How many independent schools are there?
In the school year 2010/11, there were approximately 2,600 independent schools in the United Kingdom, educating about 628,000 children. In England, independent schools teach more than 7% of the entire school age population, although the proportions are a little lower in Scotland and Wales. There are regional variations, too: in south east England, about 10% of children are in independent schools and the percentage rises further to 13% in London. Across the age bands, the oldest group has the highest proportion of pupils being privately educated: more than 18% of students who are aged 16+ are in independent establishments.
Worldwide, there are many thousands of independent private schools. This directory has information on around 37,000 schools from all corners of the globe.