The Independent/London
One of the country’s most prestigious independent schools is to become one of the government’s flagship academies this September, as part of an exodus of schools from the private to the state sector.
Liverpool College, founded in 1843, is one of the 12 founder members of the Headmasters’ (now Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’) Conference, which represents 250 of the country’s leading independent schools.
It is the government’s most significant catch since it started encouraging private schools to switch sector.
The decision will bring to 21 by September the number of independent schools that have joined the state sector, either as academies or one of the government’s new free schools.
The King’s School in Tynemouth will also become an academy this year.
Three more independent schools will become free schools in 2014, including Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn, also an HMC school, and Chetwynde in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The former Labour schools minister Lord Adonis, who acted as a catalyst for Liverpool College’s conversion, said: “I expect dozens more to follow before long.”
The school faced a dilemma if it wanted to expand and bring its pupil numbers back up to when it had 1,100 on roll. The school currently has 735 four- to 18-year-olds. Its brochure outlining the decision for the switch says: “Demand for the type of education provided by Liverpool College is high but the number of Liverpool parents who can afford the fees (of £10,000 a year) is relatively low.
“Research has shown that the number of families able to afford the fees at Liverpool College is shrinking and is likely to continue to shrink in the future – thereby decreasing the demand for places at the college while the demand and need for high- quality education will continue.”