Speaking at a conference on boarding at Bedales School in Hampshire last month, Robin Fletcher said that while independent schools invest heavily in impressive new facilities each year this may become “self-defeating” if the fees are beyond the reach of middle class families.
“It is time perhaps to rethink the ambitious and laudable development programmes at private schools across the UK, so that perhaps the next new drama school or music block is not quite so large or not quite so state-of-the-art or opulent,” he said. “If 20p of every pound invested in new projects at boarding schools was instead set aside to support genuine, meaningful scholarships not just for the financially disadvantaged but middle-income families for whom boarding fees are now beyond reach, then the effect would be enormous.
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