Has anyone got kids in a private school , interested in your experiences. Worth the money?

Private schools are better

Private schools are better

Speaking as a comprehensive-educated Oxford graduate, she can foxtrot oscar.

Speaking as a comprehensive-educated Oxford graduate, she can foxtrot oscar.

That’s apparently a slightly reworded version of her original article, which wasn’t much better.

Edit: link to original added

slightly reworded

[edit] Ah, gotcha. I went to a state school & it served me very well – excellent teachers.

I did laugh at this bit

“This may be because the students who go there are cleverer: you have to pass stringent tests to get in.”

Would only consider it if I was rich and they were stupid and neither of these clauses apply

Some things only money can buy – and a good education is one of them.
In my opinion, ‘posh prejudice’ is just as bad as racism or homophobia. Just because my parents paid for my education does not mean I ‘bought’ my way into my university. I worked just as hard to get my grades

right so the better education was bought for you but you worked just as hard as others who got a worse education…yes money well spent there IMHO and both clauses applied to her clearly

or this gem

Whilst state schools may have netball courts and hockey pitches, private schools come with stables and squash courts. This attracts students who are dedicated to various sports, which makes them leaders and team players.

Netball and hockey are team sports as far as i am awre squash and having a horse are individual sports

is it a spoof article or real?

is it a spoof article or real?

I’d call spoof… but there are people who actually – & sincerely – spout this sort of stuff:

they’ve been trained to lead since they were children

Brilliant.

If I could afford it they would go, as I can’t, ill spend the next few years doing as much extra work and sport as we possibly can. That attitude is already paying off for the eldest who started secondary in September.

is it a spoof article or real?

I wondered that as well (but didn’t get through all of it to be fair).

Posh prejudice is as serious as cancer!

is it a spoof article or real?

As above, the real one’s no better.

I’m a big fan of state education and would bring in Finland’s law making private education illegal, if I were in charge.

I went to a private school and if I have kids and can afford it I’d like them to go to one too. I enjoyed the experience and got some opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have had at state school. Weather I took full advantage of those opportunities is another matter. My parents gave me the choice and I chose private, mostly so I could play rugby instead of football.

Here here ^^^
EDIT: @miketually’s post

(state school ejukated)

Oxford graduate

that’s not saying much for comp education now really, is it?
I’d have been more impressed if you had made to Hull.

Well put, unknown. I suspect you didn’t take full advantage of the English grammar tuition side of things, however. 😉

Weather I took full advantage of those opportunities
Money well spent I’d say 😉

I’d ban private education altogether, state education for all.

Beaten by dd again 🙄

A teacher I know who currently works in a public/fee paying school claims that the quality of teaching is the same as most state schools, but the differences are that there are far less nuisance pupils, classes are smaller, the children are there longer (not just 9-3) and the children who struggle academically either can’t get in (entrance exams) or are kicked-out/asked to leave!

I went to a private school. As I wasn’t ever going to be Oxford / Cambridge fodder, I was effectively ignored in the latter years (O level years) whilst the flying stars got all the teacher treatment.

I failed most of my O levels and then re-sat them all after attending the local college for a year.

Their teaching methods suited me far more and it was like a light was switched on. I passed all 8 I took with good grades.

I can only put it down to better (free) teaching and possibly a slightly more mature me (but I doubt that) since I also found alcohol that year too.

It suits some kids better than others. It didn’t suit me.

The best thing about the private school went to was it was next door to a girls school whose 6th form we had a good go at going through, even when I left the private school! 😀

Aside from the facilities, surely the main attraction of a private school would be the class size. Smaller class sizes should theoretically translate to your child getting more attention from the teacher which will hopefully allow them to push him/herself or get the guidance required where they’re struggling to understand something. On that basis you are buying a better education for your child but there is certainly nothing stopping a child achieving great things through a state education.

It is something we’re also considering at the moment albeit our daughter is only 8 months old!

