ABSTRACT
The academic challenges facing independent schools today appear, from a distance, relatively unchanged from what they have been for much of the last 50 years. There are two broad objectives, both interlinked: help pupils get the highest grades possible and then try to get them into the best universities. The challenge for the independent sector is not only to continue to attract and retain able teachers, but to ensure that its schools are open to those able to flourish in them, based on their parents’ aspirations rather than on their income. The academic challenge is to promote free learning; that is, to find space for learning that is not constrained by the examined curriculum. Teachers need the courage to expose their students to how difficult and frustrating gaining scholarship can be, and to help them to master challenging academic material to induce long-term cognitive change.
