INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS SURVEY 2013/14 DECEMBER 2014 ‘Cambridgeshire Research Group’ is the brand name for Cambridgeshire County Council’s Research & Performance Function. As well as supporting the County Council we take on a range of work commissioned by other public sector bodies both within Cambridgeshire and beyond. All the output of the team and that of our partners is published on our dedicated website www.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk For more information about the team phone 01223 715300 Document Details Title: Independent Schools Survey 2013/14 Date Created: December 2014 Description: Report presenting annual survey data of pupils at independent schools in Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties. Produced by: Sarah Bedford, Research Officer (Pupil Forecasting), Cambridgeshire County Council [email protected] 01223 715300 Nicola Gowers, Research Officer (Population), Cambridgeshire County Council [email protected] 01223 715300 On behalf of: Geographic Coverage: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Time Period: 2013/14 Academic Year Format: PDF Status: FINAL Usage Statement: This product is the property of the Research and Performance team, Cambridgeshire County Council. If you wish to reproduce this document either in whole, or in part, please acknowledge the source and the author(s). Disclaimer: Cambridgeshire County Council, while believing the information in this publication to be correct, does not guarantee its accuracy nor does the County Council accept any liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or other consequences, however arising from the use of such information supplied. CONTENTS Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2 The Survey ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Form of the Survey .............................................................................................................................. 2 Coverage and Response ....................................................................................................................... 4 Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Independent Schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough: Compulsory Age Range (5 to15) ......... 6 Trends Since 2002 (Aged 5-15) ............................................................................................................ 8 Independent Schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough: 16+ Age Range .................................. 10 Out of County Independent Schools .................................................................................................. 10 Flow of Independent School Pupils into Cambridgeshire .................................................................. 11 The Proportion of Cambridgeshire Children Attending Independent Schools .................................. 12 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................13 Appendix 1: Pupils Attending Independent Schools in Cambridgeshire ........................................... 13 Appendix 2: Independent Sixth Form Colleges in Cambridgeshire ................................................... 17 Appendix 3: Schools Outside The County Serving Cambridgeshire Children .................................... 18 Appendix 4: Survey Forms ................................................................................................................. 25 SUMMARY Cambridgeshire County Council has conducted the annual survey of independent schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for thirty-three years. This year’s survey found a total of 8,700 full-time (from age 4 onwards) pupils attending twenty-three independent schools in the two authorities. This represents an increase of 166 pupils since last year's survey. The number of day pupils with Cambridgeshire or Peterborough addresses at independent schools in Cambridgeshire increased by 629 to 6,283. The numbers of weekly boarders decreased from 13 to less than 10, whilst the number of full boarders increased by 1 to 141. Cambridge City dominates the provision of independent education in the area, with 63% of the total number of private sector pupils educated in the two authorities attending independent schools in the city. The number of students on roll at the three independent sixth form colleges surveyed in Cambridge City was 514, an increase of 1.6% from the previous year. A total of 1,190 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough children were attending forty-five independent schools outside the county and within approximately fifteen miles of the county boundary. 1,044 of these children were day pupils and 146 were boarders, of which 694 and 100 are residents of Cambridgeshire, respectively. 525 of the day pupils (45%) were attending independent schools in Lincolnshire. INTRODUCTION Since 1980/81, the Research and Performance Team has carried out an annual survey into the provision of private sector education in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The aim of the survey is to 1) monitor changes in the contribution of independent schools to education in the county, and 2) to supplement the information collected on schools in the public sector, which is used for population analysis and forecasting purposes by the Research and Performance Team. This report presents the results of the thirty-third annual survey. Some independent schools outside the county have a significant number of Peterborough or Cambridgeshire children on roll as day pupils. Therefore, as in previous years, this survey includes supplementary information on independent schools in neighbouring counties that are within daily travelling distance of the two authorities. This survey and report covers both Cambridgeshire and the Peterborough Unitary Authority, and schools are asked to distinguish between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough pupils. Where possible we have given totals for both authorities separately but generally all totals and figures quoted in this report refer to the combined area of the two authorities. THE SURVEY FORM OF THE SURVEY The survey of independent schools and sixth-form colleges in the county aimed to collect information in a form comparable to the Annual Schools’ Census returns provided to the Department for Education (DfE) by Local Authority (LA) schools each January. This consists of numbers on roll in January, classified by single year of age at the previous 31st August. Most of the schools provided information on age that referred to some point near the beginning of the school year. It has been assumed that all ages in the survey refer to 31st August 2013. Information was also sought on whether the school was co-educational or single sex, the numbers of day pupils and boarders (both weekly and full boarders) on roll, and the numbers of day pupils and boarders with home addresses within the county. Independent schools from outside the county were asked to provide information on the sex, age- range and total number of pupils on roll together with the numbers of day pupils, and weekly and full boarders living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Copies of the two survey forms are attached as Appendix 4. A map showing the schools surveyed can be seen in Figure 1. Figure 1: Independent Schools in and around Cambridgeshire and Peterborough COVERAGE AND RESPONSE A total of twenty-three independent schools within Cambridgeshire were surveyed. The newest of these schools opened in 2010 in Cambridge: Gretton School and Phoenix School. Two independent schools in Peterborough were also surveyed (The Peterborough School and Iqra Academy). The survey does not cover nursery schools (except for the Stephen Perse Pelican Nursery which was included in the response for the foundations Pre-preparatory and Preparatory schools), and excluded the six sixth form centres that cater for overseas pupils. Nineteen of the twenty-three (83%) independent schools within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough responded to the request for information (see Table 1). Three of the four independent sixth form colleges provided individual replies, and the forth college provided a combined reply with a sister school so was counted with the in-county schools. The survey of out of county schools covered all known independent schools within approximately fifteen miles of Cambridgeshire, excluding those known from previous years' surveys to have no Cambridgeshire children on roll. Replies were received from 30 (65%) of the 45 schools surveyed. There are two specific areas of change from last year’s survey. Firstly, Beechwood School (South Cambridgeshire) has changed its name to Focus School-Cambridge Campus. Secondly, out of county schools who have not responded since at least 2010, and who at last response had no pupils from Cambridgeshire or Peterborough, were removed from the survey this year. These schools are: St Nicholas School, Essex Stoke College, Suffolk The Christian School (Takeley), Essex The Princess Helena College, Hertfordshire Polam Oaks School with Little Acorns Nursery, Bedford South Lee School, Suffolk