Two of the Island’s private schools say they have not been adversely impacted by the economy; with Warwick Academy actually looking to increase staff numbers in the next academic year.The news comes after Saltus Grammar School announced that eight staff positions would be made redundant and it would be reducing its student enrollment from 1,015 to 900 over the next two years.Saltus Headmaster Ted Staunton said it would be focusing on becoming a smaller and more student-centered school after its purse strings had been tightened due to the economic downturn.He said: “Since 2008, most of our attrition has come from international families relocating overseas. The unfortunate consequence of the reduction in students is the effect it has on our bottom line and the need for us to focus on cost savings across the school.“All budgets have been reduced, including our payroll budget; we are disappointed to be forced to reduce the size of our valued faculty and staff. All budget reductions have been made by focusing on what is in the best interest of our students.”According to Warwick Academy Principal Maggie McCorkell, the school has not seen any abnormal decrease in student numbers and have fared well throughout the recession.Mrs McCorkell said: “While we are very conscious of the present economic situation we have not experienced any unusual decrease in numbers and do not anticipate doing so.“We have a vigorous scholarship and bursary plan, a Finance Department that works very hard to assist our parents and a population of students which represent the larger Bermuda community.“We have not cut back on any staff positions and in fact I would like to add to the number of staff next academic year. We are already a student centered school with a personalised approach and for the last two years we have steadily increased the number of teachers in some subjects and decreased class sizes.”She said the private school had a well defined admissions policy and anyone wanting to apply should get in touch with its Director of Admissions Mrs Rochelle Lee.Similarly Mount Saint Agnes saw only a “very minimal loss’ of students due to the economy.Principal Sue Moench said: “Our student population is more local-based than overseas, and any loss has been due to local families not being able to afford the tuition and the overseas families not having contracts renewed.”She said there had been no staff positions lost, no pay freezes or cuts due to the economy at this time and added: “We are fiscally minded and work within what the tuition provides.“We already are a student-centered learning school and are in our second year of adopting the Alberta Curriculum,” she explained.