英国中产阶层家庭学生被外国学生“挤出”顶级私立学校

Britain's most prestigious boarding schools are enrolling one foreign student for every five new pupils amid school fee rises that are 'squeezing' the middle class.

随着学费上涨，英国最著名的寄宿学校每招收五个新生中就有一个是外国学生，本国中产阶层学生的数量被“挤压。

Institutions such as Eton and Wellington College, Bedales School in Hampshire and Malvern St James Girls' School are taking in foreign students at a higher rate than ever before, according to a Sunday Telegraph survey.

《星期日电讯报》的一份调查报告显示，伊顿公学、惠灵顿学院、位于汉普郡的比得莱斯学校以及莫尔文圣詹姆斯女子学校等招收的外国学生比例都已达到史上最高。

News of the changing demographics comes just days after Eton headmaster Tony Little warned middle-class families were being 'squeezed' out of the country's elite institutions because they could no longer afford the fees.

伊顿公学校长托尼•里德曾发出警示，英国中产家庭由于支付不起日益增加的学费正被“挤出精英学校。几天后，有关学生构成变化的消息就被公布。

He said schools were in danger of being ‘polarised’, with only the very rich able to pay and only the very poor able to obtain bursaries.

里德还说道，学校正面临被“两极分化的危险，学生多来自付得起学费的富裕家庭，以及能申请到助学金的贫困家庭。

The survey revealed Eton and Wellington Colleges attracted 15 per cent of their pupils from abroad - almost double that of two decades ago.

调查显示，伊顿公学和惠灵顿学院中15%是外国学生——这一比例是二十年前的两倍。

And foreign students at Bedales School have grown from 2.6 per cent to 3.6 percent of the total enrolment, while British students among new entrants at Malvern are among a 46 per cent minority.

比得莱斯学校外国学生占新生总额比例从2.6%上升到3.6%，而莫尔文圣詹姆斯女子学院的入学新生中英国学生仅占46%。

Ten days ago Mr Little warned that average boarding school fees had risen faster than inflation and disposable income, increasing by four times more than the average increase for other goods and services between 1990 and 2013, according to one measurement.

十天前，里德警告说，根据一项调查，寄宿学校平均学费增幅高于通货膨胀和可支付收入的增幅，比1990年至2013年间其他商品和服务的平均价格增幅高出了四倍。

He said: 'Many of us are conscious that there is a risk that boarding becomes polarised, in the sense of being accessible to the very rich on full fees and the very poor on bursaries, with the middle squeezed out.

他说道：“我们中许多人都已经意识到，寄宿学校面临两级分化的危险，最富有的人可支付全额学费，最贫困的人能依靠助学金，而中产阶层的学生就被挤出学校。

'It is important and a wonderful thing, to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds by helping them gain access to our schools.'

“帮助弱势家庭的孩子到我们学校就读是一件重大且意义非凡的事。

The survey results come just as new figures from the Independent Schools' Commission (ISC) reveal Chinese students are by far the biggest nationality from outside the UK studying in British schools.

私立学校委员会公布的一项新的调查结果显示，目前为止在英国就读的外籍学生中中国学生占最大部分。

Sarah Hamlyn, author of The Good Schools Guide, told the paper that overseas parents often remained able to afford costly British boarding schools.

《好学校指南》的作者萨拉•汉姆向本报透露，外国学生父母通常支付得起英国寄宿学校的学费。

'If you have the money but you don't like the rigidity of the education system and the politics in your home country are not congenial, you opt for independent schools in the UK that encourage creative thinking.'

“如果你有钱，并且不喜欢自己国家僵化的教育体制，政策也不相适宜，你可以选择英国的私立学校，这里鼓励创新思维。

While there are 27,211 pupils studying in British schools with their parents living outside the country, there are another 16,821 whose parents live within the country.

就读于英国的学生中，有27211名的父母是生活在国外，仅有16821名学生的父母是在英国国内生活。

Eton, which offers bursaries to poorer students, has fees exceeding £34,000 a year, with some other elite schools charging even more.

伊顿公学向贫困学生提供助学金，它的每年学费已超过34000英镑，其它一些精英学校的学费甚至更贵。

Former pupils of the world-famous school include David Cameron, Boris Johnson, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

曾从世界名校毕业的学生有大卫•卡梅伦，鲍里斯•约翰逊，剑桥公爵以及哈里王子。

Vocabulary

demographics 人口统计学

bursary 助学金