If you had the money to, would you send your children to private school?

[lomp]

And why?

Sent mine to private schools a much better well rounded education. Gave them confidence through ESB elements of the curriculum. Brought on middle child who needed more smaller group tuition. Team sports and cadets gave them self discipline. They have all done well.
We are not rich but made massive sacrifices to pay the fees it was well worth it. They were educated and that is what separates private schools from state sector

I do not agree with this necessarily , schools differ so greatly and so do children and different children suit different schools regardless of how they are funded .
Our Ds was at a top private school for so long and we moved him to the best local option when he wasn't happy any more which was a very large state school;,he's suited it much better and there's less entitlement, great enthusiastic teachers and good extra support too. I feel the teachers look out for each child more , hes taught really well and he was mostly very happy before but he's happier now. The only things I wish we could keep were the better food and own facilities but sports are still played to a very high level for those who want to.

No I’m very lucky that my children are going to a top preforming primary school that they love. Also a top comprehensive school. But if they didn’t have such good schools then I would send them to private schools if I could afford it.

LMAO at the idealism. There are plenty of state schools in leafy catchments with very small percentage of FSM kids. Enough that other kids may never even mix with them.

Honestly OP? No, I wouldn't pay, unless they had severe SEN or something and the state were refusing to pay. But I'd move to the catchment of a very good school. So well, the same thing, just without paying the fees.

Personally I came from a shite school in a shite developing country (think exam papers literally being rained on, school flooded etc). I'm not that fussed about extracurriculars, teaching standards etc I can very well make it up at home. I'm more worried about them getting bullied, beaten up or stabbed.

With that background @CaliGurl I would give you an interview. I bet you are a problem solver.

I'm not an idealist, we make tv to tell stories to people. Sometimes it's aspirational, sometimes reflective, sometimes shocking.
We need a variety of people, at the end of the day private schools are what, 7%. The number of actors and politicians Eton supplies means someone is recruiting them. It's just not me. I,'m kind of putting it out there because I've lost out on jobs due to being to old/fat/white/female/not the bosses mate. Some people have lost out on jobs due to being public school.

Did you send your daughter to private at primary and secondary?

Gradgrindian

We don't quite have a '478 days since we ' notice board' but it is a topic of conversation

They are never going to understand how practising a showstopper will cost some serious coin.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand what these sentences mean.

We can afford to, but are choosing not to.

We moved to an affluent area with fantastic Primary schools and Grammar schools.

Both DH and I went to Grammar schools, so we assume our children will too. I have tutored children for the 11+, so would do the same for my own.

Pre-DC I was an English Teacher and worked in both Grammar schools and Comprehensives. I also have experience in Primary school, as an LSA and as a private tutor; therefore I feel that I am able to provide a lot of input myself.

We feel that our money will be better spent supplementing their education with extra curricular activities and lots of travel.

DH sometimes does the medic interviews, he can tell, they all nod to each other when they come in on mass.

Gradgrindian so when your dh spots candidates who nod at each other, does he automatically refuse to hire them?

Not the point of this thread but PP here have been surprisingly quite honest in buying 'private by stealth'.
Every other private school thread is piled on by posters going on about how bad it is, they disagree on principle, perpetuates inequality etc etc. But their kids always go to an 'excellent local comp', in an affluent area.

They're not faced with the prospect of the local sink school with 5% teaching and 95% behaviour management or worst, stabbings, gangs, the lot.

Anecdotally I've seen more and more parents pull their kids out and home-school them. Surviving on a single income is cheaper than private school fees and there's a whole lot more guidance and resources than there was a decade ago.

Personally I wouldn't because I think it isn't good value for my children.

Personally-for me and me only - I can't participate in something that actively perpetuates class advantage.

but again what is the difference between grammar schools vs private they are very similar; very low percentage of behavioral issues and somewhat exclusive.
bragging that you would not send your child to private due to privilege and inequality but then sending them to a grammar is twisting the matter.
either you do or do not believe in a selective environment.

