Why are private schools so touchy about state schools' success?

The success of school reform in Britain seem to be worrying the private schools’ spokesmen. They’ve taken the unusual step of releasing a statement in response to my Daily Telegraph column yesterday, where I show that the top state schools outperform top private schools in A-Level league tables. I’m not sure why they’re so upset; I didn’t have a word of criticism for private schools. I think their success is admirable. I just argued that there is, now, just as much excellence in the state sector – and I produced data to back this up. Barnaby Lenon, chairman, Independent Schools Council, didn’t seem to that one bit. He issued a statement with the catchy headline:-

“ISC response to claims based on DfE research by Fraser Nelson, suggesting that state schools now perform better than independent schools in exam league tables.”

And he had this to say:-

“This year Independent Schools Council schools, which are 85pc of independent schools, achieved double the proportion of A*and A grades at GCSE and A-level compared to state schools.”