Links

Independent schools

www.isc.co.uk
The Independent Schools Council website contains listings of more than 1,200 independent senior and preparatory and junior schools that are accredited by the council. It also contains news and other relevant information for parents using or considering independent education for their children.

www.scis.org.uk
Full details of all independent schools in Scotland.

Schools are affiliated to one or more of the independent schools' associations. These also have websites of use to parents:

www.hmc.org.uk
Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference

www.gsa.uk.com
Girls' School Association

www.gdst.net
Girls' Day School Trust

www.isaschools.org.uk
Independent Schools Association

www.shmis.org.uk
Society of Headmasters and Headmistresses of Independent Schools

www.iaps.org.uk
Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools

There are also specialist associations to which particular types of school may be affiliated:

www.boarding.org.uk
Boarding Schools' Association

www.choirschools.org.uk
Choir Schools' Association

State schools

www.dcsf.gov.uk
The main website for information on state schools is provided by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/
For further information on examination performance of schools that do not feature on this website. This contains details of examination performance from Key Stage 2 to A-levels for individual schools across England.

www.sbsa.org.uk
A website for the limited number of state boarding schools.

Examinations

There are several bodies that offer more information about examinations in both state and independent sectors.

In the state sector, the following are three of the leading examination boards:

www.aqa.org.uk
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance

www.ocr.org.uk
Formed in 1998 from the merger of the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndidate and RSA.

ww.edexcel.com
Formed in 1996 from the merger of BTEC (the Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (the University of London Examinations and Assessment Council).

www.sqa.org.uk
The Scottish Qualifcations Authority is the examination authority in Scotland, responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees.

www.wjec.co.uk
The Welsh Joint Education Committee is the examination body in Wales.

www.ccea.org.uk
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment reports to the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. As well as awarding qualifications, it also advises Government and maintains standards.

In the independent sector, the body that oversees the Common Entrance examination can be found on:

www.iseb.co.uk
Independent Schools Examination Board.

Other examination bodies of interest:

www.ibo.org
For more details on the International Baccalaureate.

School inspections

There are links to individual school inspection reports within most of the Parent Power school pages. However, reports are available for the vast majority of all schools in the UK via one of the following websites:

www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports
For state schools in England.

www.isi.net/isindex/alpha.htm
For independent schools.

www.hmie.gov.uk
For schools in Scotland, including some independent schools.

www.estyn.gov.uk/inspection_reports.asp
For schools in Wales

www.denidata.nics.gov.uk/appInspRptsSearch/IRMain.aspx
For schools in Northern Ireland

Dyslexia

www.isbi.com
A general purpose website containing details of independent schools, which is particularly strong on providing information for parents looking for provision for special needs, including dyslexia.

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
A website dealing with the broader issues to do with dyslexia.

General

www.timesonline.co.uk/education
The online education section of The Sunday Times and The Times provides a mix of education news and features. It covers schools and universities. A dedicated section contains the 2008 Sunday Times University Guide, an indispensable first reference point for all students considering university.