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| Open Access Sir Peter Lampl Click here for a print version of this article. 'We need all schools to provide an education which matches the best in the independent sector.' This seemingly uncontroversial statement, buried in the Government's social mobility strategy, went completely unnoticed in the avalanche of news copy devoted to this recently published report. Sympathetic as I am with the Deputy Prime Minister's crusade to open up the closed shop world of internships, for me these few words deserved far more attention. Education is the key battleground where social mobility will be won or lost. And the educational apartheid between state and private schools remains one of the biggest obstacles to creating a more mobile and fairer society in Britain -- where talent, not family background, should be the primary factor determining success in life. The Coalition is not the first Government to make such a hopeful promise. Nor will it be the last. Unimaginable as it is now, Gordon Brown's administration boldly asserted that unit funding for state schools would one day match the levels for independent schools. And yet as the Government's plan for improving social mobility acknowledges, this education divide remains as stark as ever. The latest international comparisons show that the attainment gap between independent and state schools is bigger in the UK than any comparable country in the world conferring enormous advantages to wealth. As a Canadian banker friend of mine, who has children at top private schools in London, said to me: "we are not moving back to Canada, we can't buy this sort of advantage for our children there". Independent school pupils are six times more likely than their state school peers to enter one of the country's most academically selective universities. As the Sutton Trust studies have shown, over 70% of high court judges, over half of leading news journalists, and a third of our MPs, were educated at independent schools – which make up just 7% of all schools. I recognize that improving social mobility is not just about opening up the professional elites to bright children from all backgrounds. The UK is characterized by a long tail of under-achievement that sees 100,000s of children leaving school still unable to read and write and count to basic levels. I think that is totally unacceptable. And that is why I was so delighted that the Sutton Trust was selected as the lead charity in partnership with the Impetus Trust to manage a £125 million Education Endowment Fund to boost the attainment of the country's poorest children. But I also believe that social mobility at the 'top end' is incredibly important. Forthcoming research for the Trust suggests that 'stickiness at the top' is a major issue for the UK: family background exerts a stronger influence on the outcomes for high achieving children compared with other countries. Everyone is for improving social mobility at the bottom, but it's very difficult to get any support at all for improving mobility at the top end because those who are in a position to do something about it have a huge personal interest in preserving the status quo. It wasn't always this way. I was lucky enough to benefit from a private school where 100% of places were free, funded by government. It is now 100% fee paying so most of my fellow classmates myself included – many of whom have gone on to great things – would now be excluded on financial grounds. The 180 direct grant schools, the majority of private day schools where 2/3 of the places were free, paid by the state, have been banished to the past. All are now fee charging -- off bounds to all but the rich. There is, however, a proven and cost-effective way to offer similar life-changing opportunities to children of the 21st century. Imagine a scheme where all places at the country's leading private day schools were awarded on merit alone. Parents would pay a sliding scale of fees according to their means; admissions would become 'needs blind'. Bright children from all backgrounds would have access to the educational riches offered by such schools -- from the best qualified teachers and facilities, to the social skills and networks so important for future life prospects. The schools would become powerful engines of social mobility. That scheme is 'Open Access'. And it has already been successfully trialed. In partnership with the Girls' Day School Trust, the Sutton Trust piloted the approach at The Belvedere School in Liverpool. And we know it works, academically and socially. The first cohort of pupils admitted under Open Access achieved the school's best ever GCSE results and its social makeup reflected the local Merseyside area, with 70% of students receiving financial help, including a third on free places. Importantly, interviews with parents, teachers and pupils showed that The Belvedere (which has since converted to an academy) was a happy place, with pupils of diverse backgrounds getting on well together. And the average subsidy per pupil was £3,200 per year - less than the cost of a state school place. We proposed that Open Access should be taken up by the Government and expanded, initially to 12 - but ultimately to 100 or more - independent day schools - the majority. Open Access has attracted support from across the political spectrum over the years - from Anthony Giddens to David Willetts. And many independent school heads have said they would jump at the chance to make their schools open to bright children from all backgrounds. Yet so far it has proved just a step too radical for any Government to contemplate. That is social mobility's loss. The relatively small numbers of pupils involved would have little impact on the state sector as a whole. And this would not be increasing selection; it would be democratising it. Despite this, Labour has an issue with selection and funding children at private schools and to an extent so do the Conservatives. However, there is more chance of the Coalition taking up Open Access than was the case under Labour and possibly it could be included as a part of the academies programme. At a stroke we will have destroyed the independent-state school divide. Instead of either paying full private school fees or nothing at all there would be a range of fees for parents from all backgrounds paying according to means. And most importantly of all our future professional elites - judges, news editors and politicians - would come from all social backgrounds, not just the lucky few with parents able to afford school fees. Sir Peter Lampl is Chairman of The Sutton Trust (This article first appeared in The Times) |
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