Should grammar schools take overseas pupils?
Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators
Should grammar schools take overseas pupils?
I have just been reading the Good Schools Guide for CRGS and it mentions that the head goes over to China each year to recruit pupils for the sixth-form. I think this is wrong as why should a current tax payer in this country be denied sixth-form entry place because a brighter boy from abroad has been actively sought out. I believe that the competition for sixth-form places are high and therefore I cannot imagine there is a shortage of british candidates. Does anyone think this is wrong?
It does sound a curious little arrangement, but quite interesting educationally too.
It is currently only 30 boys that can board in the Colchester Royal Grammar School sixth form, and they have to be British or EU passport holders.
Now I'm a little puzzled as to how many Chinese children there would be of sixth form age with British passports living in China (maybe something to do with Hong Kong I wonder?) for it to be worth the headmaster going over each year to recruit.
But whatever, good for them. OK, it may mean a couple fewer locals who get into CRGS each year (but maybe it does not, maybe it is hard to fill the 30 boys boarding places) but this needs to be weighed up against the potential advantages.
I don't know for real what these advantages are, but I presume there must be some otherwise why would the head of such a good school bother otherwise. My personal guess must be that it must give the other students an important lesson in hardwork and enthusiasm to see a clever kid from another country value their education enough to up sticks and board in Colchester, and probably get into Oxbridge. Also, these days, it is probably very important to gain an understanding of other cultures, particularly China. This may help other pupils of the school in their future business life, and is not possible to put a price on.
I'm guessing at the cost to the taxpayer too ....... how much is a sixth former worth to a school in formula funding terms these days £5000 p.a. ? I'm not sure, but again I guess there must be a long term payback. If just a few of these children become high earners in the UK they will more than repay the formula funding.
Outside London, I find large areas of the south-east terribly parochial, and verging on xenophobic at times, and lacking anything cosmopolitan. I don't know Colchester, but perhaps bringing in some overseas students adds a dimension to the education which is more beneficial than any other artificial attemps to bring "diversity" into the curriculum could be.
It is currently only 30 boys that can board in the Colchester Royal Grammar School sixth form, and they have to be British or EU passport holders.
Now I'm a little puzzled as to how many Chinese children there would be of sixth form age with British passports living in China (maybe something to do with Hong Kong I wonder?) for it to be worth the headmaster going over each year to recruit.
But whatever, good for them. OK, it may mean a couple fewer locals who get into CRGS each year (but maybe it does not, maybe it is hard to fill the 30 boys boarding places) but this needs to be weighed up against the potential advantages.
I don't know for real what these advantages are, but I presume there must be some otherwise why would the head of such a good school bother otherwise. My personal guess must be that it must give the other students an important lesson in hardwork and enthusiasm to see a clever kid from another country value their education enough to up sticks and board in Colchester, and probably get into Oxbridge. Also, these days, it is probably very important to gain an understanding of other cultures, particularly China. This may help other pupils of the school in their future business life, and is not possible to put a price on.
I'm guessing at the cost to the taxpayer too ....... how much is a sixth former worth to a school in formula funding terms these days £5000 p.a. ? I'm not sure, but again I guess there must be a long term payback. If just a few of these children become high earners in the UK they will more than repay the formula funding.
Outside London, I find large areas of the south-east terribly parochial, and verging on xenophobic at times, and lacking anything cosmopolitan. I don't know Colchester, but perhaps bringing in some overseas students adds a dimension to the education which is more beneficial than any other artificial attemps to bring "diversity" into the curriculum could be.