Eton College and the rest of the country’s leading private schools will have to prove their worth to the community to ensure they qualify for charitable status.
The Government’s Strategy Unit report says the schools need to be audited regularly to make sure they fulfil this duty. It says the law that charities cannot exist only to benefit the rich needs to be strictly enforced and schools such as Eton, with yearly fees of pound;18,000, will be scrutinised as part of the process.
Under the plans they will have to complete a return every four to five years detailing how they set their fees, their policy on bursaries and scholarships, partnership schemes and community access.
Academic scholarships alone may not be enough, say sources in the unit, as they may detract from the public good by “creaming off” the best pupils. Schools that only provide partial bursaries rather than full grants may also be frowned on.
Most schools are expected to pass the test. But if they fail to satisfy the Charity Commission their charitable status could be removed, although they would be given a time to improve and could appeal to a new tribunal.
Eton headmaster Tony Little said: “I have no problem at all with the fact that charitable foundations should be seen to offer public benefit,” adding that for every pound;1 Eton saves through charitable status, it spends pound;3 on scholarships, bursaries and grants. The Independent Schools Council estimates that overall, schools give pound;2.30 ofeducational benefit back to society for every pound;1 gained from charitable status.
The report brought relief for some small, less expensive private schools - mainly preparatory schools - who had feared their lack of funds and facilities could count against them. Schools that charge fees under a certain level, which has still to be set, will be exempt from the process.
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