Credit: This story was first seen on The Telegraph
Private school children are tougher than their state educated counterparts, a study has found.
New research commissioned by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) found that pupils at fee-paying schools are more controlled, committed and confident than those who went to state schools, The Telegraph reports.
The study, titled An Analysis of Mental Toughness at UK Independent Schools, involved 9,000 pupils of all ages from 58 schools in England and Scotland. It measured four categories: control, commitment, challenge and confidence.
Julie Robinson, General Secretary of ISC, said that privately educated students scored better due to “the breadth of curriculum, wide-ranging activities outside the classroom and excellent pastoral care” which she said helps to create “create resilient and worldly young men and women who are ready for further study and work in adult life.”
The psychometric test publisher AQR found that private school children have good attainment, wellbeing and behaviour and are more resilient, better at dealing with setbacks and more open to learning as a result.
This test, which defines mental toughness as the ‘mindset that every person adopts in everything they do’ gave an overall score of 4.26 for privately educated students,while state school children had a score of 3.94.
Mark Mortimer, headmaster of Warminster School, a day and boarding school in Wiltshire, whose pupils took part in the study, said: “Of course, exam results matter, but not as much as the qualities that allow pupils to leave school able to thrive, both professionally and personally, in the fluid, ever-changing and let-go world of the 21st century. Emotional intelligence, reaction to failure, leadership, perseverance, resilience and the ability to improvise and adapt on one’s feet are increasingly important.”
Peter Clough, Professor of Applied Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, who moderated the process and analysis of the research, said: “It seems a strong focus on confidence building is not sufficient to develop the rounded life skills schools could usefully be looking elsewhere, on areas such as emotion, goals and facing setback. Schools might usefully look at developing complementary areas such as emotional control, managing goals and aspirations and showing pupils that they can learn from their setbacks as well as their successes.”