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The range of independent schools is enormous: as it is in the state sector. At the very top are the household names, including the Clarendon Group. Only most talented and highly achieving staff will be interviewed in mainstream subjects in these schools (many universities would love to have such staff) and many of the pupils have special needs in that they require stimulation and stretching that only academically brilliant teachers can deliver. Many of these schools do not even teach A-levels - the Cambridge Pre-U is much harder and is often judged to be more appropriate. In the middle ground are schools which are thriving with a strong regional identities and many have excellent A-level and GCSE results. Teaching is often better organised in such establishments since they take in a wider range of ability. These schools are similar to the top hundred or so state comprehensives and are likely to be found in the same leafy suburbs. At the bottom end are some struggling independent schools - and teaching in these brings different challenges again. But no independent school provides the financial security of the state sector because they do not have the blanket support of strong unions or local authorities.
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