The Week Independent Schools Guide, Spring/Summer 2025

We are delighted to present the latest issue of The Week Independent Schools Guide.

As a head at one of our leading schools said to me a few weeks ago: "You're not short of meaty issues to cover!" An apt comment and our plate is certainly full: the imposition of VAT, escalating concerns over social-media access for children and schools rugby under the lens – there are challenges aplenty for independent schools right now.

It is very hard to cover the VAT situation adequately as a biannual print publication – events are moving so fast, but we have done our best to assess the situation as it stands. Elizabeth Ivens has poured all her know-how and used her network of contacts to answer questions about the impact of VAT so far.

I have followed coverage of Christine Rosen's new book, "The Extinction of Experience", with interest. Rosen makes the argument that we are "actively deskilling as human beings" by handing over our lives to the handheld devices that we still mistakenly call phones. With continuing widespread coverage of Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" and the Smartphone Free Childhood movement gaining momentum, it feels like we might have reached an important tipping point when it comes to the digital access we give our children both inside and outside the home. How much – or how little – pupils should use tech at school remains up for debate. So that's exactly what we have done in this issue: asked two leading heads to discuss whether prep schools should be tech-filled or tech-free.

With rising tuitions fees in England, UK universities in financial crisis and too many students feeling they don't get value for money, it felt like a good time to explore whether university is worth it. I spoke to senior educators and experts who know far more than me and, dear reader, you will be pleased to know the answer is a definite yes. Not only is there hard data to back up the worth of an undergraduate degree in financial terms, but there is also evidence of immeasurable lifelong benefits. What is most dangerous, according to Lord David Willetts, who has written an excellent report on this subject, is growing public scepticism which might put students off from taking this step.

One of the great unsung strengths of independent schools is their ability to be truly independent with their curriculum. What and how students are taught in the independent sector is often innovative and a country mile away from the tick-box mentality of the national curriculum and public exams. Dorothy Lepkowska's talks to some who are really changing the way students learn. Finally, don't miss our much-anticipated guide to the best prep schools in the UK.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Amanda Constance is the editor of The Week’s Independent Schools Guide. Read the full publication below or click here.