German expat questions value for money of top English private schools

Spot on, Bonsoir. It's such a pity today's heads are so feeble.

Expensive facilities and small classes don't guarantee academic excellence but, unfortunately, the top academic schools have got it into their heads that the banker parents who pay their fees want these things. Mr Holle is debunking that myth, which is great news.

If any heads are listening, we could at last see the slashing of luxuries and a reaching out to a more diverse community which many supporters of independent schools have been hoping to see.

If his fellow bankers would listen to Mr Holle, follow his words to their logical conclusion and go find more modest schools for their DC, perhaps the public schools which annoy him so much would be compelled to make themselves affordable by other sectors of the population and everyone would be a winner.

Both my DC have been to Germany via exchanges organised by their London private schools. Exchange partners were from highly regarded Gymnasiums in major cities. Impressions were of rigid syllabi, large classes, shabby facilities, limited EC and limited diversity. Though obviously using a selective London private school as a starting point is gong to encourage less than flattering comparisons. That said, inevitably, the German students had fantastic English, far far better than the German of their English counterparts.

I wonder if Herr Holle is aware that public funding for education across Europe is under stress across Europe, and that Germany along with France, Britain and elsewhere has plenty of debate about how best to organise secondary education.

I think his actions speak louder than his words.

I fear that Herr Holle, like many expats, has developed a rather rose tinted view of his home country's educational system while in London. Much of Germany continues to operate a three tier educational system with the "brightest" (read white, German, middle class) going to the Gymnasium or Grammar school, "less able" going to a second tier school and the rest (read poor, non white, and disadvantaged) ending up in a third tier school. With all the social problems associated with swervable schools in the UK. The short school day also means that students depend very heavily on having a parent at home to help with homework and organise sport, music and extra curricular. Those without affluent, SAHM mothers (and it is always the mother)have a real uphill struggle. Just look at the PISA study comments on the German educational system.
That - combined with the need for fluent English to get a decent job in Germany - is why so many German parents buy a British private school education. Those whose children do not make the move to the grammar at 10 - or who have to repeat a year , or who get demoted to the lower tier schools because they have problems keeping up often see a move to a UK school as their one last chance. And many condemned by the German system do really well in UK. It's just tough for those without rich parents.
Quite why Mr Holle shelled out the better part of £1million for UK private schools he did not want while having the chance to get his kids into good London comps, or free selective schools in Kent/Surrey is not clear to me. Does not really say much for that great Dusseldorf education!

Seems odd if his intention was to communicate with parents in Germany that he chose The Telegraph to do so. I believe other countries have their own newspapers but perhaps that's just nonsense I learnt in my good state comprehensive

Even If he'd sent his children to day school they'd have had a more normal life. Didn't he realise that by sending his children to very expensive boarding schools they'd only meet children from other families like his? Westminster even has Saturday school, thus limiting time his child can spend doing 'normal' things, like working in a shop, at the weekend.

I don't see what's stopping him from sending them to a good state comprehensive? It sounds like he would actually prefer that.