or more of the following:

Bursaries
Academic scholarships
Art awards
Design awards
Drama awards
Music scholarships
Choral scholarships
Sport scholarships
Science and Technology scholarships
All rounder scholarships
HM Forces family bursaries
Financial assistance for siblings

Find out more about school bursaries as well as scholarships and school fee assistance in general.

For free impartial information from ISCias (ISC information and advice service) on all types of independent schools including both day and boarding schools, as well as information on school bursaries and other types of school fee assistance you can call 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657) or email information@isc.co.uk. We are available to help week-days 9-5.

Independent Schools – A Well Rounded Education

Liam Butler — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:22:12 +0000

Over 500,000 children benefit from an independent education in one of ISC’s 1276 member schools. Independent schools offer a wealth of facilities and high teaching standards that enable students to achieve great results year after year. Independent schools are in the unique position to provide a truly bespoke education for your child.

Choosing the right school for your child is an important decision that takes plenty of time and research. Thankfully help is at hand for parents in the form of the Independent Schools Council information advice service (ISCias). ISCias has a free helpline, 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657), that gives free impartial information and advice to parents.

Results
One of the reasons parents continue to choose an independent education for their child thanks to high teaching standards and this clearly reflects in the grades that our schools post year after year. In 2008 over half of A Level entries from pupils at ISC schools were awarded a grade A. Also, pupil/teacher ratios continue to fall in ISC schools reflecting many schools’ commitment to teaching a wide range of subjects even if class sizes are small. There is now one teacher to every ten pupils allowing children to receive a uniquely supported and bespoke education. Independent schools are excellent at providing breadth of education as well as flexibility.

There are now over 40 ISC schools that offer the International Baccalaureate allowing parents to pick the style of education that best suits their child. Thanks to the flexibility of not being tied to the national curriculum or Local Authorities ISC schools are also some of the first to adopt the new Pre-U exam which is a 16+ course designed to prepare students for university. Independent schools offer an array of choices for parents when it comes to curricula and qualifications and it’s up to parents to do the research and pick the one that will best suit their child. The one-size-fits-all approach to education is long gone in the independent sector and it’s now up to the parent to choose the right school for their child.

Facilities and Extra-Curricular
In 2007/08 ISC schools spent nearly 300 million pounds on new buildings demonstrating their commitment to constant improvement of facilities for pupils. Total spending on facilities and equipment stood at nearly 700 million pounds, roughly equating to roughly £1,400 per pupil. However, it’s not just academic facilities such as ICT centres, Science laboratories and state of the art classrooms that schools are committed to improving. With great sporting facilities too, schools can offer everything from athletics, rugby and football to squash, tennis and lacrosse. Independent schools are committed to providing children with a rounded education filled with both sporting and academic successes. Indeed many ISC schools have produced some of the best sports men and women in recent memory. The 2008 Beijing Olympics was dominated by Independent school educated stars such as Chris Hoy and Ben Ainslie. The England rugby team also boasts a hoard of Independent School alumni, Jonny Wilkinson, Matthew Tait and Lewis Moody to name but a few.

Many children also take advantage of various Cadet Force initiatives, such as Combined Cadet Force, which teach leadership and team work. Many schools even offer a BTEC in leadership as a result of pupils’ participation in CCF. The school day doesn’t have to begin at 9 and end at 5 and many parents choose a weekly or flexible boarding option, allowing their children to take full advantage of the after school activities that are on offer. Students are not confined to the school premises either as schools are very keen to organise trips abroad for history, geography and modern foreign language purposes. Pick up any school’s newsletter and you’ll find details of groups of students trekking off to some far flung destination.

IPSOS Mori
A recent survey by Ipsos MORI found Independent education to be more popular than ever. Nearly three in five of all parents would send their child to Independent school if they could afford it. This is the highest level since the survey began in 1997, up 20% on the last survey in 2004. While ‘better standards of education’ continues to be the prime factor for parents wanting to send their children to Independent schools, ‘better discipline’ more than doubled in popularity rising to second place above ‘smaller class sizes’.