Edit and i would add that my sister in law is a teacher at a state school. In the class she teaches there are a couple of really disruptive kids which the school won’t expel, possibly because they’re already been shunted out of a previous school. It’s a new job for her and she frequently comes home quite upset because the unruly kids cause so much disruption she feels she isn’t able to teach the other children. Private school they would be booted but i suspect government stats affect what state schools can and can’t do.

that’s not saying much

I’m a man of few words – especially when only two are needed:

“Filthy tabs”

I went to a private school and if I have kids and can afford it I’d like them to go to one too. I enjoyed the experience and got some opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have had at state school. Weather I took full advantage of those opportunities is another matter. My parents gave me the choice and I chose private, mostly so I could play rugby instead of football.

The irony 🙂

Do any state schools have Eton Fives courts?

Anyone watch the series on Harrow School a few months ago? My Grandfather went there. I really enjoyed the series, very interesting to see what money can buy in a school. I went to fee paying schools and enjoyed the experience, though at the time didn’t really appreciate how state schools differed. It’s not all about teaching quality anyway – indeed not sure that some of my teachers were very good at teaching as bright kids don’t need so much help – well bright as they passed entrance exams anyway.

I went to private school and hated it. Even if could afford it I wouldn’t send my son to one.

+1 @unknown

Pretty much summed up what I was going to put down. I’m exceedingly grateful to my parents who made huge sacrifices to send my sister and I to private schools. If I can afford it at the time, then I’d have no hesitation what so ever in letting my son choose a private school. If we’re still living where we are right now (non-denominational supreme being forbid) then he’ll have no choice in the matter – it’s either that or one of Peter Vardy’s lovely fundamentalist “well evolution’s just a theory” academies 😯

the quality of teaching is the same as most state schools, but the differences are that there are far less nuisance pupils, classes are smaller, the children are there longer (not just 9-3) and the children who struggle academically either can’t get in (entrance exams) or are kicked-out/asked to leave!

from personal experience as a consumer, this is largely spot-on.

Some things only money can buy – and a good education is one of them.
In my opinion, ‘posh prejudice’ is just as bad as racism or homophobia. Just because my parents paid for my education does not mean I ‘bought’ my way into my university. I worked just as hard to get my grades

right so the better education was bought for you but you worked just as hard as others who got a worse education…yes money well spent there IMHO and both clauses applied to her clearly

Well either she’s worked harder and the education was no better than state, or the education was better than state and she worked just as hard (or the third option, she’s really lazy but the education was so far ahead that it compensated for it, but she’s at uni so lets assume she enjoys learning and put some effort in).

Wouldn’t bother me, if I lived somewhere nice I’d probabaly send any kids to state schools, if I was living somewhere like Middlesborough I’d probably send them to the private school. But that’s an extreme example, Teesside seemed split between those in really good jobs in the petrochemicals plants, and those who didn’t. The high income, coupled with very low house prices meant there seemed to be a lot of private schools.

if I lived somewhere nice I’d probabaly send any kids to state schools, if I was living somewhere like Middlesborough I’d probably send them to the private school

Classy.

The Tab is real but as the name suggests, articles are meant to be written in a certain style and provoke reaction. This being a case in point.

School prejudice is great isn’t it 😯 Love the idea that you would/should/could send a thick child to a private school – here’s an example of a Radley entrance paper (ok, its for a scholarship admittedly) in maths. Compare that with a GCSE taken three year and a half years later

http://www.radley.org.uk/userfiles/file/scholarship/2013/MathsII_2013.pdf

Love the way the first Q focuses on the target market that can afford to be there!!!! But things have moved on a lot since the days when a rich person could simply buy and expect a place. The interviews for the parents are grueling enough!!!! Then it’s the kids’ turn wi pre-selection exams a common feature in yr seven plus either CE or scholarships papers. It can be a gruelling year 7-8.

No easy answer. It depends on the child especially if it involves boarding. Have a look, do your research, talk to people, do the sums and then make YOUR decision. It’s a hell of a lot of money to get it wrong. Don’t fall for the trap that the fees guarantee Uni entrance, the first message that you will/should get from the start is that the singlest biggest factor determining exam success in the amount of hard work put in.

