For many decades children from Birkenhead and Wirral have benefited from the outstanding all-round education available at Birkenhead School, many of them going on to the best universities and from there taking up responsible positions in society. They were able to do that irrespective of social status or parental means. The passing of the Direct Grant and more recently in 1997 the Government Assisted Places scheme has left the School with a double challenge: to maintain high academic standards and to retain its long-standing commitment to open access.
In order to maintain standards we have for the time being reduced our intake from four forms to three, leaving us with a smaller, more intimate school which in itself has advantages compared to other very large local schools. The question of access is more difficult to resolve. Seven years ago about a third of pupils entering the School did so because the Government Assisted Places scheme enabled them, through means tested funding, to benefit from the excellent opportunities which the School could offer.
The last Assisted Place pupils leave the Upper Sixth in 2004 and from then on we are totally on our own. Thanks to the generous support of former pupils and friends of the School and through the sale of assets such as Fender Field we have managed to replace some of that fee assistance from our own resources. But in reality we can at present support only about a quarter of the number of pupils who used to receive Assisted Places. As a result, able and talented pupils, who thoroughly deserve to benefit from a Birkenhead School education, are unable to come here.
My colleagues, governors and I want the School to be independent not private – independent in our freedom from government meddling, able to provide what we consider to be the best kind of education, but not a private club to which only the privileged have access. We will remain unashamedly elitist in educational terms, but to be socially elite would be to negate the School’s fundamental character. That is why it is vital that we continue to build up our financial resources in order to become truly independent, so that we decide who deserves an education here not the politicians.
If you have not already thought of contributing, through donation or bequest, or if would like to increase your support please click here to download a Trust Donation Form. The document is in Adobe Acrobat format - if you need a copy of the Acrobat Reader, please click here..
Alternatively, contact Mrs M Butterworth in the School office by email on headmaster@birkenheadschool.co.uk or by telephone on 0151 651 3009.
I urge you to join us in this challenge. By investing in the Birkenhead School Foundation Trust you are investing in the future independence of the School and in the education of the next generation of Birkonians.
John Clark
Headmaster
