Wasting water in a heatwave. Private schools keeping grounds green with sprinklers..

I’d see it a bit differently. Most private schools with fields have either a borehole or rainwater collection.

They’ve made provision to avoid straining the mains supply, and because it works out much cheaper.

Schools that haven’t are where we should look for something wrong. Where are the incentives failing such that those choices (good for planet and for budgets) aren’t being made?

It could be of course that they’ve decided that green grass (or any grass) is a luxury their students don’t need. In which case again, is that because the wrong choices are being made by adminstrators or because that’s all the public will pay for.

It’s a useful demonstration of the extent to which they consider the needs of the community vs their own wants, and the values they pass on to their pupils.

The hosepipe ban is for domestic use only, businesses can carry on using water - so many need it for their livlihood. Private schools are businesses, so they can water whatever they like. Rich privilige yet again.

Indeed. It’s very common for this to be the case for private schools, and not just the larger ones. The amount of water needed to maintaining sports infrastructure and grounds is huge, and hugely expensive. If you have a borehole, however, you can extract 20,000 liters a day for free (more than that requires a license, but it still works out to be a lot cheaper than being on the mains supply).

It’s very unlikely that they’re flouting the ban.

If they have a private source of water they can.

A lot of private schools have their own water supply and are thus exempt from the ban.

Car washers mostly reuse water.

Once it hits the car it gets syphoned off through a catch pot, small reservoir to filters & pumped back at the car.

Indeed. But the reason people aren't complaining about state schools doing this, only a private school, is because a state school just wouldn't, not because of some vendetta.

Apparently, you’re exempt first 4wks after laying turf. I’m moving into a new build next month so hoping we will have lots of rain.

Yes of course, what I was responding to was the query about why it was relevant to include in the OP that this is a private school. I was suggesting that state schools wouldn’t do it because they’re under the education authority cosh.

State schools are not businesses whereas private schools are. Part of that includes their grounds being maintained.

Ooo look another private school bashing thread

Because, as before, state schools aren't doing this. It is so very far from what state schools can afford to do or prioritise, it's laughable.

But they don’t have their own water supply and never have.

Yes that would be laughable. But that's not what I said, is it? You've over egged it considerably to make it sound ridiculous.
You asked why the fact its a private school matters.
This is a discussion board, where issues tend to arise from posts. The issues arising from a private school doing this and a state school doing it will be different. If the OP had said 'a school' then no doubt people would have talked about the irresponsibility of the local authority.the hypocrisy of 'the government' and such like. As its a private school the discussion will naturally touch on entitlement and privilege.

The OP seems to be saying that the schools she’s seen are breaching the ban (on the assumption that they actually are doing that).

In which case they run the risk of action against them. Just like anybody else. But it’s still irrelevant that they’re private schools. Unless of course fee paying education is truly a source of unmitigated evil.

I’m sorry but the idea that a load of unwashed Tiny Tims are peering at sprinklers through the gates of the private school and quietly quivering with anger at the injustice of the world is laughable.

I think the issue is its being done for asthetics rather than utility. It's not a sports field, its a front lawn where greeness serves only to make it look pleasing. I think it grates because it serves as another example of inequality.

Ordinary people are showering standing in buckets, avoiding car washes so those businesses lose income, doing their bit, either due to the law or due to social responsibility. Meanwhile, this school obviously believes the privileged are entitled to look at a green front lawn. So I guess it is relevant its a private school because it raises deeper issues for people.
Though I'm certain if it was a state school there'd be plenty saying the DC didn't need green grass, the school should be setting an example, and it was a waste of tax payers money.

Or they aren’t on mains water, and as such are exempt from the ban. It’s not unusual for private schools to have their own water supply.

OP has merely assumed they aren’t following the rules.

Ok, but as people have said, it’s not necessarily mains fed.

And in any case, if people are flouting the ban the amount of water being used wrongly by private schools will be negligible compared to misuse by hundreds of thousands of self-important garden owners, clubs and others.

I just don’t get the need for you to pick out private schools.

As far as I understood it - but am absolutely happy to be corrected - the same rules apply to state and private schools about water use during a ban. I googled it and that suggested my understanding was right.

I take your point, but isn’t it that local authority schools would have to comply and be seen to comply with national and local requirements? Private schools aren’t subject to the same authority

Yes, I’ve seen the fuming about disability and hosepipes. Quite funny in its own way. Like a sort of little crew of female Alf Garnetts moaning about ‘special treatment’.

But I still cannot see what the conceivable relevance of private schools is to this subject. They’re only doing what any school or sports club can do. It doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference that they charge the parents.

There's been loads of threads about other people arguably being irresponsible with water. This time the incident involved a private school. I think its a stretch to say the school is being singled out. Most of the threads I've seen have been bleating about how unfair it is that disabled people can use hose pipes to water their garden and disabled children are 'allowed' paddling pools.