Many private schools might close

[Jockolgy]

Have been thinking today after conversation with friend who teaches at a top prep school in SE. The school has lost third of their pupils since half term because the Russian children have left ! Is this happening at other schools?

Might be more of an issue in London?

We're in the SE, but I don't think there are any Russian children at either private school (and large waiting lists at both).

Not many Russians around my way.

However the cost of living crisis could well push private school families to the state sector.

Doubt it. Still had 600 applicants for 40 places at recent 11+. Our old (non selective) school is at capacity for last three years, and they have a large Chinese boarding element but were not affected by covid.
Must be a very specific school to have so many Russian pupils to make such a significant difference.
Some school may lose a few but there seem to be plenty able to take their places.

really doubt it and most Russian children at London private schools are not children of oligarchs but simply children of Russian investment bankers / hedge fund managers who work in the City just like all the other private school parents. Am sure that story about a third children leaving because they were Russian is total rubbish, sorry.

Nonsense. Two Russian kids in my DS’s prep. Both still there.

Very few schools in England are 1/3 Russian, that must be a very specific school 🧐

Our prep has a handful of Russian-origin families and they don’t seem to have plans to leave. If anything they’re more likely to cut all ties with Moscow I think.

A third? Sounds like balls to me. There are Russian kids at DC's school, all still there. This sort of school is hugely over-subscribed anyway so doubt any will close.

@Jockolgy care to back up what you said?

I just quoted what I had heard and asking if this was a common problem. @Milomonster…am not quite sure what your comment suggests I should say !

No it’s not a common problem. It’s an unusual one. Only London would have Russian prep DC I think.

I struggle to believe there's a school with 1/3 Russian kids, never mind one where 1/3 kids have left because they're Russian.

More importantly, most Russian kids at British schools are just kids going to school, with parents who are working here in legitimate jobs. I think we need to be careful not to assume being Russian means being a Putin-supporting oligarch or repeating rumours that imply this. I've already read about people being abused for speaking Russian in London.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-oneway-ticket-out-of-moscow

@Jockolgy

Have been thinking today after conversation with friend who teaches at a top prep school in SE. The school has lost third of their pupils since half term because the Russian children have left ! Is this happening at other schools?

I don’t think most schools are made up of 1/3 Russians, so I really wouldn’t be losing too much sleep over it.

There's one Russian child in my DC's school and they haven't left, I'm quite good friends with their mum who is lovely.

Unless your friend teaches at the Russian Embassy School in London, I think they are over exaggerating slightly...

DSDs top london girls school has 1 Russian in her year, who isn't going anywhere.

We are in London and my twins' school had to my knowledge one Russian boy but his family was settled here permanently. Most of the children (day London school) were people living in the UK. So not an issue for this school nor the other London day schools my other children used.

Now if it were Chinese there are some boarding schools where there are lots of them - I think was it Roedean - yes at one point 40% www.ft.com/content/98ed81ac-f529-11e9-a79c-bc9acae3b654 and I know someone whose daughter at a boarding school asked to come home every weekend as the only ppils left were Chinese who spoke mandarin to each other all weekend so her parents ended up collecting her to bring her home every weekend - that was a different girls' boarding school than Roedean and it was a Chinese pupil issue not Russian.

Totally don't believe in a one third russian school

I am finding the 1/3 Russian figure a bit far fetched - especially where day schools are concerned.

But there are some smaller boarding preps in the SE with significant numbers of Russian students who come to perfect their English before going on to senior schools at 13. The loss of say 10 boarding pupils from these schools could put a big strain on finances.

They will usually have paid a full term’s fees in lieu of deposit though so the schools will only lose money if they cannot replace these students in September.

Some of these schools are still suffering from the drop off in UK parents choosing (and being able to afford) boarding plus Covid and a decline in Chinese numbers in particular. Some will be able to attract students from South Korea, Nigeria etc. but other may also go bust.

I think the end to automatic conveyer belts to Oxbridge ( big name prep, big name senior) will also have an impact on people investing in this type of education. Some overseas parents are already looking at US secondary schools as a better guarantee of a place at an Ivy League.

But geography is still a big pull for many Eastern European and African parents especially at junior levels.

Complete nonsense. Stop stirring OP.

I suppose something like 'a third of all overseas students/ likelier overseas boarders being Russian' might be plausible in the odd extreme case?

But a third even of this modestly sized subset being Russians who are directly impacted by sanctions [as individuals or through their banking etc]? Surely not.

I suppose in summary if this is going to shut any schools down it'd only be as the straw that broke a camel's back rather than being something that's on its own sufficient to turn a profitable business into a basket case.

Could you check in with your friend and see if you’ve missed what they were saying because it sounds like utter bollocks.

It’s a throw-away exaggerated comment that the OP, for her own bizarre reasons, took literally.

I don't think any private schools will be forced to close by this, for the reasons outlined above, but even so this story is absolutely extraordinary.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/18235776/private-school-begs-russians-fees/

Certainly this one in Oxford is struggling if they are asking other parents to cover the fees!

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/20061947.oxford-private-school-slammed-asking-money-russian-pupils-tuition-fees/

That’s just shocking. I have enormous sympathy with the average Russian, in Russia, right now who will be horribly affected by sanctions. But none at all with the mega rich ones who don’t even live there anymore - they need to pay their own fees likes everyone else.

So what. Couldnt see why that would bother anyone. I feel sympathy for ordinary Russians in Russia under Putin. But these will be very priviledged children.