Independent grammar school: Durham the arrival of low-cost private schooling to a developed nation

In 2018 James Tooley, and colleagues, launched a no-frills private school – the Independent Grammar School: Durham (IGSD). This offers full-time education for £58 per week per child (2019-20), in contrast to the markedly higher cost per capita in either the state sector or in established private schools. We question IGSD’s affordability and viability. We examine Tooley’s educational vision, and his work in the provision of lowcost private schooling in Africa and India to identify IGSD’s ontology to understand what no-frills might mean, and how this could be delivered.