"The great private school rip-off"

[CountessDracula]

Interesting article here

[JJ]

It's an interesting article. It's especially interesting to me that all (or most) of the perfectly good primary schools mentioned are C of E schools.

[evil smile]

[bundle]

free schools? surely they're the ones we pay our taxes to run?

[muminlondon]

I found this journalist's tone intensely irritating. The Ofsted report for a primary school near where I live specifically mentions the disruption caused by parents taking their kids out of the school after 2 years to send them to private schools. But it's not the effect on the school and pupils left behind, or even the emotional distress her child might endure at having to start a new school that she bothers about, it's just the MONEY!

[CountessDracula]

Quite

[CountessDracula]

She does come across as a total moron it must be said

[libb]

I agree. Were we meant to be feeling sympathy for her at some point? I can't say that I did.

[Kayleigh]

She sounds bloody pompous to me. Lucky her that she has got a choice. Silly cow.

[muminlondon]

It's a privilege to be able to send your children to private schools - well, only 5% of the population do so - but she writes as if buying education is as commonplace as buying any commodity. Very silly cow.

[OldieMum]

I wonder whether she is really a passionate defender of the state system, trying to get people to think about its benefits while they laugh. Since it's the Evening Standard, probably not and she's just a moron.

[enid]

and her point is..?

[CountessDracula]

Heh heh I knew this would prompt some interesting comments. I sent it to dh and he was suitably withering about her too!

[tamum]

My heart bleeds

[OldieMum]

Actually, DH, who is an economist, has written a paper about school choice. Our moron's article fits with his model, in which people invest in private education only if they think it gives their children an advantage at the next stage. If it doesn't give little Tarquin an advantage when he applies to Oxbridge, they will stop investing.

[Blu]

My irritation threshold was breached by the first para - the 'faded polyester sweatshirts' comment made it quite unreadable!

[tamum]

Oh me too Blu, I had tears springing to my eyes at that point, thinking that this is how people view my children

[fio2]

oh pomp on...m,y daughters school has beacon status, arent we the lucky ones !

[muminlondon]

So what about the idea of exempting state school pupils from university tuition fees? Would that have the woman counting her pennies and doing a cost-benefit analysis (and satisfaction of a bargain)?

[Flossam]

Why does there have to be the two systems? Why can't life be nice and fair and simple and everyone have the same chance in life?

[fio2]

tamum your children look beautiful in their school uniforms

[bundle]

her children changed midstream. are they fish?

[CountessDracula]

Maybe we should send her this thread

[tamum]

Oh thanks fio You've brought tears to my eyes agin now!

[Blu]

She's EVEN managed to put me off Toast - and I got the best pair of trousers ever from there last year! DAMN her!

[tamum]

Oldiemum, I think that's a very interesting thing about the way university entrance is going. Certainly at ours I can't see that people who are privately educated are going to have much, if any, advantage for entrance. How long will that take to filter through, I wonder? I also wonder if there will be an increase in pupils leaving private schools to go to state 6th form colleges so that they are applying "from" the state sector. It's going to be very interesting.

[tamum]

Oh come now Blu, don't let her get to you to that extent