Salt burn makes me worry for poor kids at ‘posh’ unis.

I went to Cambridge c.15 years ago and really don’t recognise the social elitism shown in films etc. from my experience.

I barely ever had a conversation about what school someone went to and couldn’t have said for sure for most people. The only people whom I heard talk about this were those who were proud of having gone to a failing state school or as part of diversity schemes. Most students were quite left wing - perhaps in a slightly champagne socialist idealistic way but it certainly precluded boasting about your family’s yacht / country pile / helicopter etc. Added to this there are a lot of international students and a lot who are neurodiverse or just quirky.

I maybe just didn’t move in the right circles but think the Saltburn type experience will be easily avoided at most universities.

Plus a lot of students from private schools or relatively privileged backgrounds are very normal and will have had all sorts of life experience between them.

Don't feel concerned.

Its a movie that bears no resemblance to reality whatsoever. If there's elitism at Oxbridge, its academic not social - and has been that way for decades.

My daughter is state school educated and now at Oxford. From a school that rarely sends anyone there. She is having an amazing time there. Most of her friends are very rich and privately educated but it hasn’t mattered.

I thought that too on reading this thread. 😀
Wasn’t Oliver a dreadful character !

If you're basing your worries on what happens in the film, you should be more worried about the rich kids 😂

Was it one of the self catering halls? Do you mind mentioning which one? My child is thinking of self catering at Exeter. Is the food any good?

you too ☀️

ah family money 😆

joke!!

odd

Oliver was a total weirdo though.

sold a couple of weeks ago?

2 weeks ago you owned a farm 🤔

and why would you Pm to ask if i knew you otherwise?

why did you PM to ask if i knew you then?

why did you refer to “our farm” on another thread then?

This is very true as many families choose private education over expensive cars or holidays etc and really struggle with the fees.

There’s also a huge range in private schools. People hear private school and think Eton/Harrow/boarding school etc but they’re really not all like that.

I was privately educated but from a ‘normal’ background (certainly no stately home). My parents had average jobs (mum worked in a school supporting a child with SEN, dad worked as a factory inspector, grandparents chipped in with fees etc), for holidays we mostly visited an aunty who lived by the seaside with maybe a trip to a villa in Portugal every other year or two depending on how work was for my dad. I’m not denying that I was privileged to go to my school but it was nothing like the grand public schools that a character like Felix would have gone to. There were some there with more money but most families seemed to have standard (admittedly middle class) jobs and lifestyles. I’d certainly done normal things like go to a supermarket, chores around the house, Saturday jobs etc that people have accused privately educated people of never having done before university on this thread - though admittedly I’d gone back into the state system for a levels so not sure which stereotype box I fit into/not sure I’d have counted as a private school pupil for uni admissions even though it had been the bulk of my education. If anything (and still using Saltburn as an example) Oliver’s home looked way posher than mine!

Again, not denying I’ve been lucky enough to have the upbringing I’ve had but the stereotype that private school = Boris Johnson types isn’t necessarily true (even if it is for a few) and if it’s putting people off applying for university etc as they’re intimidated by the thought of socialising with the stereotype then it’s harmful and needs to be addressed.

No they aren’t categories! Sorry, this was following on from sonme discussion upthread and I was only meaning psychos can pop up in any class. The middle child syndrome just meant they don’t fit as rich or poor just as middle child doesn’t sit as youngest or oldest. But my point really was problems like Saltburn are caused by rare personality disorders that I don’t think link to class particularly. So in short, in answer to your question, no they don’t have a greater tendency. I don’t think any “category” of person does.

agreed

But come on…

Farmers are not all rich! I live in a farming community and there are plenty of people struggling, especially with recent price increases for agricultural inputs.

What on earth is a 'middle-class, middle child psycho'? Have you just invented this category or are middl-class middle children proven to have a greater tendency towards psychopathy than first or last sibling?

you own a farm Op
You’re hardly living on a deprived council estate

Nchanged

my son is about to finish first year at Exeter doing physics so I will tell you his experience

in his halls he was the only state school student. He was the only one doing a science degree

they do way more things than him but in reality his course is full on and he doesn’t have time

they drink a lot more and seem quite laidback, possible because not meal planning and worrying about money

when you join your societies you meet a wide range of people and more likely to make your friends on course/societies