German expat questions value for money of top English private schools

Apparently a French teacher returned a French book he had borrowed of Holle because he couldn't read it. As a MFL teacher in the UK myself I really doubt that.

He also states that British qualifications are irrelevant to German pupils. No shit, Sherlock

m.faz.net/aktuell/beruf-chance/campus/englands-top-internate-enttaeuschen-eton-harrow-co-13694908.html

I think the ebacc is a good start, but specialisation at 16 is too early. In Germany pupils are required to study a language, German, science, maths, a humanity up until Abitur.

Bonsoir , excellent. . Genuinely I would be interested. It may also be the case that they edited his words down to fit the column inches available and he has not been properly represented.

I did a search on the prep school mentioned, The Hall, and they say "The majority of the boys will move on to a London day school" (my italics) so Mr Holle really went out of his way to choose this boarding school that he now decries. He's not coming out of this well.

Oh, no disrespect to toffs, each to their own.

Good grief he's a bit thick isn't he?
I'm not blessed with intelligence but faced with moving my own dd to a whole different type of school and life to which she is accustomed, I did my homework.
These types of school are as alien to the wc of the UK as they are to those coming from abroad and yet we know that only toffs go and they pretty much keep themselves to themselves.
Any idiot can work this out from a couple of google searches and one visit to the schools would tell you this.
He's in finance surely he'd look at the available data and conclude their weren't any scholarships etc.
What a ding bat.

Thanks DL. When you refer to a "broad knowledge base", are you talking about sixth form i.e. IB v. A Levels? Do you consider the EBacc broad enough?

I'd love to know how much 'social diversity' Herr Holle has provided his DCs with at home and in the holidays . He strikes me as a bit slow on the uptake if it has taken him up to his twins eighteenth birthday to realise that he does n't like the UK private school package. Perhaps he is disappointed because they did n't get offers at the desired. universities.
BTW they must have had a reasonably broad academic education as they did IB

I am German, my dd's are going to a top selective state school in the UK. I think GermanGymnasien are much better at delivering a broad knowledge base, but good British schools are better at developing the whole person.

at Herr Holle complaining about lack of social diversity...

they are are generally better educated and more cultured than the average UK private school pupil

Would you care to expand? In what way are they better educated and more cultured?
How does German State compare to British State?

Herr Holle is absolutely right. I have several German relatives educated in the German state system and they are are generally better educated and more cultured than the average UK private school pupil.As posted elsewhere I think that people overestimate the education provided at UK private schools ie the vast cost makes one assume that something special is being provided and people ignore the fact that most of the teaching is pretty mediocre. I suspect that if you placed children currently at leading private schools in UK state schools their results wouldn't be that different (ie genes and pushy parents are more important than the actual school). Indeed over a 30 plus year period DH and I calculated that the Oxbridge/RG hit rate among our relatives who attended state schools was actually higher than those who attended private schools.

Bonsoir - I think to be fair some of these schools moved away from e.g. educating poor boys to go into the clergy donkeys years ago. What I do find interesting though is the proportion of an e.g. doctors salary the fees now are compared to earlier in the last century. But rather amusing your DP knows Arnold Holle. It would be interesting to know what he means by "the best" he mentions as what they were paying for, compared to his more fulsome explanation of their failings.

Forgive me, bonsoir, I was skimming, and misread 'pupils' as 'parents'!

TWF- There are oblique comments made occasionally that suggest all is not tiptop. There aren't really alternatives, the next tier of schools are significantly beneath these in terms of quality of education, of outcome, etc.

He's spot on about the lack of social mobility. Seems to be getting worse, and society more divided into haves and have nots .

But the trend is for these schools to target the international super rich. The interesting point raised by Mr Holle's article is that not all the new customers are happy ones. That's a pity for all concerned when the schools could have avoided abandoning their wider customer base.

granola there are indeed Russians in W. But the school is not 'packed' with them. Certainly not in my DS year.

I hesitate to suggest it, TWF, but I think you're a bit out of touch with current trends. Again, there are plenty of Russians at Westminster...