From school thenews Head
Callum Baylis (Upper Sixth) modelled Liam Hodges’ latest pieces at London Fashion Week. Photographs courtesy of Liam Hodges.
From the Head
I
n its 404 year history The Perse has seen some
costs of independent education to the point that
challenging times. The School navigated its way
many schools would be priced out of existence. Critics of the sector should be careful what they
through the English Civil War and the Restoration,
survived bubonic plague, endured years of economic
wish for. Independent schools currently educate around
mismanagement in the eighteenth century, took some
7% of the UK’s children at no direct cost to the state
direct hits from the Luftwaffe, and coped with the
thus saving the Exchequer about £4 billion each year.
loss of government funding with the end of Direct
At The Perse our public benefit programme sees the
Grant status. In doing so The Perse has shown itself
School spending over £1 million per annum on means
to be a great survivor because it is good at what
tested bursaries to 100 plus children who could not
it does. This is self-evident from the articles in this
otherwise access a Perse education. We also fund
edition of OP News which document the value of a
outreach work with 20 local primary schools who, short
Perse education and where it has taken alumni, from
of state funding, benefit from Perse assistance in the
fashion and medical research to cold war missions
form of maths, language, computing, music and science
and award winning natural history documentaries.
teaching and the loan of equipment and facilities. In an increasingly hostile media and political
Now in 2019 The Perse, along with other
environment, I hope that OPs will be willing to point
independent schools, faces a new wave of political
out the good that schools like The Perse
and economic threats. Politicians of all parties are
do. Inequality is a pressing issue in
turning against independent schools which are increasingly seen not as the centres of educational
Britain but its causes are many and
excellence which they are, but as engines of social
run far beyond the independent school sector. If schools like The Perse become
inequality and division in society. There is increasing talk of removing charitable status and the
a lightning rod for political anger,
tax reliefs that go with it, as well as
great damage will be done to worthy institutions for no real societal benefit.
charging VAT on school fees. This, on top of a government led 43% increase in
With best wishes, Ed Elliott
employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension scheme, would increase the 3