Represents Canberra's 18 independent schools. Comments are authorised by and attributable to Andrew Wrigley, Executive Director The ACT Independent school sector provides a diverse range of schooling options to families in the ACT, and surrounding region, and to families needing boarding school facilities. Independent schools have emerged in direct response to community demand and offer various models of self management and responsiveness to community needs. The ACT independent school sector plays an important role in providing educational alternatives to those provided by the public sector. The ACT community is multicultural and diverse and the independent school sector reflects this. There are many reasons parents chose independent schools including pedagogical style, learning environment, faith, values, school culture and pastoral structures. The remarkable diversity of schools within the independent sector in the ASCT is evidenced by the fact that our 18 schools differ in many characteristics size, gender, ethos, faith/religion and pedagogical approach. They include a Assistance special school, Christian, Anglican, Catholic, Islamic, Steiner, Montessori and Community schools, The Association of Independent Schools of the ACT represents and articulates the views of member schools and advocates for independent education in the ACT. In this capacity , the Association represents 18 schools and nearly 15,000 students. One in five Kindergarten Year 12 students attends an independent school in the ACT