How many kids have left the school? (VAT)

No, you've read too much into it. I'm not saying its impossible for that to be true at state but again, anecdotally, it has been my experience both personally and from 30 years of teaching that this CAN happen and frequently does. I currently teach least half a dozen who came to my school after being bullied in state comps for this reason. And yes, there have been comments on this thread, not quite as nasty as some but the general theme has been there. I'm not scrolling back to find them but it would be disingenuous for you to deny that its not an incredibly common thing.

Anything like that on this thread? I must have missed it
@CurlewKate

Just because you haven’t seen any on this thread doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. You are on every single thread about private v state, so you must have seen the numerous sneers and jibes at privately educated children.
I agree it’s certainly not acceptable to sneer at state educated children - so why is it acceptable to do the same to those who go to private schools?

@RhaenysRocks You said yourself “One of the things I love about teaching in the private sector is that it’s not uncool to be clever, to be aspirational or to be a little quirky and different.” Which certainly suggests that could not happen in a state school…..

Anything like that on this thread? I must have missed it.

Our prep school numbers have gone up by about 20%. We've recruited a large proportion of dcs from another local prep which closed. Also quite a few families returning from the ME, and US expats who dislike the political climate there. My youngest is in the nursery and there is a high number of baby siblings born this year (girl siblings tend to enrol in the same school) - a localised trend, as onlies and declining birth rates are the norm here (inner London).

State school acceptances have gone up this year amongst the Year 6 leavers - most dcs still continue to independent schools but this year there have been 35% rather than 25%ish going to state schools (grammars and top comps). In the past pupils would generally still opt for a top indie rather than a grammar if getting offers from both, as facilities and class sizes are better, but that seems to be changing.
So there is definitely a pressure on places in the top state schools.

Sorry, but come on. Every single thread on this topic includes incredibly offensive statements about entitled little Tabithas and Tarquins, precious darlings, unqualified teachers in independents which is very rarely the case these days. Sometimes really vile, nasty things about children. Of course many kids thrive and fo brilliantly in many state schools, but that doesn't mean what I posted upthread is untrue.

I've worked in both sectors. No statement is true for any total sector. Some schools, some teachers, are shit. Some kids are entitled, some are bullying thugs...across both sectors. Anecdotal comments are just that and prove no universal truth.

That's not a state schools problem, sadly many private schools have serious issues with bullying too.

Private schools are some of the worst for bullying in my personal experience.

Yep. I think some people just don’t see how offensive to state schools, children and parents they are being. I also don’t think they realise that, for example, bullying happens in all schools. I remember a poster telling me that I was “throwing my children to the wolves” by sending them to state school. I think she was genuinely concerned because I had talked about them being musical!

A lot of grammar schools had quite ancient foundations, so preexisted state involvement in and funding of education. In the post-war era the government offered the Direct Grant scheme whereby the schools received some central government funding in return for admitting a minimum of 25% of pupils from local primary schools. The local as l education authority usually funded an additional 25% on the same per place rate as they paid for their education at state schools. The remaining 50% of places went to children whose parents paid the full fees, usually after attending a private prep school.

There were also voluntary aided schools that were largely but not wholly state funded. They usually had an endowment and were run autonomously, but didn’t charge fees to any pupils.

These schemes provided huge social mobility, with many children becoming the first university graduates in their family. Consequently, almost all the retired people in my village attended university. Many from very humble origins. The state didn’t dictate class size or the number of subjects a pupil studied etc. All that was left to the school to decide. It provided choice at no additional cost to the tax payer.

Then you’re rather easily offended. It’s no secret that state schools have been underfunded for many years, leading to situations where a lot of children, especially those who are ND had to be removed from school for homeschooling. If your dd is doing so well even though she’s not ‘typical’ then that’s great but it doesn’t disprove the fact that many of us have kids who fell through the cracks or would fall through the cracks in state provisions.

My dd is 'geeky' in a comprehensive and not bullied, due to get 8s and 9s at GCSE. The teachers are very good and committed. Pretty offensive comments about state schools tbh.

I agree!

Absolutely. Assuming academic also means NT, confident, sociable and not at all 'geeky'. In some, not all, state schools that would have them marked out for bullying from day 1. One of the things I love about teaching in the private sector is that its not uncool to be clever, to be aspirational or to be a little quirky and different.

I would argue that academic kids do well anywhere. It’s the ones who need smaller class sizes who thrive better in private schools.

My nephew got 9s and 8s in his GCSEs in a very mediocre state school.

Nope, New Labour. New Labour also removed the assisted places scheme where bright children could sit an exam and have their fees fully or partly funded by the Government at independent schools. They banned the creation of new grammar schools.

New Labour were actually quite a moderate Labour government as well.

Major challenges for education in Wales | Institute for Fiscal Studies

Doesn't Wales have the lowest educational attainment in UK?

Not to mention destroying opportunities for young people when they do leave education !

Weren't tuition fees the Con -Lib coalition?

Why is it offensive and who is offensive to? central control of education and reducing education options is a key feature of left wing Governments along with things like language policing and high taxation, the more autocratic the further the reach.

I can tell you are going for some sort of gotcha here, but are you genuinely arguing Labour did not attempt to destroy the grammar system? I’m assuming they’re also not trying to destroy the independent sector currently? That they didn’t introduce tuition fees for university?

Here is a bit of reading on Labour’s history with the grammar system:

https://education-uk.org/articles/31labourgrammar.html

Sadly the link you posted won’t open, so I can’t comment on it. Pretty sure your somewhat offensive summation does not accurately reflect its wording, though! Out of interest, do you know which party used their time in Government to dismantle the grammar school system? Or, as it should be more accurately named, the Secondary Modern system….

I agree with everything you’re saying, but it will 100% be on the agenda. The push is very much for one size fits all with SEN going mainstream etc. and any education system that is standing out as successful will be in the firing line

Here is a link to a Labour policy document from 1965 https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/sixties-britain/comprehensive-schools/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
You’ll notice exactly the same nonsense arguments that were used to shrink grammar schools back then, have been used 60 years later to shrink the independent sector: Essentially ‘me jealous, me smash, me make equal, me find something else to make equal’

I won’t name names- but there are some seriously whacky posts on this thread!

It will be heartbreaking when the state schools are overflowing with the ex private school children

@Labelledelune why will it be heartbreaking?

They won’t be. There is a drop in the birth rate.
There are plenty of state schools closing, who will be very pleased to have more pupils.