Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

That primary schools in Essex don’t have classes of 45 kids

85 replies

Dabralor · 07/12/2025 12:57

Hello. Just read the most bizarre article in the Sunday times about a family - they pay 45 grand a year to fund their children through private school, supposedly to avoid them having to use the state sector where there are ‘often’ 45 children in a class. Surely this can’t be true? I’ve never heard of this is 25 years teaching primary, albeit not in Essex.

(For those concerned, the family can no longer afford gym membership, beauty treatments or more than one foreign holiday a year. And moving to Dubai is not an option.)

OP posts:
TheNightingalesStarling · 07/12/2025 13:10

Our neighbour didn't send her child to the local school as she honestly believed it had 2 classes of 60 childrn per year.

It had 60 children over 2 classes per year. Actually often 25/26 or so. The "small" school she chose often went to 32/33 in Juniors.

RaininSummer · 07/12/2025 13:09

Maybe it's 1973 where they live as there were 42 kids in my class that year. It was a squash.

MojoMoon · 07/12/2025 13:07

I also doubt that kids are regularly being taught in classes of 45 in Essex. I know schools just over the border in East London and that isn't happening apart from perhaps the odd occasion where they do sports or drama as a two classes together but that is a specialist teacher accompanied by at least one specialist teaching assistant plus any usual SEND TSAs.
They did some massive floor mosaic art project as 2 class group with external specialist teacher. I assume the class teachers were doing prep time during it.

Original poster
Dabralor · 07/12/2025 13:07

I do wonder if it’s made up. Unfortunately my husband has spilled olive oil all over the article but it is suspicious that the names have been changed 🧐

That primary schools in Essex don’t have classes of 45 kids
OP posts:
Original poster
Dabralor · 07/12/2025 13:05

@Octavia64 that does sound really hard. Where did you put them all?!
The most I’ve had was 32 and it was reception so they were free flowing a lot of the time.
But 45?! How can that be legal, health and safety/staff ratios wise?

OP posts:
MojoMoon · 07/12/2025 13:04

I love the "real life" personal finance stories in the Sunday Times but the ones in the Telegraph are even more mental. They are fabulously tone deaf.

I'm torn between assuming they do it because one of the couple has an internet social media presence they are hoping to boost or they are entirely made up.

Private Eye has called out the Telegraph for making up some of them in the past - they've been forced to delete a couple when shamed about it enough.

Octavia64 · 07/12/2025 13:03

The most I’ve ever taught was a class of 36. It was quite challenging.

Original poster
Dabralor · 07/12/2025 13:02

It’s a sorry tale for sure.
I do genuinely feel sorry for them if they have made so many sacrifices on the basis of stats that are just obviously not true. However, I don’t know anything about Essex so maybe it is?!

OP posts:
HollyChristmas · 07/12/2025 13:01

Would you even get 45 kids , 45 chairs and enough desk space in a classroom ?

BobblyBobbleHat · 07/12/2025 12:59

I'd guess not, I am concerned about the poor ones only having one foreign holiday a year though. How on earth are they surviving?