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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why so many foreigners send their kids to prep schools?

30 replies

educationobserver · 03/03/2011 15:07

Someone I know mentioned this to me earlier today. Apparently you will find loads of people who are originally from Asia and Africa - not all of them rich of course but some going the extra mile

OP posts:
teenyanne · 03/03/2011 15:10

No idea if you are BU or not, as I'm not entirely sure what a prep school is, and not sure about what a parent's race has got to do with school choice.

ashamedandconfused · 03/03/2011 15:15

"Apparently you will find loads of people who are originally from Asia and Africa " - you're not exactly offering up reliable stats for discussion here OP, and what has race to do with anything?

what about the many many state schools that have huge % of children from ethnic minorities? Overall, the % of such children in private schools is probably hugely disproportionate

or did you just want to stir up a fight about "foreigners" ??

howlonguntiltheweekend · 03/03/2011 15:15

I think often the jobs in places such as Africa and Asia that take people over here to live/work are quite well paid. Therefore they can afford to send their children to prep school and/or their companies pay.

At a secondary level you find a lot of foreign children in private schools because their parents can afford to send them to board over here and a British public school education is rightly or wrongly, still respected throughout much of the world.

ashamedandconfused · 03/03/2011 15:17

sorry, not clear enough - by hugely disproportionate I meant very small numbers, not the opposite

howlonguntiltheweekend · 03/03/2011 15:20

Oh OK you were asking the opposite of what I thought.

To continue from what I said before, I think people from Asia/Africa who do go private here tends to be because our schools are well known and their parents come from high paid jobs and so have travelled over here.

Many people emigrate to the UK and do not have huge funds of money behind them on arrival to fund things such as private education. Therefore I think a lot of first generation people of foreign descent are more likely to be state educated.

howlonguntiltheweekend · 03/03/2011 15:21

Just realised my last post wasnt in response to the op. Blush Sorry ashamed - not with it today!

Hoping I have got myself in to a troll convo here as well!

Original poster
educationobserver · 03/03/2011 15:22

I have no intention of stirring up any trouble and I apologise if my thread title is offensive. When I say foreigner, I mean people who were not born in the UK who have emigrated to the UK for whatever reason.

In my discussion, my friend implied that in Asia or Africa, education is your ticket to a 'successful' life as a doctor, lawyer etc which is a bit different to the Western culture where you are success if you do well at say, music, art or something like that.

Perhaps I should have posted in Education.

OP posts:
Blu · 03/03/2011 15:24

"Asia or Africa, education is your ticket to a 'successful' life as a doctor, lawyer etc which is a bit different to the Western culture where you are success if you do well at say, music, art or something like that. "

???? Confused

Can you point to the point of your question?

howlonguntiltheweekend · 03/03/2011 15:26

I think that solicitors/drs, e.t.c...are careers that 'traditionally' are considered to be respectable careers that are guaranteed to earn money. I guess things such as art and music are probably just as respected as career paths but can be a bit more unpredictable/subjective as to whether you will be a success and make money.

Perhaps if you come from a part of the world where there is a lot of poverty, you are more likely to go for an education option that will lead to a career that is guaranteed to earn you good money providing you work hard.

Blu · 03/03/2011 15:33

Aiming to be a Dr or lawyer etc is hardly unusual in Western families, though, or viewed as 'not successful' as the OPs post implies.

howlonguntiltheweekend · 03/03/2011 15:35

No, not at all. My answer was just to try and look at why for someone who lives in say India or Uganda may decide to progress a career as a doctor rather than as a pop star.

Fetlock · 03/03/2011 22:35

i agree with the second part of what howlong said. i met a muslim lady recently (chatting to her in a hospital waiting area), she was only young but had three children, two of schooling age. she told me she lived above a sweet shop but sent her two elder children to private school. this is something i have often been told by asian women. all the private schools where i live have a huge intake of asian kids and the area where i live isn't hugely multicultural (but surrounding areas are). there is a new infants private school opened a year ago and about 80% of kids there are either of african or asian origin. I think they take education alot more seriously than alot of english people, perhaps english people take education forgranted. all the kids at the local music tuition place are either asian or african, same apreciation and better understanding of getting up the ladder more for later in life

steps101 · 03/03/2011 22:37

"my friend implied that in Asia or Africa, education is your ticket to a 'successful' life as a doctor, lawyer etc which is a bit different to the Western culture where you are success if you do well at say, music, art or something like that."