No. I wouldn't want strangers raising my children, and I've barely known anyone attending one who doesn't report being harmed in some way.

One thing that nobody considers in this state vs private debate is the variation in standards.

If you are lucky enough to live in London or many of the surrounding areas you are likely to get a high standard of state education.

If you live in the North or in a deprived area state standards are often appalling, leaving those who can afford it, little option bother than to go private.
Rather than removing the few options people in these areas have, Starmer and co need to make sure that opportunities are available for all

They’re not quite the same though. Grammar schools will still have 30 or so to a class, and often have to contend with old buildings, and less govt funding per student than non-grammars (because, understandably, the money is funnelled into improving standards in struggling comps).

Private schools don’t struggle for money or to maintain their facilities in that way.

Are you confusing private school with boarding school? Not all private schools are boarding schools.

@Jellycats4life they are similar enough though, selective entry and low behavioral issues.
those saying it's morally wrong to choose private but are able to choose grammar are still choosing a selective environment.

Yes. I never wanted or expected to send a child to private. Our older child has complex needs and is in a specialist state setting. We struggle to provide our younger child with a quiet space for homework, never mind facilitate extracurricular stuff. No great academic ambitions, we don’t care about the chance for him to network his way into the corridors of power (not sure that’s a thing in provincial prep schools). We wanted an easier ride for him because his home life can be pretty tough. He’s a sweet, well behaved and averagely intelligent kid who would have been lost in the mix in state like he sometimes is at home.

There are loads of families like ours whose motivations for choosing private education are a long way from the perception you see here.

Yes, this. I was completely unaware of the schools funding formula until I moved from West London to the Midlands. I won’t pretend to understand the finer details, but the calculation very much favours a certain set of criteria that are much more likely to exist in the South East. Our local semi-rural two form entry primary school in a solidly lower middle income area had it’s per-head budget decimated back in 2017. The decline since then was sad to watch.

You realise the majority of private schools are day schools ie kids go home every night?
How many people do you actually know who went to private school?

So you are perpetuating inequality via stealth, buying a better experience for your child then. Moving in order to be at a better state school is still buying an advantage for your child.

We have the money and chose not to. Schools in our area are very good so we thought the money was best used on other things for them. If I lived in some areas, we’d definitely have sent our children to private school for secondary, possibly primary as well.

Yes definitely. I went to 2 state primary schools and then private secondary.

For my parents, it was behavioural issues with other kids at my local state schools that was the main concern, not quality of teaching.

Exactly same bastard. As the state schools here are good we didn’t feel the value added by the private schools was worth the outlay. We both went state and have done well professionally. This may not be the case if we lived somewhere else. But we chose carefully when we moved out of London so bought in catchment of thriving state girls school. Is still mixed though as different demographics in the catchment.

Dd2 friendship group go to the various different private schools and I can see little difference between the kids. Their sport is better undoubtedly as is their food and they are more indulgent (you get a lie down and a hot chocolate if you feel sad which would NOT be the case at stste and this is extremely unfair according to dd2😀!)

Saying that private schools don't struggle for money again just shows how little the sector is understood. Take out the few headliners like Eton and Harrow and look at the vast majority. Margins are extremely tight. Many have old, listed buildings that are expensive to maintain and struggle to cope with modern requirements for WiFi etc. Parents expect small class sizes so the ratio of pupil to staff is lower..the staff bill is a huge chunk and some but not all so pay more than state to ensure they attract good graduates with the right specialisms. I'm not for a moment going to say it's harder than state ..but in the end they are private institutions and can and do go under if the books don't balance. Saying "they have loads of money" simply isn't true. Posters on threads like this often are vicious in their criticism that they don't all offer a far greater number of bursaries but they simply can't. Every bum on a seat is 15-20k . Every two roughly = a teacher's salary. You can't have too many of those bums not paying anything. It's nothing to do with snobbery or keeping out oiks, it's just maths.