Sorry to ask but how are people affording private education?

A significant proportion of private school cash is spent because people think they should do private school not because it is better for sure. I'm sure the private prep we sent our kids to, beyond sport did next to nothing for them academically above what the local state school would have done. I tutored oldest for the academic scholarship which she got and they had taught her very little indeed.

Well yes, I was being hyperbolic- but it will be a real struggle, always assuming the school survives of course. Sixth form
Is out. He's been at the the school since he was 3

I work 5 days a week 8-6, and 8-7 on Fridays because my kids have no homework that day that can't be done over the weekend. Combination of NHS and private practice. That's how. At one point I looked into overnight shelf stacking on a Saturday night.

When Labour impose VAT, my eldest will be at state sixth form and I will carry on for one more year for my middle. They will then take state school places. I will spend extra money on tutoring etc. My middle and youngest have a talent that isn't catered for in state schools. I will find a way forward for them, and yes, you can be sure I will play the system. I have been at the forefront of inclusive, community projects to make sure all kids with talent move forward. After this, I will focus on my own.

This policy will leave everyone worse off. It's very sad.

Yes, mine are at state, mainly because it’s not been hard to not anticipate the direction of travel of school fees (with or without Labour). I knew I needed to be comfortable with a 50% increase over the schooling period and I wasn’t. Instead I’m v happy with the local state provision and the proper mix of backgrounds my kids are mixing with. Private schools really not worth it or the financial sacrifice.

Anyone who sent their child private when they couldn’t easily afford could have made exactly the same assessment as me so seems incredible to be anticipating a move mid GCSE.

Last time I checked Labour aren't in power? Surely even if there is a huge fees hike if/when they win the election you can beg borrow or steal to cover the increased fees for one year rather than moving your child mid GCSE?

Sadly, we're not now. Thanks Labour. We'll have to move him, mid ~GCSE. My DP is a nurse, at least they can give up work now.

Yes because their staffing costs are higher.

They still get more funding per pupil than schools outside of the SE.

London state schools have substantially higher salary costs. They aren’t rolling in cash.

It's hard to generalise about "nice" areas - some of the really sought after state schools near us, are places we wouldn't want to live for various reasons.

It was actually cheaper for us NOT to move house and less disruptive, plus we would have had to downsize to afford to live in the catchment of a good State school.
I would have been very happy for my DC to go to State Secondary but it was actually a teacher who worked at our catchment one who advised me not to send DD.
DH was actually anti Private school until we started visiting the State and private options as he had gone to an excellent State school (converted from Grammar in the 80's) so had no idea that all State schools are not equal.
I am actually a Governor at the State school now and while there are some awesome teachers there I don't regret my decision at all.

I live in London, in an area which has both very expensive housing and extensive council housing, often just a block apart. I actually live close to two excellent primary schools, at neither of which DD qualified for a place because we are not Christian. The only other primaries we lived close enough to for DD to qualify for a place had, at that time, 45% and 50% children eligible for FSM. To be fair to them, their SATS results were quite good for schools with half of their children eligible for FSM. But, on an absolute scale, their results were not very good.

I can afford to pay for private school. I preferred not to move house. I sent DD to a private school. Still confused?

As is often repeated here, only 7% of school children are educated privately. Perhaps more than 7% of state schools are less than half decent.

We do.
Nice area but shitty catchment.
There are plenty of houses worth £400k plus here (North so thats a lot) but the local State school is in Special Measures

This was how it was with some of my friends. The two with one child stayed in the mixed catchment and used private schools, those with 2/3 children moved to the outstanding catchment.

If you have 1 DC and a poor local state school provision it is nearly always more financially viable to stay where you are and use private schools rather than move to the best local state school catchment area particularly with interest rates now being higher than in recent years.

*That's a bit "chicken and egg" though isn't it?

You can't say I sent my children to private school because my local school was awful; whilst admitting you chose to live in a less affluent area because you wanted to send your children to private school.

If you have private school money, you have options to live somewhere else and use the state education system*

Well not necessarily. We bought our detached 4 bed in a decent area in 2014 for £320k when eldest was a baby. Secondary school has gone downhill since then. It's cheaper for us to send him to private school than shell out £700k+ for a 4 bed house in the great state catchments closer to the city.

I dunno. My house is a 3 min walk from DC school. It’s one of the reasons we moved here, to cut time and petrol costs. The house is a 3 bed terrace. Cost £280k in 2018.

We can’t afford to move, and certainly not to the areas with the good state schools. Not even to the area with the ‘good’ state schools.

😂we won’t be in a ‘precarious position’ - we will just leave the school. It’s not a maybe for us.

We weren’t to know 9 years ago all the things that would happen. We made our choice, this is our reality.

That's a bit "chicken and egg" though isn't it?

You can't say I sent my children to private school because my local school was awful; whilst admitting you chose to live in a less affluent area because you wanted to send your children to private school.

If you have private school money, you have options to live somewhere else and use the state education system.

@NDmumoftwo

So you have a huge household income (circa £250k) which enables you to pay for private education.

Thank you. Yes it is easy if you are sat in the catchment of a well funded state school in London to decry the need for private schools. Very different story elsewhere in the country.

students in Devon have the lowest funding per head, so it’s not the southern schools, it’s probably just south eastern/London!

@Heatherbell1978 dont forget rural areas. There are no outstanding schools in my area at all, the rest are good and inadequate, and due to location/distance parents don’t have much choice. However there’s also only one private school so not much choice there either.

Wrong. Maybe in London but not true for the NE. As I have said numerous times, Northern schools get less funding per pupil that Southern schools and NE schools have some of the worst outcomes in England. There also isn't the level of wealth up here than there is in the south.