Downturn Hits UK Private Schools
It was a matter of time. In a rather obvious consequence of the global economic downturn (particularly acute in Britain), the famous Good Schools list of the best educational institutions in the nation witnessed the rise of state entries in the rankings, usually dominated by what the Brits call “independent schools” (private preparatory schools).
Although several headmasters and analysts interviewed by the FT were surprised, I am surprised at their amazement. The credit crunch that has been afflicting markets for now over a year, with severe consequences for governments’ fiscal balance around the world, not to mention the high-earning financial sector, has hit the demographic that has always been most likely to send their offspring to elite schools.
As Britain’s top (fee-free) state schools receive more and more applications, it will be interesting to see how this trend impact education enrollment rates in the rest of Europe and in the US, not only in terms of private elementary and high schools, but also when it comes to higher education.
Fewer and fewer, it seems, can avoid the consequences of the economic malaise, which – if nothing else – reinforces the strength of the phenomenon.
February 21, 2009 - 11:12 PM
