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This is a temporary holding page while we make updates to our site.
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hello@afis.org.uk
if you have any questions or you'd like to join the Association for Families of Independent Schooling.
A Collective Voice and a Collaborative Community Platform for supporters of independent schooling
AFIS™ is the UK’s only membership organisation bringing together parents, relatives and alumni who believe in the value of independent education as part of a diverse and complementary national school system.
We amplify our members’ collective voice to foster a fairer, more balanced debate about independent schooling. We champion the families who choose it and the schools that deliver it — celebrating the partnership, commitment and shared values that help shape exceptional young people who contribute meaningfully to society and the economy. In doing so, we help safeguard choice and strengthen the sector for the future.
Through our collaborative community platform, credible independent research, and authentic storytelling of our members’ lived experiences, AFIS brings truth, clarity and robust data to public and policy discussion.
Our work delivers meaningful benefits to members — including exclusive offers, practical resources and valuable information. We also provide funding to support families facing financial pressures with school costs and to help schools expand their bursarial provision, widening access to the opportunities of a high-quality independent education.
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).
The Need for AFIS™
AFIS was founded by a group of independent school parents concerned about two urgent issues impacting families like ours:
• Increasing financial pressures on families and schools — including VAT on school fees, the rising cost of living, higher business rates and national insurance — making independent education less attainable for many.
• The rise of negative and misleading portrayals of independent schools and their families in the media and public debate, often reinforced by political rhetoric, fuelling division and misunderstanding.
During the debate over VAT on school fees, parents had no national platform where their voices could be heard in a credible and constructive way. Thousands turned to social media to share their experiences, but their views were easily lost amid the noise and angry backlash.
Negative stereotypes, crude wealth assumptions and accusations of unfair privilege have long dominated the narrative around independent schools. What’s needed now is a professional, coordinated effort to gather robust data on who independent school families really are — their socio-economic profiles, motivations for school choice and their lived experiences.
The Independent Education Landscape is Changing
- • The public debate around private schools has become increasingly divisive and polarised.
- • Families who choose independent education face growing stigmatisation, fuelled by stereotypes and outdated assumptions about wealth and privilege.
- • Rising costs mean fewer families are able to access independent schooling.
- • Financial pressures are forcing many schools to reduce the level of means-tested fee assistance they can offer.
- • An increasing number of independent schools are closing due to mounting financial challenges — including the impact of VAT on school fees.
These trends have created a clear need for stronger research and new ways to support both families and schools.
When we spoke with parents across the independent sector, many said they wished an organisation like AFIS had existed years ago: “If only we’d had something like this to advocate for us before the VAT issue.” Better late than never — the need remains urgent, and AFIS™ is here now to help families and schools prepare for future challenges.
AFIS is not aligned with any political party, nor does it fund any party or think-tank. While we would like to see VAT removed from school fees, we are not a campaign or lobby group, nor a single-issue organisation.
Through our partner schools and member families, we are building a collaborative, solutions-driven community — one that will make a positive and lasting difference.
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).
AFIS™ Grant Funding for Families & Schools
Making independent schooling more accessible for families
The AFIS™ School Costs Fund
We know that many families are finding it harder to manage school fees and associated costs—especially with the added burden of VAT. This creates extra stress at home and, all too often, forces parents to move their children to other schools. Such changes are unsettling for families and disruptive for children’s education.
That’s why the AFIS™ community is coming together to create a ringfenced fund to support member families who need a little help with school fee payments, uniform and other costs of schooling.
The AFIS™ Bursary Support Fund
Every child deserves the chance to thrive in the right school environment. Yet with financial pressures on schools increasing for many reasons, fewer families have access to means-tested support.
That’s why AFIS™ is creating a Bursary Support Fund. Through this fund, our Partner Schools will be able to apply for grants to help more families benefit from an independent education.
Together, we can open more doors for more children.
More details coming soon!
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).
AFIS™ Research
The increasingly divisive debate about independent schools is detrimental to families, children and society. One of the most constructive things we can make is improve the quality and integrity of the data that shapes it.
Our mission is to foster a more balanced and informed national conversation about the families who choose independent education.
We achieve this by engaging our members in rigorous, independent research that generates evidence-based insights — closing data gaps, challenging stereotypes, reducing stigma and promoting greater fairness and balance in public and policy debate.
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).
Challenging Crude Wealth Assumptions
As independent school parents ourselves, we know that the blanket assumption that all private school families are wealthy and privileged is inaccurate and ill-informed. In reality, many families who choose independent education are not super-rich; they do so for a wide range of personal, practical and educational reasons — always with their children’s needs at heart — and often make significant financial sacrifices to do so. Many also rely on support from relatives or benefit from schools’ fee assistance and bursary programmes to make this choice possible.
While public debate often focuses on the largest and most high-profile independent schools, the truth is that most are small — 71% educate fewer than 300 pupils. These schools make a vital contribution to the education system, offering tailored learning environments that reflect the values and priorities of the families they serve.
“We urgently need research that draws from a more representative pool of parents and families, including those who are not at the top end of the income distribution, who make real sacrifices to send their children to independent schools, and whose experiences are largely absent from current datasets.
This is where AFIS™, in my view, can play a meaningful role. By building a platform that connects with a broad base of independent school families, AFIS™ has the potential to support the development of a more representative and transparent research base. Done well, such research can not only challenge misconceptions, but also elevate the level of public understanding around who chooses independent education and why.”
Dr Steven Watson
Associate Professor, University of Cambridge
AFIS™ Consultant Research Adviser
Rewards and benefits for Members and Schools
The AFIS Shopping Arcade
Our members represent an attractive audience for many leading retail brands, who have partnered with AFIS to offer exclusive perks and special offers through our members-only online shopping portal — the AFIS Arcade.
This platform helps families save on a wide range of goods and services, earn bonus rewards, and generate funds for the Association’s work — including grants to help with school costs and to grow bursary support.
When members shop through the Arcade, our partner brands donate a percentage of each purchase to AFIS. These contributions are shared between our members and the Association, turning everyday shopping into both personal rewards and meaningful support for AFIS’s mission.
Here are just a few of the brands that will be featured in the AFIS SHOPPING ARCADE,
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).
Strength in Our Numbers
- • There are more than 550,000 pupils currently at private schools in the U.K. from about 350,000 families
- • About 9% of adults in the UK have been privately educated
- • There are more than 2,500 independent schools in the U.K.
Families join AFIS as LIFETIME MEMBERS – for FREE.
Independent schools join AFIS as PARTNER SCHOOLS.
JOIN AFIS™ to take part and have your voice heard – membership is FREE
(To register your interest now , please email hello@afis.org.uk, while we are getting our online application process ready).