I knew a lad called Merlin who went there.

He had three others sharing his namesake.

Wisest most sage and dependable young man I have even met. Even though he now trades futures.

Like all good wizards.

This is my Fathers argument. While equipping a young man with a good education/gun skills and a raft of similarly placed peers, the fundamental reality of being dumped by your parents in a cold and brutal environ(then) does not set a man up for the modern times. Not saying all families are like this, but back then a high percentage. He felt he had to break that cycle, which meant initially taking lots of acid and being cut off financially, and what little, that constituted parental love and affection(resolution came later, but at a price).
I went to a progressive private school for a year and hated it(paid for by my other grandparents). Country primary, working on a farm, riding bikes and a lefty comp sorted me out. Got excellent grades and a place at SOAS. My social circles are defined by the quality of the people, not place on the ladder. Stuck in a social strangle hold strikes me as some sort of torture.

tang – Member
While equipping a young man with a good education/gun skills and a raft of similarly placed peers, the fundamental reality of being dumped by your parents in a cold and brutal environ(then) does not set a man up for the modern times.

That excellent news. All that past inequality stuff nailed once and for all. The 7% of kids emerging from these cold torture chambers will be unable to thrive, indeed even survive, in modern times. So they will be confined to the dustbins of history forever. Old Gove will be pleased as punch.

They might let you in on the joke one day deadly, who knows!?!

I can’t speak for the likes of Harrow etc but an ex of mine went to Roedean from the age of 11 to 15 (late 80’s/early90’s) purely because her father got a job teaching there and her mother got a job as housemistress in one of the dorms – of her lasting impressions of the place from what i’ve heard over the time i went out with her and from a one off visit to the place when she got invited back down for a class reunion i have to say i have never met such a crowd of up their own arses stuck up **** hoighty-toighty snobs of the highest order in my life, her existence at the school was made an absolute hell because she never came from money or had the means to disappear on weekend ski holidays or to the numerous holiday weekends in Biarritz or Monaco, Daddies helicopter never picked her up and whisked her off for a spending spree in Paris or suchlike and because she was only accepted at the school because her parents taught there, the other girls at the time made her life hell and she still has self esteem issues to this day because of it.

Our visit back down for the class reunion proved very amusing in early 2000 though, we met up with an old friend of mine who was/is a well known musician/dj from Brighton in his rather nice car and obviously the girls flocked round him and my ex’s classmates (who used to spit on her and rub chewing gum in her hair) made such a fawning/out of control fuss of her for knowing this person that she eventually flipped and head butted the head girl (who used to throw ink over her) busting her nose then ran up on stage and grabbed the mike from the compare and proceeded to rip ten tons of shite in a scottish accent from the crowd gathered in the grand hall before running off the stage shouting “you’re all a bunch of stuck up ****” , needless to say we left in a screech of tyres and to this day it is the most rock ‘n roll thing i have ever experienced, we did have a massive blow out in Brighton that night and all was well with us the following day 😀 Gaw’d bless her…….still talked about to this day

I think he meant on a emotionally balanced level. The modern man loves his children and shows it in simple real terms that a 4 year old can understand. This might be second nature to most of us, but back then dining in the officers mess or inhabiting of corridors of commerce or Whitehall were no place for such weakness. You needed a rod like spine full of tension to keep the show on the road, and school was the beginning. It must have been awful.

I have two children and there is no way I would send them away for weeks at a time! Sounds like neglect to me, even if you do pay massive fees for someone else to look after them!

I am also not convinced that private schools have the best teachers, they don’t have to hold QTS to work there, and given that generally means they don’t have a PGCE how have they learnt how to teach?

I am sure they are touched.

I thought that was just something us plebs made up to for a laugh 😆

I am also not convinced that private schools have the best teachers, they don’t have to hold QTS to work there, and given that generally means they don’t have a PGCE how have they learnt how to teach?

Have you heard of Mr Gove? That is the case with state schools now. It helps us close the gap with the private sector. Does of course not address the issue raised by the op!

Mate of mine went to private school. Completely different background and life experiences to me, but no obvious personality flaws and we get along fine.

Posts on here too, so can’t be all bad.

Not sure I would send my kids to one if we could afford it. Have to balance the opportunities with possible problems. Hard to avoid the prejudices of envy when discussing it though

They might let you in on the joke one day deadly, who knows!?!

I can’t wait. I bet it’s hilarious.

A big secondary school in North of UK would have a budget of c.6 million for about 1100 pupils.
Staff (teachers and support) take up well over half the budget.
State schools are great value for money, just imagine what they could deliver with 8million between 1100 pupils!

800 pupils,£5.5 million a year plus various grants for link college pupils. Head of a 7 teacher/4 subject faculty £44,600.

The head of the faculty clearly needs a better union, that’s less than a tube driver

My small experience of private schools in the south west is that the teachers are paid much less than the state sector, and do not get as good a deal (ie stat sick pay/maternity etc). I’m sure Harrow as probs one of the best in the country pay higher salaries as I would imagine they want the best staff. The school our kids go to pride themselves on small teacher pupil ratio’s and high quality pastoral care. Most private schools are charities so the money gets spent on more facilities, bursary’s and the like. Anyway places like Harrow probably get given donations bigger than 26million every year from alumni..

Sis in law has just taken in a Head of English role, salary is about £38k to start with.

