Best Schools - Private schools are writing to Labour councils setting out the millions of pounds that it would cost

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has written to Labour councillors and MPs outlining the cost to taxpayers should independent schools be abolished.

The fightback is in response to a campaign, Labour Against Private Schools (Laps), that uses the @AbolishEton handle on social media and is supported by Ed Miliband, the former party leader.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has written to Labour councillors in more than two dozen of the areas that would be hit hardest. Several MPs in whose constituencies those councils fall — including Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, and Theresa May — are also being sent letters.

In total, letters are being sent to 700 Labour councillors in 27 local authorities from Portsmouth to Hull, and almost 70 MPs representing those areas. The ISC chose the 27 areas that would suffer the biggest impact if a motion such as the one proposed by Labour activists were ever approved.

The letter to Sir Keir, and Labour councillors in his constituency of Holborn & St Pancras, says that there are almost 7,800 privately educated children in the borough of Camden.

It adds: “If all of these schools were closed the council would need £52.3 million [a year] extra day-to-day funding for the additional pupils, equivalent to 37.3 per cent of the current budget. It would need 330 additional places in Year 7 to accommodate displaced students, with secondary school class sizes rising by six to seven pupils in each class. And it would see primary school class sizes rise to 37 pupils, with ten more children in every single class.”

In Mrs May’s ward, the abolition of private schools would cost an extra £18.5 million a year in day-to-day funding, the ISC said. It would need an extra 282 places in secondary schools, and primary school class sizes would increase to 32 pupils on average.

Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, says in the letters: “You may be aware of a campaign advocating abolition of independent schools. We want to make you aware of the potential consequences of this campaign — for the schools in your area, for the local economy, and for the jobs of your constituents. Independent schools provide excellence, capacity and innovation . . . Abolishing independent schools would fail to improve provision for state pupils. The state sector would face higher costs and bigger class sizes.

“Abolishing these schools would not improve education, and would make it significantly harder to adequately fund education for all children. It would place an unbearable burden on local education budgets, such as your own – meaning that all children suffer from a lower quality of education. For these reasons we urge you to oppose any attempt at abolition.”

Warwick School will join FirstPoint USA's portfolio of UK partner schools opening up scholarship opportunities in the US

Warwick School has signed a partnership agreement with FirstPoint USA, which has offices at Wembley Stadium, the Etihad, Manchester and Glasgow. The independent day and boarding school for boys will join the company’s ‘elite’ portfolio of partnering schools in the UK.

This will mean Warwick School’s pupils will be able to take advantage of FirstPoint’s scholarship programme, which gives students access to 2,500 universities and colleges in the USA. They have already placed over 8,000 student athletes on scholarships since 2001.

Warwick School has many sporting success stories to its name including National Cup wins for its First XV rugby squads during 2016/17 and 2017/18.

FirstPoint and Warwick School will work together across several events and initiatives to ensure that pupils interested in studying in the USA are guided carefully through the scholarship process and provided with all the information and support they require.