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Original poster

Is St Pauls really worth it?

54 replies

CocoC · 26/02/2019 00:10

DS has an offer from St Pauls.
We have just moved to the UK, and are not used to this system, so we are just shocked at how high the fees are (and dubious at the fact the school is single sex, in today's world).
At the same time, we want to do what is best for him , as he is very bright and does not particularly enjoy school right now as he is bored most of the time, which feels a real shame.
So, my question is - is an education at St Pauls really worth it? I am not so swayed by the sporting side of things, as quite frankly for the price of the fees, am happy to drive him around to various after school sports clubs.
And is the quality of the teaching, and the academic side of things really better than what you would get at a school like Latymers (which has, to me, the advantage of being co-ed)? Both schools are very local to us, so distance is not an issue.

OP posts:
PatienceVirtue · 26/02/2019 09:50

I would pay to avoid that 'something to carry with you for life'. Is it something George Osborne is carrying? If so, ugh.

My children are at private secondaries so I'm not anti all independents but I do have a problem with those old-school public schools. My father and brother went to Eton and were crushed by it. The boys who I knew growing up who went to those sort of public schools came out with inflated Cameron-esque ideas of their own abilities or were cowed by the confidence of others.

Latymer Upper sounds like a fab school and there's no doubt there would be loads of kids who are as able as your clearly very able boy.

EdwinaMarlow · 26/02/2019 09:38

Are the fees at SP a lot more than Latymer's? I think both schools would give you a fantastic education, and stretch your ds.

malmontar · 26/02/2019 09:24

You are also paying for the ‘old boys club’. Networking is massive after university and schools like St. Paul’s use their alumni network to help graduates get jobs. It is a pretty well known thing and in my office I’d say a quarter maybe less went to state school and most vacancies are filled by people who know someone already here. This is events management btw but it is a well known thing everywhere.

MrsEricBana · 26/02/2019 00:20

In a word, yes. A St. Paul's education gives you something to carry with you for life and yes they attract fantastic teaching staff.