England and Wales have a sizeable fee-paying private school sector including well-resourced elite schools conferring considerable advantage on their students. The majority have charitable status, yielding substantial tax breaks. This significant source of funding for the sector has attracted comparatively little attention from educational…

This report looks at the progress made during secondary school of young people from different backgrounds who were in the top third of attainers at the end of primary school. High attaining pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have the best chance of becoming socially mobile, and "Social Mobility: The Next Generation" will explore,…

This report presents an analysis of childcare providers' finances based on a survey carried out in 2023, during the period leading up to significant reforms in the funding of childcare in England. In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced that, from April 2024, government-funded childcare would be expanded to younger children, and that,…

The use of targeted additional funding for school-age education, intended to improve student attainment, is a widespread phenomenon internationally. It is slightly rarer that the funding is used to improve attainment specifically for the most disadvantaged students -- often via trying to attract teachers to poorer areas, or encouraging families to…

Student funding remains hotly contested. In this HEPI Debate Paper, Alan Roff examines the findings of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which regards the past treatment of student loans in the national accounts as a 'fiscal illusion'. Roff explores the consequences of this change of heart and pushes for an alternative approach to student…

In 2018 James Tooley, and colleagues, launched a no-frills private school -- the Independent Grammar School: Durham (IGSD). This offers full-time education for £58 per week per child (2019-20), in contrast to the markedly higher cost per capita in either the state sector or in established private schools. We question IGSD's affordability and…

This article examines the impact of academisation on English Sixth Form Colleges through the lens of the Principals and Governors who lead such organisations -- those who have decided to opt for academisation, and those who have not. A comprehensive survey of the Principals or Chairs of 35 Sixth Form Colleges, representing all regions of England,…

In 2012, Australia removed student number controls or, in the local terminology, introduced a 'demand driven system' based on student choice. In 2015, England followed suit. In both places, entry to higher education was opened up but non-completion rates rose. In Australia, the demand driven system ended in 2017, despite a coming demographic…

This chapter explores the United Kingdom's (UK) response to the Youth Guarantee (YG) in the two largest of its four constituent countries -- England and Scotland. The chapter examines the forms, systems and funding which underpin the YG and the conditions currently affecting young people socially, economically and geographically in England and…

The debate about value for money in higher education reflects an unclear understanding of how and why universities do what they do. The issue of income cross-flows is central to this debate. This report shows the defining features of universities are interdependent. In particular, university research loses so much money that it cannot currently…

Universities can help level up by boosting earnings, transforming towns and delivering vocational and technical education. They fulfil the aspirations of many young people. In this paper, David Willetts explores how to boost participation in higher education while cutting public spending. He argues it is reasonable to expect graduates to pay for…

On July 20, 2015, the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report "Overseeing the financial sustainability in the further education sector." The NAO examined oversight of the financial sustainability of the FE sector in England, with specific focus on general further education colleges (GFECs) (excluding sixth form colleges (SFCs)).…

This article explores the methodological impact of building and curating a transnational archive of working-class literacy practices, spanning themes of vocation, immigration, gender, race, and disability, from the ground up alongside the "Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers." The article focuses particularly on how our…

The origins of the charitable status of elite schools in England is a neglected topic. This article reconstructs the debate on the funding of schools which led to the establishment of the Charity Commission in 1853 and argues that it was the obdurate refusal of the Anglican Church to surrender its control of secondary education which first delayed…

This article makes a fresh contribution to the literature on student funding and its history by drawing attention to a pioneering government initiative, launched in the aftermath of the Great War. From the winter of 1918-1919 until 1923, the Scheme for the Higher Education of Ex-Servicemen provided grants to university students in England and…