2017 HMC ANNUAL CONFERENCE

CHAIRMAN’S KEYNOTE SPEECH

Delivered by Chris King, HMC Chairmanand Headmaster of Leicester Grammar School

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Requests to speak to Chris King to Sue Bishop on 07787 294808 or at sueb@hmc.org.uk

Welcome, Members, partners, guests and journalists, to the 2017 HMC annual

conference. Belfast is a city synonymous in many of our minds I’m sure with the

Northern Ireland peace process; a vibrant city which symbolises what conflict

resolution can achieve. Whilst it is a hard and long road to take – and even now has

many twists and turns – few would say it has not been worthwhile.

As we meet here today to consider the achievements and place in society of the

some of the UK’s greatest schools, I will be taking inspiration from that journey. I am

hoping that over the coming years education will experience a new period of unity,

with independent and state school colleagues working evermore closely together to

tackle some of the most significant problems facing education today.

The bloodshed and bitterness of the Northern Ireland conflict is, of course, not a

direct parallel. But there are lessons to learn. As Jonathan Powell has just told us, all

roads to reconciliation require leadership, compromise, a willingness to engage and

a relentless focus on a better future. This is a far cry from the tired, simplistic,

politicised attacks to which independent education is regularly subjected. There is a

better way.

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And make no mistake, a more collaborative, less aggressive approach is urgently

needed.

Young people are, as we know, facing both global and national upheaval. At home,

public funding is severely constrained; the EU referendum and General Election

uncovered considerable inter-generational tensions; Britain is trying to re-shape its

identity outside the EU; and the emerging generation are required to make life

choices far removed from those of their parents. Across the world, political tensions

are building and further waves of technology, not least artificial intelligence, seem set

to disturb established patterns of occupation and livelihood. What better time,

therefore, to put our efforts in to collaborative working across schools?

I have the unusual benefit - some might say burden - of taking on a second full term

as HMC Chair. It is true that we have come far since I last addressed this

conference in 2015; our partnerships, our levels of fee assistance and our reputation,

especially for leading the way on good mental health in schools, have all grown. So,

has our international footprint, borne out of global respect for our academic rigour,

excellent pastoral care and our readiness to innovate. After various false starts

during the last twelve months, the Government is now showing itself more willing to

work with us, to understand what we offer and help encourage useful collaborations.

In other ways, progress is slow. In October 2015, there had just been a general

election and the political dust was settling. I spoke then about the challenges facing

young people: another set of guinea pig exams; growing concerns about teenage

wellbeing; worries about securing a good university place; and changing career

patterns leading in directions uncharted by their teachers and parents. Well – here

we go again.

To help young people cope, we need to move on from sterile arguments about types

of school and league tables to a much more important conversation about how to

teach and how to learn in the 21st century.

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Now is the time to start remoulding the education debate. Many of us would agree

with our colleagues in ASCL that a long term national vision for education is urgently

needed. Every head in this room has a part to play.

Because HMC schools have more to offer British education than ever before. I will

lay out in this speech how we are already woven into the fabric of many state

schools, offering help in ways which are unrecognised publicly, but recognised

locally as hugely valuable at a time of scarce resources. How our schools transform

the lives of young people, including many from less well-off families, and how we

contribute to a better education for all on a national scale. And how we stand ready

to contribute even more – but can only do so with a willingness to engage from all

involved.

We know these solutions must be forged by school leaders who understand what

happens in classrooms as well as boardrooms. Who know that reform is unlikely to

work unless those who have dedicated their lives to education are consulted. And

who are willing to pool their experience.

This is not therefore the time to descend into dogma and division. Instead, let’s

allow the needs of pupils, not politics to drive educational reform.

So today I am asking for a cessation of hostilities against independent schools, so

we can all stop wasting time on needless battles and instead work together to

improve standards and raise aspiration.

We recognise, of course, that independent schools operate from a position of

strength. We can provide each pupil with the resources they need; we have the

freedom to determine our own curricula, and we have the scope to innovate that

comes with independence from central government. With these advantages come

the civic duty to share insights with, and learn from, our less well-resourced state

school colleagues.

And the good news is, that away from the headlines and hurly burly of politics,

school leaders are getting on with it. HMC and other associations are already

working evermore closely with our state school colleagues.

