At the Independent Education Consultants, we are used to helping clients, with our education advice, navigate their way through the paradox of choice that is presented by the abundance of world class independent schools and universities in the UK. Successful parents want the best educational opportunities for their children but do not always have the time to scour the internet, connect with the right people, visit countless schools in person and then split hairs over which institution had the best music or sports facilities, the most impressive buildings, the right boarding/accommodation set up, the most charismatic leader or the best future destinations, whether those be senior schools or universities. Not everyone has a Catherine Stoker and her extensive list of contacts touring the UK’s best schools in ‘Doris the Defender’ bringing education advice and clarity to the confusing blur of information and a torrent of questions about how this all applies to their own family’s circumstances. That is why parents choose to work with us and gain the advantage of years of insight from education professionals, personalised and tailored expert education advice, not of the best independent schools or universities, but the best independent schools and universities for their child.
Sometimes it can be easy to take all this for granted. The emotional and the transformational can be reduced to the transactional. We do not always appreciate how lucky we are and the UK’s enviable reputation for academic quality attracts families from around the world.
I have been incredibly fortunate in the lottery of birth, having attended a large UK comprehensive and then a post-16 FE college before heading to a post-92 university and a career that has led me through many airports, hotels, schools, and conference halls across the world offering education advice and extolling the benefits of a UK education. My educational and career path is one of the reasons I will be visiting Zambia in August with a small group of people from my church family.
Zambia is a place of which I know little, but I am looking forward to spending a couple of weeks exploring, meeting locals in remote and rural locations and learning a lot more from them, than they will from me. Since my own short study abroad experience at university, I have passionately believed that education is transformational for lives, communities, and culture. In Kapiri the challenges are much more local and immediate. Primary education is better catered for, but secondary education opportunities are much scarcer. Kapiri had 6 secondary schools in an area of population that would require 35 schools to cater for its children. The Vinjeru Schools Trust was established to improve the social and economic wellbeing of a community. It is open to all and offers a bursary programme to ensure even the poorest children have the opportunity to continue their education. The schools have been growing since inception and are currently building a new D&T block. They have offered boarding since 2020, increasing their capacity to cater for children for whom transport is a barrier to accessing education. I look forward to learning more and sharing the journey with you.
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For more information and education advice on choosing the best school for your child take a look at our Future Schools services page.