Ofsted chief urges private heads to help state schools

 

The head of Ofsted today issued a direct challenge to private school headteachers to do more to help state schools.

Sir Michael Wilshaw warned independent schools that their “splendid isolation” is a thing of the past and urged them to open up playing fields, give extra tuition and help university applications by state school children.

Speaking at the Festival of Education at the £30,000- a- year Wellington College in Berkshire, he said private schools have a moral obligation to work with the wider community.

He added: “To those who say, ‘parents pay £30,000 a year for the privilege’, I’d ask if they really want their children marooned on an island of privilege that does not reach out to the mainland?”

He named London’s co-educational Highgate School as an example of an independent school doing good work with state pupils. It has worked with 21 nearby state schools, runs a summer school and gives interview practice to state pupils applying for Oxford and Cambridge universities and medical schools.

Sir Michael said: “So today I am issuing a direct challenge to independent school heads. You have got to talk much more about supporting your counterparts in the state sector than you do already — and translate that talk into action.” Ministers have already urged private schools to sponsor state academies and free schools, and Eton College sponsors the London Academy of Excellence in Newham.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in