Fifth of state school pupils have a private tutor at GCSE level

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From the article below in the Sunday Times. When do we accept that the education system is failing our children and what can we do about it?

Is this any different or better than children attending private school? I know i will do everything in my power for my child to get a decent education but I know some posters on the private schools threads seem to think it's immoral to give your child any kind of advantage over others.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/gsce-a-level-private-tutoring-revision-camps-wxfmf629

1:1 tutoring and state is far superior than private education.

There is huge privilege in the state sector - many of the richest pupils are presenting themselves as "disadvantaged" and attending courses meant to broaden participation - restricted to state applicants, which they are. I know someone with 2 homes, multi millions and their Y12 kid has been accepted on a broadening participation course as they are in a lovely selective state sixth form college, having been to private until Y11.

People need to wake up

And some kids in state school are bright but they are not pushed because it takes teachers all their strength to get most kids up to just standard.

So some tutoring is just bring a child up to where they can be if their lessons had been less interrupted.

It’s too bespoke an argument to generalise.

State is a general education for as many as you can.

Teachers leaving because of classroom behaviour or more and more and more added to their workloads doesn’t help either.

Some private tutoring is to support things like dyslexia which schools fail dismally at. It only helps to level the playing field not give an advantage

My DC had one just to get him over a pass mark in French.

I agree with the PP who said that increasing numbers of people are favouring state + tutor over private education for all sorts of reasons. It's much cheaper than school fees and pretty effective. Advantage will out, because parents naturally want to do the best they can for their children, and some people have more financial means than others.

No uni or employer will know that a tutor had been used (unlike if your child went to private school). So arguably you are buying even more privilege and get the best of both worlds. Seems like a no brainer.

I think the government should stay out of the whole thing really. Bridget Philipson doesn't seem to be helping children much.

Well you can’t blame them when a third of pupils leave state education without a pass in maths and English each year.

12 years of school and a third ‘fail’.

I tutor A level. Lots of good state schools round here so parents who could easily afford private choose state plus tutoring instead.

I don't provide tutors for my children.

DC1 got a mix of 7s and 6s, plus a 3 for Spanish.

DC2 got six 9s and four 8s

DC3 is doing GCSEs this year. Predicted grades are 5s, 6s, 7s and one 9.

All at state school.

That statistic on its own is meaningless. To draw any helpful conclusions you would need an assessment of those pupils attainment when compared to their peers who are not reviving any tutoring, and probably a way of assessing those pupils predicated attainment without tutoring.
My friend employed a private tutor for her dc. I have no doubt this child would have achieved the highest grades even without it because they already were before the private tuition.

Or 80% of state school kids get no tutoring outside school.
Sounds different when stated that way doesn't it?

I have three tutors although only one is weekly. The difference it makes is remarkable. My daughter thrived with the 121 and it has given her a huge amount of confidence. State school but we live in the area with the second highest level of attainment in the country so expectations are high.

https://archive.ph/6bMTT

So 4/5 or 80% don’t?

I’m not sure that “vast majority of children have no extra tutoring outside of school” is the amazing headline you think it is.

And? Mine both struggle with maths and science but fly at everything else. Targetted support in years 10 and 11 for weaker subjects is a no brainer.

But the pass rate is decided before they sit the exam? I remember Michael Gove saying that he wanted all learners to be better than average...

And OP what percentage of private school kids have private tutors?
If it's higher than 20% - do you also assume that private schools are failing?

I went to private school and I had 1.1 maths tutoring. I can't see its anything to get worked up over. I agree pupil's at risk of failing core subjects should get extra help.

The system is set so a percentage have to fail.

For numeracy and literacy there should be a pass fail exam.

What subjects do you tutor?

Some of my students have tutors because they're too damned lazy to do the work I set or bother to participate in class. Private tuition is seen as a magic pill by those who don't make the effort.

A level biology. I have people requesting GCSE science, too - but I prefer to specialise in A level.

I have students from private schools as well as from state 6th forms.

There is huge privilege in the state sector

People on this thread seem to have no fucking clue what it's like in the state sector, or they base their knowledge of the state sector on a tiny number of outlier schools most likely based in London or one of the 163 state grammar schools across the country.

A lot of kids in state schools are coming up to their GCSEs now without a teacher in some of their GCSE subjects. They'll have missed coursework preparation, the syllabus will be unfinished and they'll be supervised in lesson time by a supply teacher who has no idea of the subject they're meant to be covering. This is not rare, it is increasingly common.

Of course tutoring of state kids is bloody increasing. Parents are desperately trying to fill in the gaps caused by an increasingly inadequate state school offering. It's not a case of smug parents who could buy a private education using state to get the 'advantage' of contextual offers or whatever bollocks is normally trotted out, it's normal state parents who are trying to get an education for their kids because of the situation in those schools that means that those contextual offers are necessary.

Think it's a few things at play. The curriculum is now massive that having a tutor helps you cover extra content. Loads of kids don't even have subject specialists for teachers, recruiting teachers is difficult. Also, I think people got used to the idea of home learning etc during lockdown.

I think it's less common among white British more an immigrant thing to get ahead. It might be more have maths tutors now maths is seen as important or more have English tutors now dyslexia is seen as a condition that can be treated rather than just a stupid child. I think all rounding is more important and prioritise sport music and scouts/guides for social skills rather than even more academic time.