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.
The overall drop in pupil numbers - of a total of 0.6% - has been picked up across a range of newspapers, although it has been noted that the drop is lower than might have been expected given the contraction of GDP in 2009 at 4.9%. Whether the size of the decrease is as anticipated or not, its presence has been expected by experts for sometime.
mtm’s Independent Education Sector Report 2010 looked at likely trends in pupil numbers, and suggested that the recession would take its toll on the sector “between 2010 and 2012″, with some amelioration felt in 2012 by growing unrest in the public sector starting to drive parents towards independent schools. In the sector report, we predicted an overall drop in independent school pupils in the UK of 1.5%, although it should be noted that this is across all independent schools, ISC and non-ISC alike.
The positive news from the ISC census is that the lower fee increases show a sector that is taking heed of warnings of fee level. While a fee freeze would have been welcomed by stakeholders and onlookers alike, the fact that fee levels have increased at a lower level than in the past is a positive sign. Again, the mtm Sector Report explored this, stating that cutting costs was the most important priorities for independent schools over the period to 2020.
It is clear that all schools must ensure that their positioning, differentiation, school strategies and marketing of independent schools are as strong as possible in the future to mitigate the continued impacts of recession. mtm can help schools with this through our schools marketing, parental and catchment area research and strategies for education. To find out how we can help you, please contact mtm.
