Articles and Education News
Article Written January 2022 for Time and Leisure
SW19 SCHOOLS AND BEYOND
THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL PREP LANDSCAPE FROM WIMBLEDON – IS THERE MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE?
Wimbledon has steadily acquired almost legendary status in recent years, and not just for tennis! When it comes to independent schooling, the presence of pedagogical powerhouses Kings College School and Wimbledon High School has placed SW19 firmly on the educational map for those looking for the most academically high achieving institutions. But with applicants at an all-time high, and competition for places amongst the fiercest in London, let’s remember that most children are average. So what does the rest of the independent School landscape look like from Wimbledon, and is there more than meets the eye?
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STATE ‘TIL EIGHT – A HURDLE TO BE FEARED, OR A STRATEGIC MOVE?
MEL INGLE, FOUNDER OF INGLE EDUCATION, LOOKS AT THE ISSUES SURROUNDING ONE OF THE KEY AGE GROUPS TRANSITIONING FROM STATE TO PRIVATE.
Article Written September 2021 for Time and Leisure
When it comes to choosing Primary education for the Nation’s 4-11 year olds, we Brits love a rhyming phrase, and no more so than the long-established ‘State ‘til Eight’. So what does this actually entail, and how do parents who make that choice navigate the transition from State to Independent for Year 3 or 4.
WHAT IS STATE ‘TIL EIGHT
The old adage of using the ‘local state primary’ until the end of KS1, then transferring into the Independent System is a well-trodden path, especially in the enclaves of SW London where pockets of aspirational middle-class parents have indirectly created ‘Prep/Primary hybrids’ with extensive extra-curricular tuition replacing school fees. But what does it mean?
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State & Independent Education – Mixing & Matching. Can families really have the best of both worlds in 2019?
Mel Ingle, May 2019 - Article Written for Young Giants
Pupil numbers in UK Private Education have soared in recent years to their highest levels ever. This in spite of a 3.4% increase in annual fees in 2018 (the lowest rise since 1994, but still exceeding inflation) taking the average for Day Schooling in the UK to £14,500 per year, and significantly higher in London and the South East. Astonishing when one considers the current uncertainty of our political and economic landscapes, and the accompanying belt-tightening amongst British middle-classes. So, in 2019, 1,422 years since the foundation of the first ever UK fee-paying school (The Kings School, Canterbury), how are parents negotiating the thorny issue of State versus Private Education? Why are those who pay, doing so? What are the true implications of mixing and matching both systems during your child’s education? And what difference does it make?
Grammar Schools Demystified: Educational Holy Grail or Unrealistic Pipe Dream?
Mel Ingle, January 2017 - Article Written for LifeAfterLondon.com
Firmly entrenched in Mumsnet chitter-chatter and school gate mythology sits the mystical beast known as ‘The Grammar School’. Most of the British public have heard of them, many over the age of 45 will have distinct memories of their own 11+ experience and the extent to which it shaped their educational path. But what are Grammar Schools today and where do they fit in the complex, competitive and hierarchical structure of the UK’s Education System? Do they, as Prime Minister Teresa May, speaking in September 2016 following proposals to overturn the ban on the creation of new Grammar Schools, underpin a “belief in social mobility and making this country a true meritocracy”? Or, as denouncers will claim, are they merely another manifestation of the wealthy few using their affluence to overturn the meritocratic aim of the system and keep it as their own little secret? And in any case, politics aside – how DO you get your child into one?
For the full article, visit http://www.lifeafterlondon.com/grammar-schools/
Does Socio-Economic Background Affect Pay Growth Amongst Early Entrants to High-Status Jobs?
Jake Anders, August 2015
https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/upReach-Report-to-Sutton-Trust.pdf