In the News

When truly independent education research pays dividends

Education coverage in the news earlier this week was focused on a new report commissioned by the Sutton Trust, title Fee Remissions and Bursaries in Independent Schools. The study, carried out by Staffordshire University’s Institute for Education Policy Research (IEPR), attracted headlines such as “Top school bursary funds lower” (BBC), and “Richest schools give least of their income to bursaries” (Guardian).

However, the Independent Schools Council’s (ISC) response, arguing that the Sutton Trust’s report was “ based on out of date, incomplete and mismatched data”, gives rise to a broader question: how trustworthy is research into ‘the facts’? Read more

Proprietorial Schools Forum: September event

mtmconsulting  Proprietorial Schools’ Forum
Monday 13th September, Cavalry and Guards Club, 127 Piccadilly, London W1

The date of the September Proprietorial Schools’ Forum event – the latest in our series of half day seminar and discussion events for owners and heads of proprietorial schools, is confirmed as 13th September. Read more

Private school for a tenner a day: could it work?

The TES has today reported of Professor James Tooley’s (of Newcastle University and chair of Omega Schools in Ghana and Empathy Learning in Hyderabad) suggestion that a low-cost, bare-bones model of independent education could be run in the UK for fees of as little as £2,000 per year. Read more

IFS report: Private Schooling in the UK and Australia

The Institute of Fiscal Studies last week released a new report, Private Schooling in the UK and Australia, which explores experiences of private schooling in the two countries and draws similarities and lessons “from each country’s individual experience”.

A number of the report’s core findings relating to the UK independent schools market place are relatively well documented elsewhere, not least by mtm. These include tracking of “long-run decline” in the pupil-teacher ratio in the independent sector, and the growth of academies and free schools.

However, the report also flags up two trends relating to target markets that independent school educational strategies should take notice of.

Read more

First school iPhone app for parents launched

The Herald Scotland websitetoday reports that Loretto School in Scotland is the first school in the UK to launch an iPhone application for parents to keep up with its activities and events. Read more

mtm is featured in Education Investor

mtmconsulting has been featured in the June edition of Education Investor magazine, in the article ‘A Numbers Game’, which looks at the changing market place for independent schools. Read more

Will increasing numbers of academies lead to rise in demand for effective school marketing?

Today’s news has covered – in considerable detail – Education Secretary Michael Gove’s letter to all state schools offering them the chance to opt-out of Local Authority control and adopt academy status, essentially offering greater freedom of control to Heads and school leaders over budget, spending and curriculum.  

What impact might this have on the way state schools communicate and position their brands, ethos and values to prospective parents and pupils? mtm’s Schools Marketing Consultant Joe Faulkner explores the issue. Read more

Grammar schools attract 25% more pupils than in 1997

from mailonline, 15th May 2010

The Daily Mail has reported that since 1997, under the labour government – a government opposed to academic selection – the number of children attending grammar schools has increased by 25%. The article reports that in this period “while no new grammars have been built, the country’s 164 selective schools have taken on new classrooms to accommodate extra pupils”.

Read more

mtm announces survey of how parents pay independent school fees

mtmconsulting has announced that it will repeat and extend research undertaken in 2007 into how parents afford and pay for their children’s independent education. Read more

International independent school numbers rise, curbing drop in domestic figures

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) last week published its 2010 Annual Census, which clearly showed that the effects of the recession are being felt among UK independent schools. The census also shows an average increase in school fees of 4%, labelled as “the smallest annual increase since 1994″, though still amounting to an average increase in fees of almost £500 per year for parents. A significant rise in international pupils has provided positive news. Read more

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