September 2010

Findings of Sutton Trust reort on bursaty provisions

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) believes research commissioned by the Sutton Trust on bursary provision is flawed and reaches conclusions not supported by the evidence.
ISC has concluded that the Sutton Trust research is based on out of date, incomplete and mismatched data.
In contrast, ISC has used the most recent, consistent data across a greater number of schools, and found no statistical correlation between the level of bursary provision made by ISC schools and the A-level performance of pupils or the fee income of the school.

Speaking today, Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, ISC Head of Research, said:
“Contrary to the Sutton Trust’s report, and using a larger sample and data which is both fully up to date and consistent, we have found no correlation between bursaries and a school’s ranking or revenue. This conclusion should not surprise anyone with knowledge of this extremely diverse sector. Bursary provision will depend on many factors, not least whether the school has endowments available to it to make generous provision and the costs involved in operating the school. The Sutton Trust reaches conclusions which completely overlook both these factors, confusing revenue with resources.

“The Sutton Trust also falls into the same error as the Charity Commission in rating bursaries as the key to public benefit and social mobility. We are immensely proud of the record of ISC schools in providing an outstanding level of fee assistance; long may it continue. ISC schools currently provide fee assistance totalling more than £540 million and the more detailed data provided by schools to us each year shows that almost 75% more is spent on means-tested bursaries than on scholarships. More than 160,000 pupils (around one in every three) receive help with their fees.

“But bursaries are extremely costly for schools and run directly counter to the pressure to keep fees as low as possible; lower fees enable a wider range of children to benefit from an independent education. We are surprised that the Sutton Trust, with its mission to promote social mobility through education, does not recognise this.”

The Sutton Trust’s research draws frequently on a 2009 report on the financial performance of independent schools from accountancy firm Horwath Clark Whitehill. Speaking today, report author Tim Baines said of the Sutton Trust research: “The Sutton Trust have based their research on statutory accounts and website data which do not give enough detail to make any assessment of bursary levels. These schools have however provided their full data to me as part of my firm’s annual survey. The Trust has neither complete nor accurate data, and they have drawn wholly incorrect conclusions from it.”

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