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For example, every one of us knows the central importance of more effective teacher

recruitment and retention. Whilst we are fortunate in HMC schools to offer a great

working environment to our staff, attracting the brightest and the best to teach is the

single biggest problem facing education. And it’s one we can help with. Already, our

schools are involved in running a national teacher training programme in Modern

Foreign Languages, and a new version for Physics is in the final stages of planning,

lead by Sharon Cromie, Head of Wycombe High School supported by GSA and

HMC.

At the root of what we have to offer lies the institutional qualities which all HMC

schools – and the best in the state sector hold dear. A strong sense of community

and continuity allows us to provide young people with a sense of identity and

stability, which can build their confidence and equip them to deal with the

opportunities and threats thrown up by an uncertain future.

This enduring strength of purpose, combined with openness to the excitement and

idealism of the lives that teenagers live, is the stuff of educational chemistry. It can’t

be measured or put in a league table. But much more importantly, it sparks energy,

commitment and a hunger to learn which, as QI’s John Lloyd will tell us later, can be

genuinely life transforming.

I am well aware that this independent spirit and relentless focus on what’s best for

children can be a thorn in the side of those who suffer from political myopia. But it is

precisely this which makes our schools valuable, allowing us to be evidence-based,

free from fear or favour and answerable for our effectiveness directly to our

governors and the parents and pupils who can choose to go elsewhere.

There is no question that we do more than our critics suggest – or perhaps know.

But we are not deaf to criticism, and are willing to work for the public good not only

as charities, but as citizens and educationalists – also recognising the benefit of

great partnerships to both sides and the value of living harmoniously in our

communities and wider society.

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It is partly our fault, because historically we have tended to under-report what we

actually contribute. That’s understandable, because when we do, we often see our

impact being hidden beneath indifference from most journalists and antipathy from

many politicians.

So now is the time to take responsibility for celebrating the good we do, and building

on what we have learnt, to make a bigger difference. Starting here.

When put together, it is already a formidable list. HMC schools in Britain contribute

the following: the supply of teaching, mentoring and facilities to state schools;

formation and management of successful state academies; fee assistance to less

well-off families; free places for deprived children, including those in care;

considerable contribution to the economy; sanctuary for curriculum subjects which

would otherwise disappear; research and national programmes of work to improve

the exam system, teenage mental health and safe passage into life after school. And

we offer all this at the same time as educating our own pupils to make a consistent

and valuable contribution to society.

And that is all before we set our sights internationally. The charitable donations to

developing countries; the free places for international students from poorer European

countries; and the substantial contribution HMC schools make to the UK’s global

trade and reputation. All are little known but critical aspects of the value we offer.

Threaten our schools and Britain would be the poorer – in income, ideas, innovation

and international influence.

This is not rhetoric. It is based in the reality of long-term, sustainable projects and a

contemporary global reputation established over many decades.

First, there are school partnerships. The facts are these. Around 10,000 different

projects between independent and state schools are currently operating in the UK,

benefitting 175,000 state school pupils as well as those from independent schools.

This is large scale activity which grew by 7.5% last year.

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Every single HMC school is involved. The range is already huge, spanning free

teaching in hard to resource subjects, such as Classics, Modern Languages and

Physics, and shared activity in Drama, Music, Sport and events, drawing in

thousands of people from local communities and around the country.

And this is work with real depth, as well as scale. The Grammar School at Leeds for

example, runs a staggering 200 projects, including a unique scheme to help a local

MAT acquire one of their sites to create a new free school. At the same time, Sue

Woodroffe leads innovative programmes such as enabling autistic young people to

attend internships – leading to five full time jobs – and supporting looked-after

children in a way which has been described by Leeds City Council as trail-blazing.

This is important work that really makes a difference – and we are getting better at

assessing the impact, as we must. At Bolton School for Boys, Philip Britton is

measuring not only the amount of activity and children reached, but the depth of

engagement and sustainability.

ISC’s new Celebrating Partnerships booklet will an important step in explaining and

celebrating what we truly offer.

Such serious, long-term work couldn’t be further from the spinning of yarns about

independent schools being “in crisis” over gains made by state schools. Not only do

our own results speak for themselves, but we are offering to help nurture that very

state school success.

