Independent schools with charitable status are making record-breaking profits from overseas outposts, with 40 British schools taking in £29m in 2020-21, The Guardian reports.
The newspaper reported research by the Private Education Policy Forum (PEPF) that highlighted a huge increase in takings from 2011-12 when UK private schools took just £1.6m from satellite campuses.
The report also highlighted the growing numbers of outposts being opened in poorer countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Profits are used to fund schools’ charitable obligations and bursaries – something of increasing importance as the prospect of a Labour government and an end to charitable status looms for independent schools.
Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said: “As schools look for ways to reduce their reliance on fee-based income, some have taken up opportunities to establish international campuses and partnerships. The money generated is invested back in education in the UK, usually through bursaries and scholarships.”
But a spokesperson for PEPF questioned the morality of the practice: “This research shows that private schools are using their profits from operating in mainly developing countries to maintain their status in England. Given that only 1 per cent of places in private schools are free for poorer pupils, and the average fee is now around £17,000 a year, the ethics of such a model may be seriously questioned by policymakers.”
The Guardian highlighted that more than half of the current satellite schools are concentrated in the UAE, China and Hong Kong, but there has been more interest in setting up schools in Kenya, Indonesia and Cambodia, India and Vietnam.
Brighton College, which has associated schools in Thailand, Singapore and the UAE, will this year open a school in Hanoi, the first of a chain of seven it plans to run in partnership with the local company Vincorp, the operator of 39 private schools in Vietnam.
Haileybury will open a satellite in Bhaluka, Bangladesh, followed by a fourth satellite, in Malta, in 2024.
The ISC attributed the growth in satellite schools to international demand for British education and the success of earlier ventures. “It takes years to plan and set up satellite schools, so the idea that this is a kneejerk reaction to Labour’s policy is definitely wide of the mark,” a spokesperson said.