What.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 03/03/2011 22:46

I'm not from Asia or Africa so clearly not an expert on this subject but one of the markers of a good education I feel, is to avoid meaningless generalisations and to back up statements with specific and relevant evidence.

HTH.

sharbie · 03/03/2011 22:49

well in my family a child is being sent because of language issues.i think they believe smaller classes will help him follow the lessons easier and he may have the opportunity to improve his english after school.

HalfPastWine · 03/03/2011 23:21

I think this stems from attitudes to education and as one poster said, we sometimes tend to take our education opportunities for granted. Many 'foreigners' who come to settle in the UK may not have had similar educational opportunities in their native country therefore wisely make use of the educational opportunites when they settle here. At the end of the day they want to the best for their children like the rest of us.

Morloth · 04/03/2011 00:42

If you are talking Expats then the main reason is that the companies are paying as part of the package.

Dunno about anyone else, we went private becuase it was the closest we could get into and because I liked the school.

JaneS · 04/03/2011 00:49

Well, DH's family sent him to a boarding school because they wanted him to learn to speak English and couldn't teach him themselves. A state school wouldn't have taken him as his parents don't live over here, but even if they had, they thought unless he was immersed in the language all day he'd not learn. That might be a reason?

LilQueenie · 04/03/2011 01:03

is it something to do with the fact that international schools are more like private school? In africa at least there are international schools which I believe are different from say our public schools. I could however be wrong.

kittya · 04/03/2011 01:30

People think that if they are paying they are getting, rightly or wrongly, the best education for their child. All my Indian friends went private, as do their children, I've never questioned why it just seems to be the norm amongst them and, yes, they are mainly doctors or accountants!!

RunOrRioja · 04/03/2011 07:46

Have a read of 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother' by Amy Chua...

musksticks · 04/03/2011 07:58

It comes down to understanding of education systems. I am foreign and struggled with the idea of sending ds to a non fee paying school as, in my country, i would never ever have done this. In my country, prep and fee paying are better. International schools worldwide have a very good reputation anyway.
I still dont like the idea of mine going to a comp when he is in high school, so he wont.

foxinsocks · 04/03/2011 08:06

I'm partly from AFrica you could say and yes, it's a lot to do with understanding the systems. It took me years to get the state school system here. Also don't forget, in a lot of African countries, there isn't a thriving 'state' system nor 'free' (I know we pay in taxes but free in that you don't pay at the point of entry) education so we are accustomed to paying something for education.

Many expats get brought over here with the promise of private school funded by their employers.

But there are probably thousands, yup thousands, who don't send their children private and use the state system. I'm one of them! You know, perfectly normal people just like me and you!

Joanna Lumley wrote something quite interesting recently about the value foreigners place on education and I think she mentioned Africa in her article. It is valued in a different way over there. It's seen much more of a priviledge than an entitlement like it is over here (bit of a generalistaion as I know not everyone in either continent feels that way but it's a general feeling you get).

Noddyrocks · 04/03/2011 08:15

You are not offending anyone OP, its just a matter of words.Funnily enough my husband has been in the UK for the past 20 years (he was also born here) but grew up in Nigeria with his family. He wants to send our DD to a private school too. Some of his family do too. Remember that sometimes families chip in too and help each other out (I know he helped his brother out with school fees) whereas in the UK maybe we don't tend to so much.

Remember too that a lot of these families have very traditional values including religious views which might not be tolerated in the state system.

TBH althought I am British I lived abroad inseveral different countries when I was younger and the state system in the country worries me. The lack of discipline and respect going on in them baffles me how anyone can learn in such environments (obviously some are better than others)

Acinonyx · 04/03/2011 09:16

OP - I am part Asian, lived in Africa and have observed the same thing - and not because the families are particularly well-off. The attitude to education is different and also quite conservative. Certainly some professions are favoured over less traditional ones. In fact, talking to my African and Asian friends about this sometimes makes me feel I'm not taking dd's education seriously enough.