The cost of class
From Andrew Nash Sir: Matthew Lynn's bafflement at the cost of school fees ('Why we need no-frills, lowcost private schools', 13 January) would soon be solved if he actually had to run an independent school.
Education is a people business: the vast majority of my school's expenditure goes on my teachers' salaries. Teachers earn a lot less than their fellow graduates who went into the City, but their salary scales have (quite rightly) been extended in recent years. Schools aren't call centres — we can't cut costs by outsourcing to cheaper labour markets. Parents want excellent teachers, small classes, good pastoral care, and a wide range of GCSE and A-level subjects to choose from, together with lots of sport, music, drama and other extracurricular activities. You could indeed offer `no frills' by reducing options, having huge classes, running a short school day and providing nothing outside the classroom. But parents already have that option — it's called state education.
Andrew Nash Headmaster, St Edward's School, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Previous page