We know that partnerships take long term commitment, and that state schools don’t

always want the help we offer. The recently-announced System Partnership Unit –

set up inside the DfE to help facilitate further inter-sectoral working – is a welcome

development. We thank Education Secretary Justine Greening for emerging from

the clamour of the election to demonstrate an understanding that true partnerships

need the flexibility to answer specific community needs in a way which speaks to a

school’s strengths. She appears, like school leaders, to be motivated by results –

projects… That. Just. Work.

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We also stand ready to assist with the Opposition’s plans for a National Education

Service. It would be truly bold and innovative if the Labour Party was willing to

engage with all those who understand education.

Amongst the most significant experience our Members can offer is that of

simultaneously running both an independent school and sponsoring an academy.

This time last year, Mike Buchanan stood before you and rejected the notion that

large numbers of schools should be coerced into doing so, or that this was more

valuable than any other activity. It is a testament to our schools’ good faith and

genuine commitment that they have continued, even without political pressure, to get

on and do the job.

Notably, the doors to the London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham, opened last

month, largely thanks to Highgate School, its lead sponsor. It will offer a first-class

Sixth Form to bright local children, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, and

is a sister to the highly acclaimed London Academy of Excellence.

Media disinterest in such ground-breaking work is one thing, but I was bemused to

read a Sunday Times piece a few weeks ago, rightly celebrating LAE pupils’

achievements but painting them as an example of how state schools are

“outstripping” independent schools. No mention was made that our schools help run

the LAE in the first place – for no reason other than a genuine desire to see all

children reach their potential. A very different – and truer – narrative.

But we go on undeterred; I myself am in talks to open a free school in Leicestershire

– but I won’t hold my breath for any plaudits!

For many HMC Members, helping pupils from less well-off families to attend our

schools is the agreed strategy for increasing access to a great education.

Bursary programms have been at the heart of many of our schools’ vision for social

mobility for decades, woven as they are into their charitable founding purpose. Some

choose to focus on smaller numbers of more expensive full-fee payment for the most

in need; others for a variety of different levels to ensure a wide social mix.

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Again, this is work at scale, changing the lives of thousands of children. The amount

spent on means-tested assistance by schools under the ISC umbrella has increased

by £100 million in five years to £380 million every year. And we are proud to work

with the Springboard Bursary Foundation, which aims with RNCF to place 1,000

disadvantaged children into independent and state boarding schools completely free

of charge.

A third of all pupils at independent schools are now on reduced fees. There are

many examples of vigorous fundraising and huge commitment – some schools are

even hoping eventually to become needs-blind. Our detractors conveniently forget

that HMC schools are not-for-profit institutions and work exceptionally hard,

employing professional fundraisers to raise money to pass on to families who need

it.

This is by no means to “prop up” our own schools. Frankly, that is not necessary.

Moreover, the case for greater resources for state schools is all the more compelling

when it becomes clear that important aspects of their pupils’ education are being

provided solely by their neighbouring independent school.

Indeed, whole subject areas are becoming increasingly reliant on our sector. For

example, a quarter of A level entries in French, German and Spanish come from

independent schools. Specialist degree courses in areas such as Latin, Greek,

Music, and Religious Studies would also struggle without our support. There is no

innate reason for this. Much of the problem is starved resource in state schools but

important, too, has been the steadfastness with which HMC schools have applied

rigour and persistence to the task of opening up the horizons of pupils.

As well as boosting existing subjects, HMC schools in particular are known for their

research and new thinking. The innovation panel tomorrow will present a tiny

snapshot of the truly ground-breaking research-based work currently underway to,

as Eton puts it, “improve cognitive performance and attainment, foster a love of

learning and enable a healthy, productive approach to personal development.”

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We will also be delighted to welcome Professor Barb Oakley to the stage, who will

explain how it is possible to retrain the brain to learn subjects we all regard as

beyond us.

Long-term, nationally significant improvements to education are also the ambition of

HMC’s current campaigns. They have sought to combine detailed analysis with

alliance-building, public influencing and research into how young people are really

thinking, to produce findings which will benefit all pupils.