My lad did a taster day as a chorister, at a cathedral school. Choristers had to board, at £17k. Bargain!!!
Sadly, my meagre salary couldnt stretch that far. 😐

The tube drivers and their union have shot themselves in their feet. All they’ve done us to create a strong business case for driverless trains.

That would be me thm… 😆 have you been here long? We are overpaid workshy militants who strike at the drop of a hat with no regards for stw’ers child care needs.

I am also not convinced that private schools have the best teachers

. I beg to differ. My BIL taught history at a few august institutions before emigrating to Singapore to teach the kids of the Asian aristocracy a few years ago.

When he left his UK post, there were over 400 serious applications for his job. I’m guessing the school picked the best person for the job. And contrary to toy19’s post, this school at least, paid a good bit more than a state school job and conditions were at least as good. He did have to give up half of every Saturday for rugby duties though…

Money was better in private,but pension costs were higher,it evened itself out. Plus you could get phoned at 10pm and told somebody was ill and you were going to a play in England with an overnight stop. I do rugby,doe and trips abroad,but it seemed weird it being compulsory rather than something I choose to do.

Odd to think why anyone would want to teach at harrow if they didn’t want to be involved with all the extra activities. That’s part of the appeal. Ditto the pupils, why go there if you are not going to take advantage of what is being offered. That would be a waste of money for all concerned.

Money was better in private,but pension costs were higher,it evened itself out.

off my Mrs works part time in a private school, she gets the same pension as me, good for her but cant help thinking that again the tax payer is subsidising the private sector.

Odd to think why anyone would want to teach at harrow if they didn’t want to be involved with all the extra activities.

sometimes I think your wired up wrong, would you do extra work for nothing so that you could spend more time with other peoples kids and not your own?

They are doing the same thing so no conflict AA!

But yes, the whole point of teaching in a school like harrow is to be thoroughly involved in as much of what is going in as possible. So sport on sat! music in sun etc. Fantastic way of life. Stupid IMO to teach there if that is not what you wasn’t to do. Imagine having to sit in a chapel etc several times a week and not appreciating the splendour if it all and the music?

Being wired wrong is doing a job you don’t enjoy.

But yes, the whole point of teaching in a school like harrow is to be thoroughly involved in as much of what is going in as possible.

bless, I do love an idealist

My daughter went to a boarding school for a while, it was her choice and it was against my wishes but I respected her choice. As it happens she only stayed a year. Trying to “ban boarding schools” because they don’t reflect your views of how parenting/schooling should work is very narrow minded.

I didn’t watch the programme but I imagine Harrow has some very decent facilities which cost money to provide.

@AA private sector schools (and the parents of the children there) are massively subsidising the state sector. Tax revenue from private sector wages, parents paying high taxes and then not requiring places in the state sector thus reducing financial burden which would exist otherwise etc.

Well it’s not your choice AA nor is teaching outside the syllabus. So you have made the correct decision for you. Others make different ones and enjoy the experience immensely.

Aren’t all boarding schools just like Hogwarts? Harry Potter has to be one of the best adverts for a private education ever, with it showing such a rose tinted version of the experience.

@AA private sector schools (and the parents of the children there) are massively subsidising the state sector. Tax revenue from private sector wages, parents paying high taxes and then not requiring places in the state sector thus reducing financial burden which would exist otherwise etc.

you really believe that! Wow, just, wow.

Oh and whilst it wasnt me who suggested banning private schools I’m pretty sure it wasnt the boarding aspect that worries them, it much more relates to your first point.

PS THM what do you do for a living as you certainly like to play the expert on education.

I would happily good money to send my GF’s boy to boarding school 🙂

Sorry, double post!

Aren’t all boarding schools just like Hogwarts? Harry Potter has to be one of the best adverts for a private education ever, with it showing such a rose tinted version of the experience.

My wife boarded (Wycombe Abbey). She was sold it on the basis of Malory towers.

In terms of price it isn’t that bad when you look at the cost of nursery places or university.

@AA private sector schools (and the parents of the children there) are massively subsidising the state sector. Tax revenue from private sector wages, parents paying high taxes and then not requiring places in the state sector thus reducing financial burden which would exist otherwise etc.
you really believe that! Wow, just, wow.

It’s an easy sum.
Current tax payers fund the existing state school of x million pupils.
Remove the private schools, and you have x plus y million pupils, where y is the number of private pupils).

So either there’s less money per pupil, or taxes go up.

richmars – “subsidising”, yes, “massively subsidising”, I doubt.

Got any stats?

No, I’ll let you find out x and y, and how you define massively.

Going back to teachers in private schools – there were some awful teachers at my boarding school – the facilities were great though. But then it did close down a year after I left, mainly because 3/4s of my year didnt stay on for our A levels. Its now an ‘adventure camp’ of some sort.

Really enjoying the Harrow series, reminds me of a much much posher version of my school days.

You win….ONE INTERNET!

It’s an easy sum.

No it isnt, take teacher training for instance, who pays for that?
The poor dont get a better deal out of education due to the rich not being “invested” in it

Those who don’t have kids subsidise every body 😉

Those who don’t have kids subsidise every body

Exactly, which is why I don’t mind paying twice for education.

The sums are pretty easy. Cost of educating 7.8% of UK children minus implicit cost of charitable status. The state is quids in. Thank goodness.

For someone who talks themselves up as an economics expert as well as an education expert that is a very weak analysis

Feel free to correct this weak analysis……sorry VERY weak analysis….