Parents pay for small class sizes Parents are sending their children to private schools because of smaller class sizes, a survey suggests. A poll conducted on behalf of the Independent Schools Information Service has examined why parents opt for fee-paying schools. The survey is carried out every four years and the increase in concern over class sizes might reflect the publicity attached to the government's drive to reduce infant class sizes in the state sector.
Educationalists argue about how much difference class size makes.
Parents apply a common sense equation - smaller classes mean more individual attention and more individual attention means more personal fulfilment. But within this sector, boarding schools have faced a substantial long-term decline in the 1980s and 1990s, with pupil numbers continuing a downward trend.