Since 2012 HMC has put considerable effort into identifying the significant

inadequacies in public exams bequeathed to the new exams regulator, Ofqual, at the

turn of the decade. A legacy that was blighting the life chances of tens of thousands

of students across the country.

With NAHT joining this campaign in 2014 and ASCL now also alongside us, much

has been achieved. The entire question of quality of marking has been opened up to

public scrutiny, as has the pattern of grades awarded among subjects and between

exam boards. Close working between language teachers in independent and state

schools over more than a decade finally exposed shortcomings in the design of

Modern Languages question papers at A level. And the complete inadequacy of the

appeal system has started to be tackled.

Led by HMC, this has involved tenacity on the part of a coalition of school

representative groups – and the benefits to all exam candidates are now starting to

flow. Confidence was low in the areas I have just outlined but is now starting to

improve, although there is much more needed to make appeals fairer and more

transparent. Although the political independence and public profile of HMC schools

was needed to prise open this debate, its results bear witness to the strength of the

alliance we have built with state school leaders.

However, one outstanding and central concern remains unresolved. Since 2015,

with NAHT, we have set out the case for a public debate on whether individual

grading is sufficiently reliable. While national standards have become more secure,

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there remains great uncertainty that each candidate passing through the system

secures an accurate grade.

True to its word, Ofqual has begun to tackle this, too. But the size of the problem is

unnerving and cannot be condoned by school leaders through silence. The

regulator’s best estimate is that in some GCSE subjects more than a third of

candidates do not receive an accurate grade.

Given that exam grades are often the key which allows young people passage to the

next stage of their lives, this situation cannot be acceptable.

As an important step towards even greater collaboration, I am pleased to announce

that our colleagues at ASCL will convene a day-long policy summit later this year, in

collaboration with HMC. School and college leaders, universities and employers will

explore how to ensure every child is awarded an exam grade that is accurate and

reliable – as they have every right to expect.

Consideration of our contribution to the quality of the exams leads in a few steps to

that of good mental health. In our recent Member survey it is striking how quickly

energetic co-working with organisations such as Young Minds and Digital Awareness

UK, has come to be seen as an integral and valued feature of HMC’s activity.

I am probably most proud of progress made by HMC in this particular field. It took

courage and skill to step forward, explain the actions being taken in our schools and

offer resources based on greater consultation with pupils. Our conferences on good

mental health in schools and on partnering with parents were both open to our state

school colleagues. The Tech Control campaign, the next phase of which will be

launched on Wednesday, is providing fascinating and timely new information about

teenagers’ attitudes to technology and helping teachers to help pupils to use it

wisely.

Thanks are due to the energetic Wellbeing Working Group of HMC whose members

understood both the need for, and value of, such partnerships.

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Increasingly, we are also looking to partner with leaders in higher education to

support the safe passage of teenagers through school and university and out into a

productive and fulfilling adult life. Steering such a course is not only difficult for young

people, but presents hazards to those of us willing to risk speaking boldly on this

subject. Later in the Conference you will hear more about this vital work of

partnership, reported through the findings of the latest survey of third year

undergraduates commissioned by the universities committee we convene in alliance

with the Girls Schools Association.

These are all issues of national importance, in which HMC schools have been

acknowledged as taking a lead, identifying gaps and pulling together communities of

interest.

However, we can only do this with the cooperation and support of other education

leaders and it is striking how much unity of purpose has already been discovered by

working together. We are grateful to ASCL General Secretary, Geoff Barton, both for

coming to Belfast and for his clear-sighted vision of what is possible for children

when outdated notions of state versus private are cast aside.

And to NAHT Deputy General Secretary, Nick Brook, who only a fortnight ago, at

ISC’s national partnership event, decried those who do not support collaboration:

“Because…,” he said, “… the simple truth is that both sectors are in the same

business – that of imparting knowledge to young people, developing their skills and

preparing them for adult life”.  

The same could be said for universities, with whom we have a complex set of

relationships based not only on supply of, and the demand for, outstanding

candidates, but what we know is a shared desire to develop truly confident young

people with a lifelong thirst for learning.

A priority for HMC will be strengthening our affiliations, and continuing to work

closely with central government, exam boards and the school inspectorate, who all

remain critical to improving educational outcomes. It is by working together – whilst

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being independent and outspoken when necessary – that we truly break down

barriers and make real progress.

