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Elizabeth Smith MSP

The following article was written by Elizabeth Smith for The Telegraph


I continue to be astonished at the level of ignorance of some in the SNP when it comes to the debate about charitable status. The vitriol with which they attack the independent schools in Scotland is bad enough, but much worse is their crass misunderstanding of the facts and the prejudice with which they misinterpret the aims of these schools.


Firstly, the SNP's Christine Grahame MSP, says 'it is quite obvious” that the independent schools are “only taking in rich people.' Try telling that to the parents of the thousands of children at an independent school in Scotland who could never afford it unless they received substantial financial help from a scholarship, bursary or foundation place. These children are by no means from rich backgrounds and their parents often make huge sacrifices to get them into the school in the first place. On last year's figures, around £12.5million, much of it raised by the independent schools themselves, is distributed in scholarships, bursaries and foundation places.


Secondly, some members of the SNP are claiming that, far from providing public benefit, private schools actually provide a 'disbenefit'. This is a ridiculous claim which is totally without foundation. All the independent schools know the importance of their role in their local community and, in some cases, have done so for hundreds of years. Indeed if the SNP knew their history a bit better, they would recognise that many of our independent schools owe their foundation to the old 'hospital' schools which were based entirely on philanthropic and charitable causes. It is a theme which, over time, has had a huge appeal right across all income groups in Scotland. It is the declared aim of these schools to widen access and to educate pupils from a broad spectrum of social and economic backgrounds. As such, they are most definitely not concerned only with the elite and the privileged.


Thirdly, the SNP seem to find it convenient to ignore the fact that the demand for places at Scotland's independent schools is increasing. It is increasing because more parents, from all social backgrounds, aspire to have their children educated in institutions which have a long tradition of excellence.


They should also remember that the independent sector in Scotland currently educates over 31,000 pupils, and in doing so saves the public purse an estimated £155 million a year. (Indeed, recent estimates suggest that the independent sector actually saves the country over 35 times as much as it receives in financial benefits (est at £4.5 million a year). If they were to remove charitable status, a sizeable number of pupils currently attending an independent school would have to take up a place in the state sector with considerable additional cost to the taxpayer.


I have little doubt that, when the time comes, the independent schools will be well placed to comply with the test of charitable status under the new charities legislation. These schools are deeply committed to improving education for all and deeply committed to their own local communities. The SNP should stop fighting an old class war and concentrate on far more important things on the education agenda.