Private school enrolment falls

The number of children enrolled in private schools fell by one per cent last year, new figures have revealed.

According to the latest figures from the Independent Schools Council (ISC), 506,500 children attended independent schools at the beginning of 2010, a figure that stood at 511,886 at the outset of this year.

Although that figure has fallen for the past three years, ISC chief executive David Lyscom said that private schools have done very well to weather the recession.

"Independent schools are showing remarkable resilience against a difficult economic background, reflecting the high quality of education that our schools offer to parents and the value for money that this represents," he added.

The ISC research indicated that the average price paid by parents for private schooling was £13,179 last year, a figure that was 4.6 per cent larger than in the previous year.

Approximately 24,500 students were from overseas, with most coming from Hong Kong and across Europe.

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