Is there help with school fees
More than one in three pupils at ISC schools receives assistance with fee costs with four out of five of these awards coming directly from the school itself. Indeed, most ISC schools offer bursaries, scholarships or both.

Scholarships tend to be linked to the ability of the child whether it is academic, sporting, music or drama. The best way to ascertain availability and eligibility is to contact the school directly. They are more than happy to discuss with you the options available.

Bursaries, on the other hand, tend to be means-assessed on a financial basis and will require the parent or guardian to fill out a financial declaration to establish whether the student meets the necessary criteria.

The Parent Zone – is a great resource for information on independent schools around the UK, and can be used to find schools local to you that match your criteria. By clicking ‘School Search’ you can also find out if the school offers bursaries and / or scholarships.

So why choose an Independent School?
Education isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair and thankfully independent schools come in all shapes and sizes. The independent sector gives parents the opportunity to choose a school that is right for their child. Whether it is the breadth and flexibility of the curriculum that appeals or perhaps the extra curricular activities, you can be assured that your child will receive a well rounded education helping them to achieve their full potential.

By Liam Butler – Information Officer

Liam Butler works for ISCias (Independent Schools Council information & advice service) giving information to parents about Independent schools.

More information
Advantages of independent schools

ISCias Information Officer – Helping parents find independent day and boarding schools

Liam Butler — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:23:46 +0000

ISCias is a FREE information and advice service for parents giving general information about accredited independent schools. ISCias deals with around 800 queries each month and that figure continues to grow!

My role as ISCias Information officer is to answer queries from parents and schools on the 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657) number as well as respond to email enquiries from information@isc.co.uk. Anyone can call or email ISCias about Independent Schools, boarding schools, preparatory schools as well as to gather information regarding scholarships and bursaries.

The ISC website, particularly the Parents Zone section, is a great resource that all parents are encouraged to access – why not have a look yourself!

As well as a vast amount of written material from prep schools to special educational needs it is also home to the ‘Find an ISC school’ search facility. Parents can use this to find appropriate accredited ISC schools that meet their requirements. Each school has a unique page with a link to their school inspection report, contact details as well as subjects taught, activities, facilities and much more. There is plenty of information to help a parent as they start to look for schools for their child. The advanced personalised school search is very popular

Whether you need information about preparatory schools or schools catering for pupils who are slightly older, perhaps schools with sixth forms, ISCias can help by giving you a list for you to consider. There are currently over 66,000 boarders in ISC schools and ISCias are happy to provide advice about boarding schools as well as day schools.

So whether you need general information about ISC schools, Common Entrance Exams, Scholarships or a list of specific independent schools that meet your needs then don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0845 SCHOOLS (7246657) or send an email to information@isc.co.uk - it’s FREE and impartial.

In-fee-lation?

Hayley Dunlop — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:45:27 +0000

We discovered last month that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen to 3.3% – the highest it has been since records began more than 11 years ago. Using this as a guideline, it would be easy to presume that average fees at ISC schools are, indeed, ‘inflation busting’, having risen 6.2% since 2007. However, looking more closely at the various factors that contribute to CPI presents an altogether different picture.

Education is just one of the categories that contributes to the CPI ‘basket’ of goods and services, which is supposed to reflect the ways households spend their money. Other categories in this basket include food, drink, household bills and transport. Yet these categories do not have equal ‘weighting’ when it comes to measuring overall CPI. In fact, education expenditure (which includes independent school fees, evening classes, international student fees and UK university tuition fees) is given a weight of only 1.9% of total spending in the CPI basket of goods and services. As a result, movements in the education category will have little impact on overall CPI changes and, to get a true picture of how much fees are rising, education inflation needs to be examined separately.

Analysis of education inflation by the ISC research team reveals that it increased by 13.7% in 2007. This clearly shows that, in the context of education, fee increases at ISC schools are less than half the rate of overall education inflation. More detailed analysis also reveals that, since ISC school fees account for less than a third of overall private education expenditure, all other private school costs are therefore rising faster than those in ISC schools. Therefore, for parents who are choosing independent schools for their children, ISC schools – even before fee assistance, scholarships and bursaries are taken into consideration – are delivering the best value for money in an increasingly tough economic environment.