More girls in independent schools

More than 90% of independent school pupils go on to university

For the first time there are now more girls attending the bigger independent schools as day pupils than boys.

The annual census of the UK's major independent school sector shows a slight decline in overall pupil numbers - down by 0.6% on the previous year.

But it shows the trend for more girls to be sent to fee-charging schools - and a decline in boys-only schools - has continued.

The census showed 504,000 pupils in Independent Schools Council schools.

Girl power

Girls have already overtaken boys in large areas of educational attainment - such as exam results and entrance to higher education.

And the annual figures from the ISC show that parents are now sending more daughters than sons to fee-paying schools as day pupils.

However, among boarding pupils, boys remain in a substantial majority - which means that boys are narrowly in an overall majority among fee-paying pupils - 51% to 49%.

The ISC says that in the early 1980s, only two in five independent school pupils were girls.

The census, covering a large majority of independent schools, reports that in the past decade there has been a "significant decrease in the number of boys-only schools and those with a big majority of boys".

However all-girl schools have remained - and at present there are 137 all-boy schools and 203 all-girl schools.

Fees hike

The census, taken in January, showed a year-on-year reduction in pupils, falling by over 3,000 - which the ISC says reflects the drop in the total school-age population.

About 7% of pupils in England attend private schools - a proportion that has remained broadly stable. In 1997, the proportion was 6.7%.

There has also been another above-inflation increase in the cost of private education - up by 5.8%. The overall average fee is £3,259 per term - including boarding places costing an average of £6,276 per term and day places costing £2,796 per term.

The figures also show that among pupils who study for A-levels in independent schools, more than 92% enter higher education. Among girls' schools, this figure goes above 95%.