So independent schools, and HMC schools, offer tangible value to UK education.

Simultaneously, we contribute significantly to the economy at a time when our

colleagues in ASCL and NAHT are warning of a schools funding crisis.

A recent Oxford Economics report estimated the taxpayer saves over £3.6 bn a year

from parents who choose to pay for their child to be educated. UK independent

schools contribute a total of £11.7 billion to the UK economy and provide 275,000

jobs as well as work for associated local businesses which are vital to communities,

especially in rural locations.

Any attempts to undermine our sector can only harm the Exchequer and thereby

have a detrimental effect on already cash-strapped state schools.

However, we should never forget there is an engine room which powers our public

benefit activities; the quality of our own schools. It is truly remarkable that we all work

for the educational welfare of others in addition to the huge demands of the ‘day job’.

And this should remind us of something else. We can only play our part; it is for

central government, with its huge resources, to do the rest. Only by being excellent

can we offer excellence – and only by acknowledging excellence can others share in

it.

We must also refute the suggestion that our schools are in decline. On the contrary,

those in HMC are thriving, even in a volatile economic climate. Let’s look at a school

career. Independent research shows that our pupils are one to two years ahead of

state school pupils of similar ability by GCSE – even when taking background and

prior attainment into account. It’s the value added to pupils by our schools by the

time they are aged 16 which explains our extraordinary success at A level,

completely confounding the claim of the Good Schools Guide that state schools are

catching up in terms of results.

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Independent schools are almost the only ones to offer courses which are more

demanding than A-levels. This year 83% of independent schools reported results for

other exams, such as the Pre U or International Baccalaureate. The average points

score for pupils taking the IB Diploma in 2017 was 37: that’s equivalent to 4.5 grade

As at A Level.

Research from 2015 showed a larger proportion of independent pupils go on to

achieve a 1st or 2:1, at university and independent school graduates earn more than

state sector graduates in the same sort of positions, even after taking into account

differences in age, gender, university and degree – and crucially, regardless of social

background.

As we know, results and higher education is only part of the mix. We place huge

emphasis on fitness and health, with pupils spending an average of 4-5 hours a

week in sport and exercise. This compares to less than 2 hours a week nationally.

Our pupils also spend on average 1-2 hours a week doing performing arts.

Again, we do not keep this advantage to ourselves. Quietly, locally, every day, HMC

schools send out sports coaches and open up facilities to state school pupils.

When it comes to character education, research this year among 9,000 pupils in

independent schools indicated that they are particularly resilient, are better at

dealing with setbacks, and are more open to learning than their peers in

other schools.

HMC schools are, therefore, utterly convinced, with reason and good evidence, of

the values which endure in school education. That to be effective and not let pupils

down, we must provide the widest possible range of experiences, knowledge and

skill; and that an education infiltrated by fads, shallow political gestures and cowed

professionals is bound to fail and have to be constructed afresh.

It is this certainty which is underpinning an unparalleled period of international

expansion in which we have to offer. We have just crossed a symbolic threshold –

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there are now more HMC pupils studying abroad in offshoots of British-based

schools than international students coming to our schools in Britain – and HMC is

recognised as one of the most prominent organisations generating international

recognition for the quality of British education.

Again, our critics should think carefully about what this means. Britain, at a time of

severe post-Brexit uncertainty, is experiencing growing trade in international

education. To which independent schools – in no small part HMC schools –

contribute well over £600 million every year. At the same time, our overseas

campuses are providing a pipeline of over 8,000 international students to UK

colleges and universities. And this happens because independent schools are free to

make long term strategic plans in a way that our colleagues in the state sector can

only dream of.

A report this month from RSAcademics confirms the trend. It predicts the global

expansion of the British school education brand in ways which will continue to build

the UK’s economic strength and soft power.

I can believe this from my own experience. Only three weeks ago I was with Chinese

officials at the opening of a University of Leicester Institute at the University of

Dalian. I was welcomed there because they saw my school – and HMC schools

generally – as providing the sort of world-class education which will allow their

students access to the best universities in the English-speaking world, whilst

providing a holistic education which brings with it improved wellbeing, cultural

liberalism and a sense of being a true global citizen.

