Why invest in Independent education?

Why invest in Independent education?

Independent education requires a huge investment by parents, but why is this necessary with good local state schools in Rutland?

A 2016 study conducted by Durham University – the most sophisticated of its type to date – compared the performances of pupils in independent and state schools from the age of four years.  Having ensured fair comparison by controlling for variables such as socio-economic background and prior academic ability, their key findings include:

• Pupils gain two years’ normal progress and this suggests that attending an independent school is associated with the equivalent of two additional years of schooling by the age of 16.
• The research, led by Robert Coe, professor of education at Durham, stated that they found ‘a clear and significant difference in the GCSEs achieved by independently educated children’
• The Durham researchers suggested that the difference stems from “the overall quality of teaching and learning, linked to a holistic education through which each child develops the confidence to do well.”

Full link to the report can be found here:

Durham University ‘Academic Value Added’ Research, 2016 – ISC