Private School

[HuntyGirl]

For those of you who send your DC to private school, what are the main professions of the parents? There has been lots of articles recently about the squeeze on middle class families ability to afford private school due to the current economic circumstances and I would be interested to know from those with experience. It is definitely something we want to do and hope it will be possible.

I do not want this to be a private school bashing thread so please move on if that is your intention.

DH is an Ops manager for Big Pharma, I'm a regional manager.
Parents of DD friends range from state school teachers through to property developers. Only a few families where there is a SAHP though, for the majority both parents work.

@Blinkingbonkers sounds exactly like DDs school

My colleague sends her child to PS . They're a senior leader in nursing

I have been a private school parent, finance background. In the primary sector there is a far more elite bunch of parents than in the secondary where bursaries are offered, at secondary you will find a much wider demographic. I don't think many ordinary professionals, even two earner families, can afford private school anymore. A few privately practicing dentists and highly paid consultants can afford all through fees perhaps. They are mostly successful business people (they own a chain of pharmacies, they are not just a pharmacist). Most 'normal' professionals will be sending their children with the help of a grandparents or a trust fund. I imagine most household incomes are my child's school are over £200K, probably far more, unless their is grandparental help. It is all very well living in a tiny house and having few holidays but you will stick out like a sore thumb below secondary level and in a school where no one faces any adversity because there is money to fix all problems you might find a lack of sympathy for being the odd one out so sometimes I think if you can't afford it easily not to bother especially because having had children through multiple schools in both sectors, they aren't worth the bother below secondary and in secondary the only advantages are if your child is very sporty and they offer specialist help there or if you want your able child to take more than 8 GCSEs and the local comp is saying they don't get enough funding for that (my DS's comprehensive). To be honest most of how well they do, who they mix with, their attitude to education, is genetics, followed by modelling of parental attitudes.

I went to private school (a very small one without the amazing facilities people talk about).

My dad was self employed and owned an import business. My mum worked part time as a teacher.

My best friend’s parents were both chefs and her fees were paid for mostly by grandparents.

@Thatsnotmytaxcode - thanks for this. I do think a household income of £200k+ is probably necessary, especially if you want to send 2 kids.

We are thinking private primary and grammar secondary (hopefully) but could do private secondary if necessary

A giant melting pot of lawyers, financiers, interior decorators, brokers, directors (both film and board), stylists, housewifes, doctors, fin tech, the odd celebrity, marketing, advertising and pr types. I’d say very mixed but can only speak for our school. Would guess at the most expensive schools you’re likely to find rockstars kids beside fund managers (with far fewer middle class children). Why do you ask?

DS school has a lot of professional parents (doctors, dentists, architects etc), sme business owners, and people on very low pay who pay for the school (or their homes) through inherited money.

Private Primary is more worth it imo. As that’s when the child gets the full benefit of being educated privately.

Totally agree with that. Also if you’re potentially aiming for a free grammar school place, those are offered based on 11+ results, which state schools (where we are based) do not coach pupils for.

DH is a doctor in a speciality where there’s lots of private work available, and I’m a civil servant. Grandparents don’t help directly with fees, but both sets were very generous when we were buying our first house, so they did help indirectly as our relatively smaller mortgage means we can more easily afford the fees.

Same here, a large number of the teaching and support staff send their children to the school due to the massive discount they receive.

There are also quite a few children of service personnel (both UK and US).

No idea what the other parents do for work.
I'm a sahm and my husband has his own business

A vast majority are doctors (consultants) in my sons’ private school. I’m an academic (professor); dh is a teacher (not at the same school)

Our LO starts prep next year, my husband is a senior manager and I run my own business carrying out disability assessments.

I know a wide range of people who have sent their child to private school, this includes;

A library shelver - they put the books back on shelves. Their daughter had a bursary
A cleaner whose husband had a low level sales job. Again their daughter has a bursary.
A middle manager in HE whose husband worked as an administrator at the school

@JustAMinutePleass @pleasefuckinggodno interested in your thoughts on private primary v secondary. I'd been viewing it the other way around ie smaller class sizes more beneficial as the kids get older & the learning gets more complex / approaches GCSE & A Level standard.

Grateful for any further insights as this is a live debate for my family at the moment!

Among the people I know, I'd say at least 50% are doctors. GPs and consultants. Surprisingly, quite a few stay at home mums and all of them married to doctors. A few business owners. A few engineers (we seem to be the poor ones at the school). Most of the teachers at the school have also got their kids attending the school. It's not a very flashy school with a strong focus on academics.

@Q2C4 we did state primary and then doing private secondary but the primary was a village school with only 15 per year group so we didn't see the point of paying privately for what we were already getting for free. It also gave us a chance to save up for fees.

@Q2C4 I can’t speak for your local primary schools, but state schools in our area don’t coach for the 11+ or common entrance? Prep schools specialise in this and match a child to their ideal onward school. They expect to score scholarships for their students, which is a 10-20% discount on secondary fees, these are vastly higher than prep and pre-prep fees. A private school will be aiming for a scholarship for your child, offered for academic, sports, music, art and drama, and polish your child’s talents with these end goals in mind. Selective grammar schools entrance process also works this way and you may well get a place at somewhere amazing that is FREE. I have a friend who is a secondary school teacher and reckons kids have to arrive with all subjects at a high level, or else have a terrible amount of catching up to do and will feel disenfranchised by the competitive pond they are up against. Kids need to be confident learners so building that confidence early on is essential - in my view.
However, I’d like to preface all of this by saying incredibly bright children will likely thrive anywhere, but many are somewhere in the middle (despite all of us birthing geniuses), that is actually where private schools excel. Wishing you well with it all 🙌🏻

@twistyizzy I'm genuinely baffled that you think because your child's class had 15 in at a state school that's all you'd of been getting for you're money at a private school?!
For starters there's 9 in my child's class at private school which is closer to half . Not to mention better qualified teachers, better paid teachers, better equipment , more funds for trips, experiences in house, fantastic extra curricular activities, wider range of after school clubs.

@mrssunshinexxx of course not but we couldn't afford Yr1 through to Yr 11/13 so we chose to do state primary and private secondary. I honestly don't think DD missed out on much going to state primary, they had Forest School, lots of extra curricular activities etc all for free. Going into Yr 7 of private she is in top set for all subjects above many of the preppies who attended the prep school.
I support private education but if it is a case of primary Vs secondary I would choose secondary.

Doctors, almost all doctors. Some are obviously old enough to have made a packet on property prices in the 90s/00s so have other jobs like businesses.

That's your opinion @twistyizzy I would have to disagree. There is so much evidence to show upto age 7 being critical for a child's emotional, social , behavioural traits and learning therefore the environment they are in is so so important in those early years.

@mrssunshinexxx I am completely aware of the importance of early years and I'm very happy with what we got in the village primary + the enrichment we offered outside of school.
Looking at the preppies DD is now at secondary with I don't believe that she missed out on anything, like I said she is outperforming the majority of them.
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