How schools might weather the recession
March 2010
Private schools weathering the aftermath of the financial crisis will be "murdered" if they fail to adapt - so says a high-profile corporate financial adviser and philanthropist.
David Verey, Eton College governor and former head of blue-chip banking firm Lazard Brothers & Co, tells schools that the effects of the recession were yet to come, reports the TES (Times Education Supplement). Looking back to the last recession in the early 1990s, it took 48 months before private schools really felt the effects. Since January last year, there have been 12 independent school closures and a series of mergers, but overall pupil numbers in the sector are yet to see a significant fall. Research shows that independent education is the last thing some parents would give up, after fine wines and holidays but before cigarettes.
"There will be new markets for no-frills schools, where there are no facilities but good teaching" says David Verey. "You bung the pupils in portakabins and bring in good teachers."
David Verey, Eton College governor and former head of blue-chip banking firm Lazard Brothers & Co, tells schools that the effects of the recession were yet to come, reports the TES (Times Education Supplement). Looking back to the last recession in the early 1990s, it took 48 months before private schools really felt the effects. Since January last year, there have been 12 independent school closures and a series of mergers, but overall pupil numbers in the sector are yet to see a significant fall. Research shows that independent education is the last thing some parents would give up, after fine wines and holidays but before cigarettes.
"There will be new markets for no-frills schools, where there are no facilities but good teaching" says David Verey. "You bung the pupils in portakabins and bring in good teachers."
