School fees rise in face of recession

Private schools increased fees by six per cent this year despite mounting evidence that parents are turning away from independent education in the recession.

After 15 years of almost continuous growth, the number of pupils in private schools has fallen — while average fees rose to almost £12,400 a year in London.

The Independent Schools Council, which published the figures, said the rises were "affordable" for parents as mortgage and fuel bills had gone down.

But the number of pupils in private schools fell for only the second time since 1995, to 508,678. This represented 103 fewer pupils being educated in private schools than last year and followed a rise of 4,000 last year.

The report warned the picture was set to worsen, with more schools forced to merge in future. Over the last 18 months, 30 private schools have closed or merged. The ISC conducted the census of its 1,265 member schools in January. Sue Fieldman, from the Good Schools Guide, said: "We were talking about the tip of the iceberg then." She added: "Since January everything has gone downhill."

But ISC chief executive David Lyscom insisted it was "good news" that pupil numbers were broadly stable.