Independent schools 'defy slump'

About 7% of children in the UK are at independent schools

A survey of independent schools suggests that the recession has not cut demand for places.

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) says there were 2.3 applicants for every place for 11-year-olds this year, a rise of 1.7%.

In its survey of 89 of its 250 member schools, only 0.2% of pupils had left for financial reasons this school year.

But one in 10 schools said they were not sure they would survive the economic downturn in the longer term.

Commentators have predicted that the effects of the recession might not be felt on independent schools for another year or two.

The HMC surveyed the 89 schools at the end of January.

Among those, 91% were confident their school was "in a strong condition to withstand the likely effects of recession".

Only 2.2% disagreed and a further 6.7% were unsure.

Gloomy

Demand for places for older students also rose. There were 1.4 candidates for each place at age 13 (up 7.5%) and 1.3 applicants for each sixth form place (up 8.2%), the HMC said.

More than a third (38.2%) of schools said attendance at open events was higher than last year and a half (50.6%) said it was about the same.

HMC chairman Bernard Trafford said: "The survey demonstrates how strong the demand for high quality independent education remains, despite the gloomy economic news.

"We all recognise that conditions will probably get worse for some parents and the situation in January is, of course, only a provisional indication of what will happen later."

Mr Trafford, who is headmaster of the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne, added: "Our schools are realistic and will plan accordingly but this survey gives every reason for confidence that HMC schools are in a strong position to weather the difficult conditions ahead."

Trinity School in Croydon is one which has seen applications rise despite the recession.

Applications rose by 20% last year, the school says.

Head master Mark Bishop says this is partly due to the school's strong reputation for music and its "generous bursary system" (about one in six pupils receives some form of bursary).

He also thinks the innovation of putting a teacher on trains to and from central London to accompany younger boys has proved popular with parents.