Many of you will have been involved in similar conversations. It is endlessly ironic

that UK independent education, one of the most valued and enduring global brands,

should be so sneered at in its country of origin.

Nevertheless, HMC is proud to have 54 International members who lead some of the

world’s outstanding schools beyond the British Isles, many of whom are here today.

We will have the chance to hear from some of them on Wednesday, when the

international panel meets and when Mark Steed from JESS Dubai informs and

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slightly terrifies us with his vision of disruptive technologies. HMC international

schools offer an extraordinarily rich mix from a focus on multi lingualism to

development of the spiritual as well as the academic.

Some of our British members also oversee international campuses which bring

significant funds back to this country for fee assistance, again benefitting UK

education directly. However, it is not just British pupils from disadvantaged

backgrounds who gain – our schools have a long history of donating to developing

countries.

The energy and will of HMC Heads is truly extraordinary – as those of you who

joined me on West Sands in St Andrews will recall. On that occasion alone we

financed 1.3m tetanus inoculations for vulnerable expectant mothers, in partnership

with Unicef. This serves as just one small example of a wide-ranging programme of

international philanthropy which includes the Bulkeley-Evans gap year Scholarship

Fund and HMC Projects in Central and Eastern Europe, which has provided

education in Britain for more than 1,700 financially disadvantaged scholars from over

a dozen former Eastern Bloc countries.

In total, HMC schools give at least £4.5m each year to charitable education projects

overseas. Many of you will have your own overseas programmes running, as well as

substantial UK charitable giving. We also know that a quarter of pupils in HMC

schools are involved in volunteering. Again: little known facts to those who wonder

whether we fulfil our charitable purpose.

I can only hope that illuminating such daily realities can also serve to dispel some of

the myths which cause us so much frustration. I will say it again: we are

independent, not privately-owned schools who are directly answerable to governors

and the Charity Commission for our charitable work. 40% of our parents didn’t

attend independent schools. The average fee in independent schools in this country

is £16,686. And state school students do not routinely do better as undergraduates

– only 1% with like-for-like grades do so. By the time I reach the end of my second

year as HMC Chair, I will have these facts tattooed on my forehead.

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So, it is clear that independent schools are a valuable and necessary asset to the UK

at home and abroad. Nevertheless, we are at a critical juncture. Our Scottish schools

are facing the possibility of losing their business rates relief; an act of unwarranted

implications – not least given all our Scottish schools have done to meet a charity

test – which would only serve to harm the state education sector and the economy.

A similar threat waits in the wings in England and Wales. When the Labour Party

suggested putting VAT on school fees South of the Border in their election

manifesto, we were obliged to explain such a policy would cost the taxpayer billions,

as many pupils being educated independently would then have to be paid for by the

state. This would require building expensive new schools or accommodating the

new pupils in larger classes – meaning Labour will have broken its 2017 conference

pledge to bring class sizes down.

With greater costs and fewer parents able to afford higher fees, our schools would

have no option but to re-balance the books – including withdrawing public service

education which cost them money to provide. The hardest hit would be the less well-

off, whose fees are paid by the school. We would see loss of essential community

resources. Loss of employment, loss of economic opportunities, loss of overseas

trade and loss of international influence. And an immediate net loss to the Treasury

at a time when all politicians are uneasy at the level of funding available to state

schools.

There seems little logic to support the argument. The phrase “cutting off your nose to

spite your face” comes to mind.

But what is clear is that there is now a choice. Down one road lies cooperation,

economic and educational stability – and long-term benefit to state schools. Down

the other lies a set of hidden consequences and government own-goals.

So – enough. Parents need to know that politicians and school leaders will work

together to help their children reach their potential.

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As Education Secretary for England Justine Greening has pointed out, Brexit means

that the UK is in the process of being politically and economically re-wired and

societal change will inevitably follow. An education which prepares young people

with both rigour and realism is therefore a key part of re-setting the dial.

The time for state versus independent education is gone, to be replaced perhaps by

state education with renewed independence of spirit and independent education with

a renewed sense of responsibility to society.

So, let us trust that common sense will prevail. Let us not be hesitant in helping to

recapture the educational debate in the UK, when, self-evidently, we have in HMC

school, a globally powerful and influential model of education that is resonating right

around a changing world.

Thank you.

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