So IF you had tons of wong, would you send em private?

We do have enough "wong", but aren't considering indies. The local day schools are nothing much to write home about, we wouldn't consider boarding and we're lefties.

Of course if we lived somewhere with poor state schools then our principles might be somewhat more negotiable.

Yes.

I believe in state education.

Just not the state education that dd has had, which enabled her to spend a whole year at school going backwards.

well my ds(18) is in the 6th form of his bog standard local comp and he loved it, local friends, involvement with local community and off to uni september hopefully.

the state system isn't the bad

We could have sent the dds to private primary, but didn't, on several counts. Partly because when we looked around local primaries, the one we liked best was a State Primary.
Also because we wanted them to have some experience of wide-ranging mix of society, with lots of nationalities and backgrounds.

For Secondary, we will wait and see what the local State school is like by then (dd1 in Y3) - if its not right for her, or truly dire, or she falls in love with an Indie when we take her to see the available options, then yes, she will go privately.

I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm already going to send DD to private secondary, but would also do nursery and primary etc if I had loads of money :)

(mostly because I'm finding the idea of getting into a primary school very stressful!!)

Having said that, most of my friends went to private school, but the one that didn't is the one who has two first class degrees, a distinction in her masters degree and achieved the highest GCSE results ever recorded at her comprehensive. So stress aside, it largely depends on the child.

I would - because there's a Montessori near me and I love their ethos and the fact that they don't force all manner of god stuff into their pupils' faces like the state school they're at!

No I wouldn't. However if the state schools were as poor as the one that I attended I would pay if I had the means.

Ye ken a've made th' grade a'm a tap class fellow
Ah dinnae play th' piano 'n' ah dinnae play th' cello
But dinnae disrespect mah musical knowledge-
Cos a'm th' bagpipe teacher at Eton College.

In a heartbeat. I had a good quality state education but looking around at the state schools on offer now I don't think my DC can have the same quality of education unless it's paid for. In our area anyway.

No. Just because I could afford it doesn't mean I would. It depends entirely on the situation.

I can afford to send them privately but am not planning to. DD1 is going to Tiffin so why would I shell out £15k a year to send her to a school that may not be as good or as rounded as the one she is going to?

If she didn't get into a school she liked or was right for her academically or sportily (is that a word????) then I would consider (and did consider) sending private.

Never say never when it comes to your kids and education.

though one does, of course, get to call the tune....

Normally, one hires a piper when needed- one does not play the pipes oneself..........

I once met a nice guy who told me he was a teacher at a private school."Oh", says I, "what subject do you teach?"

"Bagpipes" says he.

Don't think I would pay extra for bagpipes.

Ah yes, true, I didn't think of it in that way because captainbarnacle's post seemed slightly detached from the argument. Suspect if you have no idea what the principles of such a position might be, you may not be open to hearing them anyway - I think most people who are in favour of private schools do at least know why some other people are not, even if they think those arguments are rubbish.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm making is that it's not 'out of hand', which suggests it's not been thought through.

But that's what the OP os offering...enough wong to go to any private school you fancied.

I don't know what the principles are in 'rejecting it out of hand' - don't remember being offered it to reject, to be honest! I know what the principles are in being opposed to it, if that's what you mean.

@Hully, if its that much Id get them a private tutor in Hawaii!!

Before I had DC I would have said hand on heart I would send my kids to the local comp, whatever it was like. I believed that we have a duty to improve the state education system for the benefit of everyone, and that needs things like committed, educated people to be on the board of governors etc etc etc..... Now I have kids, not so sure.... Some of the schools round here are truly dire. Would I be failing my kids to send them to a crap school because of my principles? I suspect I would....

Can someone please remind me of these specific Principles involved in rejecting private education out of hand. Ta.

I really, really, really want tons of wong. And I wouldn't spend any of it on private education.

No, I don't think I would. Unless we were in a really dire situation where this was the only way e.g. special needs could be met.

We did give up on our principles about car ownership when dd's disability deteriorated. But wouldn't have done it just for convenience.

Sorry I cannot stay for what I am sure will be a lively debate from now on.

Adios!

Only if they are madly trad TOSN!

Glad to see you're awake

Oh, I get it, she has been taken over.....

Watch out everyone, if Seeker has abandoned her principles, there is no hope for anyone. She'll be having dinner with Dave & Sam next.... you watch.