To think if you can no longer afford school fees...

That wasn't quite what I was saying. But never mind. These threads are amazing! There's no need to send your child to private school and we need you to pay extra tax into the state system to make it work. Which is it?

"People who succeed academically in state schools, it's generally down to the parents putting in a lot of time and effort at home - at least, at primary level."

Wow. This is a really ill thought out statement.

"It’s also a much higher proportion of pupils that do A levels at private school - more like 18% - so it depends how the BMJ defines private school educated in its figures."

So private school children are still over represented?

But here's the secret no one tells you about medical places, over 50% of students studying medicine have parents who are doctors.

To do A-Levels you need 5 passes at GCSE (9-4 grades).

What were you trying to say?

My reply was to the poster claiming that their medic friends had to send their child(ren) to private school to achieve the level of education required for healthcare professions.

Do you think that’s true?

You said that they need to send their children private to achieve the level of education to do a medical degree. Which isn't true.

My best friend got into Cambridge from a state school. Both her parents attended too. Her Dad was a lecturer at Cambridge too.

Ah, you are that poster.

Her younger sister also got in. All attended state schools.

And I'm not educated myself either, I left school with about 3 GCSEs and am a full time working lone parent, so I had very little to do with my DS's academic success. He put the effort in because it was his goal.

“I would say however that this is such a straightforward case of unintended but entirely predictable consequences:

1. Add VAT to school fees.

1. The very wealthy people who can afford it keep their kids there and take it on the chin/tax plan it away. This increases the exclusivity of these schools and furthers the divide between have and have nots.

1. Those people who can no longer afford the fees remove their kids and enter the state system, putting a greater burden on the system as a whole.

1. The people referred to in 3 will pay for extra coaching, and use the money saved from not paying school fees to move to areas with the best state schools. This will raise house prices in these areas and squeeze affordability further for those on lower incomes.

1. The children of those adversely affected by 4 will then have no choice but to move to areas where house prices are cheaper and schools are likely not as high performing.

1. The children who used to go to private schools now dominate the attendees of the best performing state schools.

1. The very wealthy have experienced an increase of the exclusivity of the service they pay for, with little financial impact on them.

1. The children who previously would have benefitted from being able to attend a local high performing state school are now unable to do so and thus are disadvantaged where previously they would not have been.

It's wrong headed in the extreme and potentially a very costly political move for the Labour party.”

Are they all leaving because of this? Or has the CoL crisis hit those parents pockets too? Are there other reasons?

Again these schools cannot be financially viable if losing a few pupils means they end up closing.

I hope your DD manages to find another job she enjoys.

I've 13 GCSEs. 11 sat at school and 2 taken as evening course in Year 10 at local FE college. Computer Science GCSE that my state school couldn't afford & German GCSE.

That’s precisely what will happen. I don’t know why more people can’t see that.

I think you think they will magically slide into the best state schools. Those places are held by students currently attending.

Many will move at natural transition points so will be applying with everyone else. It’s happening already. Many grammar/selective school catchments have already shrunk because of an increase in applications for Y7.

Another lad got into Cambridge. His Dad's a taxi driver and his Mum a book-keeper.

I meant that IN THEIR SITUATION they needed to go private to meet the demands of the job and the (often very high) academic aspirations they have for their children. As well as all the extra-curricular sport, music etc they want them to do. Maybe if they lived in a different area with a different local school they would have arranged things differently. What I find so objectionable on these threads is the refusal to believe that you don't have insight into other people's circumstances, aspirations and finances.

In my neighborhood, the closest state primary school has no after school care or clubs which means it ends at 3. I’m not sure what working parents can afford being off at 3pm everyday for school pickup or the cost of a nanny.

the other close state schools are massively oversubscribed and yes those are primary. And those children have multiple hours a week of tutoring and private lessons. This isn’t the rich tax people seem to think it will be- it will just create more divide

Most GCSE passes go down South anyway.

But that’s not what you previously said, was it?

You'll care when doctors leave the country or quit their job. They're already pissed off at their pay and conditions, now you 'couldn't care less' that they have to pay thousands of pounds extra tax to get their children educated to a similar standard they needed to get into healthcare. At some point they're going to decide that they 'couldn't care less' about you.

Nothing there about wanting extra curriculars or wrap around care, was there?

But nice to point out the ‘very high academic aspirations’ of private school parents. It’s not unique to them BTW.

1. Most people who have their children in private school are in the top income decile. This group here you have identified will make up for more than 95% of the PE students.
2. Yes, there will be some movement, but it won't be massive, see 1.
3. People on this level of income by and large live in the most in demand and most expensive areas, the aren't going to drive prices up by moving in, they already live there.
4. See 3, the impact of this will be minor.
5. Privately educated children make up such a small % of the population of school students that this isn't possible. As private schools take children from wide catchments, any impact of migration would be widely dispersed. Please don't pretend this is about care for poorer students that go to state school.

Ugh. So we don't have high academic aspirations in state school. We all just get pregnant at 16 and live on the rock n roll...

Of course, they are the high earners - how else would you afford 41K per annum?

@DingDongWitchDingDong you are just rambling.