Private schools are still beating the system

Parents of children at private schools are anxious, says Sarah Baxter. They’ve forked out anything up to £40,000 a year to win their offspring an advantage – only to find that the doors are closing. Oxford, for instance, has promised to raise its state school intake to more than 60%, and the Government has launched a drive to encourage firms to be more “inclusive” in their recruitment. Inevitably, middle-class families are fretting that their children will lose out. “Dare I suggest their terror is exaggerated?” Private schools are brilliant at beating the system: they have long guided their pupils to subjects that state schools don’t offer, such as classics; more recently, they’ve sidestepped the tough new exam-based GCSEs by sticking with international GCSEs, which still include coursework. And while state schools have had to pare back their provision of art, sport, music and drama, private schools have invested in those areas, to create confident, wellrounded adults with the skills to thrive in a world where creativity is prized more than ever. I’d say they’ve “never had it so good”.