Schools at risk

It now seems clear that the present Government does not intend to make a frontal attack on the independent schools as such, though it may subject them to a policy of harassment. But there is one clearly defined sector of independent education that is at risk. This comprises the direct‐grant schools, which receive a capitation grant direct from the DES. In return they must award at least 25% of their entry as ‘free‐places’, the fees being paid by the local education authorities, or in default by the school itself. The remainder of the entry is fee‐paying. But parents of day‐pupils are eligible for the remission of some part, or even the whole, of the fee in accordance with a generously‐graded income‐scale, the balance being paid by the Department.