Good Schools List

A big rise in state schools rated among the best institutions in the country is revealed in the latest edition of the Good Schools Guide. Middle-class parents facing financial pressures in the downturn are increasingly looking beyond the private sector to educate their children.The 23-year-old Good Schools Guide - a popular reference book for fee-paying families set on the best private school - has increased the number of state schools in this year's edition to 251, pushing the figure to more than a quarter of its 1,000 entries for the first time. Explaining why the guide has more than doubled the number of schools it features outside the private sector in only five years, Sue Fieldman, regional editor, told the Financial Times: "The parents we speak to want more information on the state sector and the best it has to offer. "This is because the credit crunch is making them think twice about sending their children to private school from three to 18.