Postcode lottery. Does where you live really make such a difference to how you educate your DC?

Yes, I've never understood how magically transforming a school into an "Academy" is supposed to make it better. Nice new uniforms and new head and new paint - big deal. It starts from the assumption that the school is always the problem, and never the kids. On the first day of term the new head in the "new" school still has to work with the same raw material.

Not that many people here go private, far more common at the other end of town where my (more affluent) academic colleagues live.

But we've recently seen a similar what's-in-a-name-thing working locally. Local schools are not actually particularly dire, but when the council secondary was made into a (non-selecting) academy run by a religious group, dd's friend's mum was adamant that her dd had to go there because an academy had got to be better than a bog standard school. It was our catchment school so I had been to the open evening and was not impressed. This academy is the first time we have actually had school pupils out of hand, rampaging through the school breaking things. And by the sounds of it, not learning an awful lot.

I could see it coming. But dd's friend's mum thought it was all in the name.

Moral: always look at the actual place and speak to the actual people.

Bristol Cathedral and Colston Girls have Academy status. Selective, but don't charge fees.

....absolutely right, ILMD!

Prior to the opening of Redland Green, Felicity and Oscar had to take their chances in schools peopled by Kane and Kaylee. How simply awful.

...so, a good proportion of those that could afford to chose the private option. Had everyone in this area used the existing state provision, then I suspect that the social mix would have been less homogenous, and the academic results better.

....and yes, the fact that the new school was oversubscribed before opening can only be attributed to the urge to be alongside 'People Like Us'. I know many folk deny this as a motive, but I think to do so is disingenuous.

Mind you, were I living in that neck of the woods, I'd have put my urchins down for Redland Green too I suspect...

...I just looked at S11 on Rightmove, UQD. Yep, looks familiar!

retiredgoth - exactly the same is true here - just substitute postcode S11 and school names "Dobcroft" and "Silverdale" in the above.

Retired, do you mean Redland Green? Wasn't the school oversubscribed before it even opened which means that people are basing their decision not on actual statistics, but on snobbery?

I mean, it wasn't that they wanted their child to go to this school (as it hadn't opened yet) but rather the alternative was too gruesome to contemplate (in their opinion)

Ormirian, yes they do, there are a lot of children in our state schools who can afford private and would use private in other places but don't see the point when they can have a similar level of "service" for free. We have a lot of peope who have moved here to avoid school fees and get the same education. A fair few have moved out of London for just that reason.

A large number of attendees in our private schools are from other counties and coutries, we get the rather fabulous dropped to school in a helicopter thing too

....postcode lottery?

It is a phrase I particularly dislike (it is often uttered by those who also say 'it's political correctness gone maaaad!'), but there is, in some places anyway, some truth in it.

....an example, from a city with the highest proportion of fee paying pupils outside Metropolis (and not too far from the OP).

Fancy your luck in the 'lottery'?. Then try entering 'BS7' into the search box of Rightmove, and have a peek at the myriad overpriced Victorian terraces. Many will mention 'west side of Gloucester Rd' or 'sought after Redland Green catchment'. Those that do not mention this will be up to 25% cheaper, being on the wrong side of the tracks. This school has been recently opened, and is placed specifically so as to service the most affluent areas of north Bristol. This took years of crystal voiced, barbour jacket clad campaigning for an oik free state option for Toby and Jemima.

....all the other non-faith schools in the city are dismal. So many of those who can afford private provision do so.

Mercifully, I live in a neighbouring authority, where schools are fine. Not great, but fine. There is a distinctly moderate secondary just on my side of the boundary. This is hopelessly oversubscribed by those anxious to avoid the Inner city option, where I hear the uniform is reinforced with kevlar.....

OrmIrian - re noses out of joint - it's always amusing when the schools in the smugger catchments are out-performed by those in supposedly "less good" areas. Can't help feeling schadenfreude!

I can't say the schools are fabulous here, from bog-standard to sink comps and average to very good primaries, but I only know two families who send their primary-age children privately and another two or three families whose children go private at secondary. And I know A LOT of families around here, having children between 6 and 13.

In our case, we were new to the area, with children in Years 6 and 8. DD2 got into an excellent state primary, and is now in a superb state secondary. DD1's year was oversubscribed in ALL the decent state schools (and there are several) within a 10-mile radius. I was offered an "improving" school 13 miles away (and my heart just sank when I visited it - I ended up in floods of tears at the prospect of my child having to go there). Went to appeal, but nothing doing. So I've had to wipe out my divorce settlement putting her through private school. All because of where we live.

Whatever happened to this wonderful concept of "parental choice?"

We are in the grim north but have 7 or 8 private schools in the local area (within 15 miles of the centre). It is seen as pretty normal where we live but it is not seen as a problem if you don't. The main reason for this is that the State schools are having to compete with a large number of private schools meaning standards are high, extra cirricular activities are heavily invested in and the majority of state schools are consistantly Outstanding in Ofsted reports.

As parents at the state schools we are well aware that we are very very lucky and that we owe most of our good fortune to the private schools either directly or indirectly. The "failing" local schools would be considered average in most areas of the country.

I live in a large traditionally working class town. At secondary, the nearest private school is a 40 min commute away - so unsurprisingly, very few children go private. Unfortunately, the state schools are generally rubbish too, so there's no choice at all. We will almost certainly move to a village, when DD gets close to secondary age, but there is very little choice for us, and so most people just have to put up with it.

Ormirian, it's particularly the Exeter area, Devon doesn't have a high proportion of privately educated children overall.

Like Fennel we are in Devon and the state schools are poor so our DC's will be privately educated which is the norm among the other parents we know.

The percentage of children going to private school really is skewed because of the London weightings.

I am in Sheffield and most of our non school friend's do not use private school. We are in a minority defnitely. On our estate there is a significant number using private schools for a range of reasons; elsewhere in town the number may be lower, again for a range of reasons.

I think London probably does have a bigger issue as the schools vary so greatly and catchment areas are a bit odd too.

School fees down south are generally far greater down south than in the north. I suspect we pay far less than those nearer London.

Herts. commuter belt here. Great state schools (unless you are seriously unlucky, obv. there are the odd not so good ones) but plenty of private too as there are lots of people with serious cash.

Round here (Exeter) there are double the national average of secondary children in private schools, similar to London. People who wouldn't have considered it elsewhere do so here, it seems. My children are still primary age but it does seem that the secondaries on offer are fairly mediocre (and that's putting it nicely). My dc will still be going to the local state school but that's cos we're diehard lefties not cos I think the school seems so fantastic.

A £200k mortgage over 20-25 years is a lot more expensive than school fees over 7 years I have found. The payback would come if you also assume a 40%+ capital gain on your £200k.

Mind you if the mortgage rate stays low then even if heavily mortgaged homeowners fail to make the capital gain at least they are also paying less for the school catchment each month.

ladymuck - you're quite right. Difference here (Sheffield) in a "good" area between 2 bed and 3 bed , or 3 and 4 bed is quite large, but not 200K.

Of course, with school fees you actually have to find that money every year, whereas with a mortgage you may have a reasonable repayment rate spread over 20-25 years.

Where we live the primary schools are great but our secondary school isn't and we won't get into the great ones either side of us so we will try the local girls grammer, state funded boarding grammers or a bursery.