AIBU to question rising private school fees amid declining GCSE results

The indie I work at has had the best results ever.

It’s a clever cohort that’s gone through although we are not selective and take children with EHCPs and a full range of needs.

One thing indies can do is offer international GCSEs that have coursework elements that current GCSE exam boards do not. (Thanks Michael Gove). This does help children know they have already bagged so many marks before the exams and obviously, this reduces the number of exams they sit.

Indies are charging more because of VAT and an increase in employer NI costs but a good indie is still worth the money for many children.

Lots of people are obsessed with exam results alone. Life is about more than exam results on a piece of paper.

Just for balance though, the picture is the opposite for A levels (private v state gap has widened further)

https://inews.co.uk/news/education/private-schools-vat-widening-a-level-results-gap-4708168?srsltid=AfmBOoq0kT5RWUG5cBjUioq6A7tFTcwwjtwCokUscqx4iqCDD-eh25Dm

Choose the best school for your child. Different schools suit different children.

Right 😂

Is this really about the VAT?

Agree. I replied to a post recently highlighting how its always state school supporters sticking knives into private education.

There are so many variables though. "Private/Independent" schools, if good, offer so so much more than just the 'education', its the opportunities, the connections, the confidence to name just a few things. However, there are few grammar schools in a lot of areas, those that do have them have such stringent entry requirements so theyre getting the "best of the best" so it is no wonder they get decent grades. There are some outstanding state schools in London for example who out do most of the country but equally they have some decent kids, they're not the ones who have zero ambitions.
In our local area the local state schools excitedly advertised 70% of kids got 9-4 in their GCSE, meaning a while 30% didnt.... 15% got 9-7 (which is good) but the local Independent school advertised 58% 9-8.....

So whatever the media and society keep telling us, there are differences, private schools are not going to cease to exist, especially in our or our children's life times. I do think as a whole there will be a bigger difference between education levels. Its a postcode lottery, like the healthcare system is.

OP, you haven't actually answered what the point of your thread is. It does appear that its yet another post to try stick the knife in to private schools. You make your choices re. children's education, let other parents make their own. Its funny how it's always vitriol going one way through with state throwing daggers at private. As many people have said, grades are not the reason the majority choose private. If the GCSE attainment gap is closing, great - perhaps state schools are improving and that should be celebrated, not used to knock private provision.

I’m in an affluent area and some of the schools here get the same level of grades at 7-9 as the private schools and obviously the grammars get even higher. It certainly isn’t worth sending them for the grades round here.

But I can imagine that is completely the opposite in other areas.

I am not sure what this thread is really about but private school is a choice and only for the few.

It "can", but too often it doesn't.

Lots of parents send their kids to private schools due to special needs, disabilities, removing them from crap comps, etc., rather than only for top grades.

My plasterer took his son out of a crap comp at age 14 as he was in with the "wrong" crowd, getting into trouble, etc., and he actually wanted to change but couldn't do it when surrounded by his "friends" at school. They sent him to a private school that had a good reputation for "troubled" pupils, and he turned around to get decent GCSEs and A levels and went to Uni, just basically from a change of friendship group and being a boarding school (in the middle of the countryside!), so less chance to get back with the wrong crowd in his home town.

State school can also deliver an 'enriching experience' and happy, confident students

But a third of a small percentage of pupils is still a small number.

Maybe some private pupils aren’t as motivated because they won’t need exam results because of the family cushion, so why slog?

Added to ambitious, bright, supportive but poorer families now using YouTube tutorials, bbc bitesize, can see that there are still benefits to taking education seriously rewards are still out there.

There could also be the changing in middle class household incomes coming more from non-traditional trades, meaning there might not be quite as many with as much traditional academic support in private schools?

Or teaching standards and methods in comprehensives are improving to level academic standards?

There will be a myriad of factors.

On the basis of the only two I know of this year. Ds' friend (on spectrum) taking GCSEs at top independent school got 7 sevens, an eight and 2 nines. Parents are thrilled.

My ds, took a'levels, got AAB, against a forecast of ABB. and his first choice of uni. Not that grades were my motive for sending ds to independent. It was more to get him away from bullying, disruption and massive class sizes.To see him happy.

So regardless of what the state sector is doing, independent school parents I'm aware of are still happy. I wouldn't change anything.

I don’t really understand the point of this thread or the other one you started?
What are you trying to say?
Surely it’s more that State School results are improving rather than Private’s declining which most people would agree is a good thing? And I say that as someone who has shelled out £££ on my DCs secondary education.

This is really interesting! I haven’t read the full study so not sure of their methods but would be cautious about using the top tenth as a proxy for wealth and whether it is a very reliable measure. I’d be interested to know where the rest of the private population fell (eg if they’re 10-20 then that’s telling) Perhaps looking at where the private school population sits within the ‘deciles’ of wealth would be more illuminating. Certainly if it was the case that 80% of private schools were in lower bounds than would be a compelling argument, for example. But as I say I’m on my phone so haven’t deep dived into it!

The other possibility is that more students from comprehensive schools are using online resources, there are loads, self motivated to bring their grades up.

Using the internet as a fantastic tool it can be so that parental financial or otherwise support is not as essential as long as you have wi-fi access.

Which is surely a good thing, don’t we need the more academic children from different social economic backgrounds getting access to higher education options for a more fair and balanced society going forward?