I read it as spoof but i do know people like this so it probably isn’t. I know a few teachers and the ones in the state sector are pretty scathing about private school teachers, i could send mine private i suppose but my kids appear pretty bright (to me) and their school is very good so i dont really see the point. There is mileage in the private ones having very good facilities (the best ones near us have amazing classrooms etc) but i also know people who have pulled their kids out as the local state school are pretty good. For me as long as my kids are progressing well with their education (which doesn’t stop when the leave the school gates) and are most importantly happy then i’ll carry on as we are. not much help just my view….

Depends on the local schools, and these days… house prices.

I’ve a friend who was sent to a (3k a year) private school in London due to concerns about gang problems at the local school, and a private education was more affordable than moving house to be in the catchment area of a decent one.

i’d send my kid to private school on the condition that the school was far enough away that they would have to board there, too….

however, i don’t want kids so hopefully the question should never come up…

I went to public school and I’m not sure how I turned out. I didn’t go to Oxbridge, although several of my classmates did. I didn’t get all As at A level, although a lot more of my classmates did.

To be honest though, I sort of enjoyed the teaching and appreciated that I got to do separate sciences instead of combined. I think the sport was a lot better too (despite me not being good at any of it until I got to six form, unless you count shooting as a sport).

The main advantage in my schooling was the continued focus on learning. From what I gathered from friends in state schools, there was not this emphasis.

Would I put my kids through it? Probably, but only if there was a positive difference compared to a local state school and if I thought the sprog would benefit from it.

Most state schools put their students through separate sciences these days; it’s one of the things we looked for when looking at when applying for our daughter starting this September.

She’ll be going to the same state comp that I and my wife went to.

miketually – lassy.

Selective quoting is funny.

Interestingly, some top blue-chip employers are now changing their selection processes to take on more state educated people, as they often find them more socially adept than their public school counterparts who’ve only ever mixed with a very narrow segment of society. It seems that the old emphasis on background and purely academic success is finally (and quite rightly) diminishing. Now, a growing focus on communication skills, flexibility and the ability to work alongside a wide range of people is boosting the prospects of those with more rounded backgrounds.

thisisnotaspoon – Member
funny

It is, isn’t it? 🙂

Wi – good points, but also put 10-12 adolescent boys all of whom are (actually) very different in a closed environment away from home,. The AQ * soon drops and people learn the importance of respect and getting on with their peers. They have to otherwise they face a very unhappy school life. Not saying that is exclusive to a private school, but the pressure is intensified IMO and that is another reason to check if it suits each individual child.

* swear filter avoidance admitted!!!

I must admit my spelling mistake above was quite amusing, my point stands though.

wl – do you have a source for that, genuine question? I’ve worked in HR and recruitment for blue chips and I’m currently studying for a Masters in Occupational Psychology and I’ve never heard of a selection process designed to favour a type of schooling. Selection is very much based on competencies and, where necessary, technical knowledge and those don’t favour state or privately educated candidates. Sometimes certain universities can be impressive (still wouldn’t be a deal-breaker), but I don’t know anyone who even looks at what school people went to.

I think it all depends on the local situation and how much money you have. Where I grew up the secondary schools were split into male and female only. The girls school was excellent, the boys was dire in all aspects. My mum was a part time teacher at both and said that there was no way she would let us be educated at the boys school. As a result my parents scrimped and saved to send my brother and I to the local rather minor private school. If we had been girls we would have been state educated.

The school was selective so all the people there were relatively bright and generally well behaved. Those that weren’t got the boot fast. From my perspective the private school gave me more support in the classroom than I would have had in the state system and outside of the classroom there was so much more in terms of clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities (fully equipped workshops with CNC machines, welding gear, etc. I was in heaven!). Would I have done as well at a state school? Who knows, but probably not. I was certainly more independent and mature when I left school than my state secondary educated class mates from the village primary school where we started out.

There is also a big difference, finacially and for individual outcomes, between Eton, Harrow and the like and the minor public schools dotted throughout the country.

Looking at the state schools near me now, if I could afford it, I’d send my kids private without a second thought. Doesn’t sit well with my rather left wing ethics but given how the government treat the schooling system I don’t want to take the chance.