Decadence in London fee paying secondary schools

56 replies

QuintessentialShadows · 16/10/2012 09:16

Is there a culture of decadence across the independent sector secondaries?

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Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 16/10/2012 10:21

It is the "made in Chelsea" types I would worry about, not children of laywers, doctors, script writers, etc.

But because we are not really that affluent, just "normal" people, I think it would be harder for my son to make a realistic judgement of "the wrong crowd" in an independent, as I fear that he would see them through rose tinted wealth glasses, whereas he can more relate to "the bad crowd" at a non-fee paying school. Does that even make sense?

Senua I think you are right, I will have these worries whatever school he goes to! But he would not be in awe of the hard kid on the block, whereas he would be in awe at sons and daughters of politicians, rock phenomenons and models.

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ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 16/10/2012 10:15

I think in the very selective highly academic schools there probably isn't much scope for swanning around being ultra cool etc. because you are expected to produce the results. If you look at the leavers destinations for some of these schools you have to assume that the children are aspiring to a bit more than a life as a PR / Party organiser.

I think you will have an element of that behaviour in all schools (private and state) and so to suggest there won't be any in fee paying schools would be daft. However, I think children face non-aspirational pressures from certain peer groups in all schools and I am not sure it is driven by money.

Many of the parents who send their children to fee paying schools are working parents themselves stereotypically lawyers (like me), bankers, people who run their own businesses etc so most of the children will come from homes where the parents work to pay fees and they would expect their children to get jobs. There will be some schools which are populated by "made in Chelsea" types but most of them won't be.

senua · 16/10/2012 10:10

I was a bit about this as I thought it was intended to be the start of an anti-private bunfight but you might have redeemed yourself ...

He will be star struck for years 7, 8 and 9 no matter which school you send him to. You will be sick to your stomach that he is in with the wrong crowd. Then magically, in year 10, your original DS will re-surface. Whatever good grounding you gave him as a parent will re-appear and you will discover that, actually, he has got a nice little group of friends round him.

Repeat the MN mantra after me: all shall be well.

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 16/10/2012 09:42

We really want the best education for our son, but I am concerned that just like in any secondary school there is "the wrong crowd", but because the life style of "the wrong crowd" is so extremely affluent, it will be deemed very tempting by a young boy who is not used to this sort of thing. I fear that rather than being inspired by academic excellent and hard work, he is going to be "star struck" and inspired by coke heads and children who have no aspiration of actually working, other than on a catwalk or a stage, at best, party at most. I fear my son would definitely think this was "the right crowd" and be in awe. Not that I think they would fall over him to be friends.

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Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 16/10/2012 09:24

Parents and children. (I dont know about the teachers)

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grovel · 16/10/2012 09:21

You are going to have to define decadence in this context. Decadent teachers, parents, children?

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