One-in-five students at secondary school ‘learn nothing’ ,the Head of Britain’s top private schools group has said.

Barnaby Lenon, Chairman of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), has commented that the ‘chronic underachievement’ of the bottom 20 per cent of pupils was now ‘the biggest problem this country faces’.

Mr Lenon, the former Headteacher at Harrow school, stated that he believed that the brightest pupils in Britain were not being sufficiently stretched by the curriculum in comparison to students from the Far East and Europe, many of whom were reportedly two years ahead of British pupils at mathematics, The Telegraph reports.

He also stated that a wider reform of the curriculum and exam system was necessary if this bottom 20 per cent of pupils were to improve.

According to the Telegraph almost one-in-five pupils left primary school this summer without reaching the standard expected of the average 11-year-old in reading. Some one-in-10 boys had the reading skills of a seven-year-old or worse.

Regarding the results, Mr Lenon commented: “You do not get that same sort of tail of underachievement in countries like China, Japan and Finland. In other words, the contrast in achievements between the best and the worst is greater than in many other countries. It is this tail which is causing us to suffer slightly in terms of the international comparisons.”

Despite poor results from many state schools, reports have indicated that the number of pupils attending private school is falling considerably after parents admit they cannot afford to pay school fees. A recent poll of 2,000 parents revealed that 29 per cent were rethinking sending their children to private school because of the rising cost of fees, the Independent reports.

The poll, carried out by Schroders Bank, indicated that the decline in students attending private school could have a disastrous effect on the private sector which currently educates 600,000 students from 300,000 families, prompting possible school closures and job losses throughout the UK.

According to the survey, 33 per cent of parents reported that the money they set aside from private schooling ‘wasn’t enough’, with northern areas of the UK seeing a 0.5 per cent drop in applicants.

Neil Roskilly, Chief Executive of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), admitted that parents are now being more selective about the amount of time their child stays in private education, due to the rising cost of fees.

He commented: “I think it's the parents who are contemplating private education who are holding back on a decision. They may be being more selective in terms of the key stages they may put their children in for private education. Some believe the basic skills are all important, introducing their children to private education at nursery level or the early years; others think the most important thing is entrance to university.”

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