Private schools and future privilege

I think parenting has more to do with it
It just so happens that most kids at public school tend to have parents that value academic achievements.

I went to state and I am quite academic but that's because my mother instilled it in me. Many others at my school didn't get the same support and have ended up as single parents on benefits or low income shop workers.

Still early days perhaps.

*without

Not as much hard work as the child at state secondary that gets top marks with the best teachers and resources.

Not really. Public school' refers to a very small upper upper echelon in private schools. Anyone calling their local independent school a public school is just cringe

My brother went to a private school and it was the making of him.

We're very ordinary middle class immigrants and the private school was funded by my grandmother as my parents couldn't really afford it. My brother made amazing friends there with whom he is still extremely close. They are all doing exceptionally well now (many of them came from privilege and wealth already and one was Royalty). They all have amazing careers now. They are all really great guys.

My brother went on to Cambridge/Harvard and has been on a six figure salary since leaving uni, as have his friends in their fields. His best friend from school is an engineer for a very well-known F1 team.

But not all private schools are the same and I certainly don't feel like private education has been worth it for my own teen.

Money buys advantages

Very popular thinking in certain circles.

Of course it's diverse. It depends what kind of diversity matters to you. As a BME person, ethnic diversity matters more to me than income diversity because that will have a greater impact on my dc's school experience than income. To a white person, income diversity matters more because it is assumed ethnicity is not something your dc will struggle with, it is whether other kids come from similar income brackets that concerns you.

It’s not really diverse though is it as only those above a certain income bracket can get in.

Slightly wrong there @Reugny . We changed to private for the ethinic diversity. With private school you can choose to attend the most diverse school you like. With state school you have to hope the school in your catchment is diverse. In our experience, the catchments were whiter than white (majority Italian). Were delighted when we saw how racially diverse the local private was. My dc have mixed with so many different nationalities no one blinks an eye. At the local state schools they stood out like a sore thumb. DS was one of of only 3 BME kids in the entire school throughout his time there.

this mattered more to us than whether the teachers were black or not. However, they did have black (just 1), Italian, french and South African teachers but the student body made up for it.

All depends where your state school is.

Apart from all the medics, lawyers, business entrepreneurs, artists and a million other careers state school kids follow. Have you visited a decent state school recently ?!?!?

I dunno we don’t pay for it but we are still pretty bloody interested (and invested) in our girls education! Dd1 got all 8s and 9s last summer after working very hard (as did we to support her). Can’t help but resent the implication that only those that pay for it are “interested” !

Apologies that was in follow up to someone and misquoted

Family relatives have a 5000 acre estate between the Midlands and Wales and yes senior level in the city previously eg £400k plus salary

Outsourcing parenting is better than not parenting at all.

Not in any way saying all private school parents are like that many of my friends and siblings have gone private - but the idea that only one sector of society neglect their children just isn’t correct.

@TheaBrandt I'm sure that's true but not for the super selectives in my experience and when you're paying a lot of money you take even more of an interest in school.

But I have friends who have so much money that they see their local non selective school almost as their local comp. And it doesn't matter how their DCs do at school as they have trust funds and don't need to work. We're definitely not in that category!

How do you think HR departments and procurement departments work?
Usually trying to clear up the mess made by the Sir Bufton Tuftons (or Baroness Mones) in charge.

If you think people get hired or win contracts on the basis purely of social connections you are very mistaken.

Have you ever worked in the City - banking, insurance etc? Or had any dealings with the CLA?

I agree. I've found myself almost hiding the fact I went to a top public school - sad really. X

One senior partner I worked with said being a mother wasn’t her “skill set” so she would pay the best nanny she could to do all that.

@iloveburmese3 yes I think you're right, in some professions. But the old boys network is still alive and kicking in some areas. It's often client driven, law firms hire people their clients feel comfortable with and often it's "people like us" especially corporate law.

Florenz you are very naive. Not giving a shit about your children is not confined to the lower echelons. A very wise lovely experienced teacher who worked at state and private came across many sad children at the private schools she worked at whose parents had “outsourced” parenting - paid the money and then limited involvement. I had colleagues of that mindset in the City. And I am on a list for hosting teens constantly get asked to host boarding school kids over the holidays. Just because you pay out doesn’t mean you are a good involved parent.

Just to make a quick point- private education almost goes against you these days. Everyone is so woke if you have a hint of a posh accent you aren't hired in some places and actually I think the next PM might be from a comp school. It's like some businesses are punishing the privileged (not all, of course Goldman Sachs and PE firms still hire based on degrees and edu...) but if you're posh and work at a magazine or fashion brand likely you'll be made redundant and replaced with someone less privileged these days.