to ask if you use state or private education

[manicinsomniac]

Sorry, I know it's a little rude and personal but I only ask because I think that only 7-8% of the children in the UK are privately educated yet on mumsnet it seems to be massively higher than that which I find interesting.

So, if I'm not being too unreasonable to ask, do/did/will you use private or state education for your child/ren?

2 x private. "Outstanding" village state school seriously let my G&T DD1 down..... gutted as I really wanted the village school experience but have never looked back (and she certainly hasn't).

Blu - lol at chicken restaurants

State x2, but as state schools vary so dramatically, I don't really think you can make a reasonable judgement on peoples choices just by asking state or private.

My dc's primary school is rated outstanding, and I believe it deserves that rating and more. It is excellent, but part of that is because of the very active PTA that operate in an affluent area where parents donate huge amounts of time money and resources. There are loads of SAHm's that run extra clubs for free as well, like gardening, chess, singing and dancing.

If my dc's school wasn't like that and there were no other options, I would have gone private, even if it meant us sacrificing holidays, extra curricular activities and me working all hours instead of the very convenient part time low pay job I have.

DC1 is going to an excellent grammar school in September, but if he hadn't got in the local comp would have been a very attractive option as it is also very good. I am very very lucky to live in an area with a GS and a good comp, but if I wasn't, it would be private all the way.

Thought I'd give state a go for a year for DS, after a wrangle about admissions which came down to administration not education & sadly confirmed my thoughts regarding state, I'm going independent .

She doesn't believe in private education.

You don't believe in state education.

I don't believe in pedagogic dogma.

State. Would only consider private as last resort.

Same as natto.

I believe in choice. There are so many mass generalisaions on this thread its funny.

Your kids, your money, your choice. You can choose how many kids you have, how much money you earn and where you educate them.

State, one of the lowest performing schools in the country, son got 10 A Levels 6 A*'s and 4 A's. Just finished Maths degree got a First.

If your child is intelligent enough and gifted they will do well irrespective of the school they go to.

Sorry that's ten GCSE's!

But what if they're not intelligent or gifted fabbychic? that's when I think private schools become worth the sacrifice. I agree with you on bright kids, I would never make financial sacrifices to send a child who will do well anywhere to an independent.

My local private school gcse results for grades a-c including English/maths last year was 100%. The best of the local state schools is 60%.

It's a no brainer for me, my DD will be going private. I'm lucky to be able to afford the choice. 10-12 in each class too.

If my reverse snobbery MIL complains I'll remind her that she had her hysterectomy through my FILs works BUPA policy!

I was at average state comp, went to uni and have a good job. But I was sensible and wasn't easily influenced by "bad uns". What if my DD is more flighty? Private will give me more comfort that she is properly guided and focused upon. No matter how much we like to deny it state schools on average have more social problems to deal with, taking time away from teaching and childrens personal development.

State.

School fees would total more than household income.

Private since age 7 (state infant school) for all three of our older ones, bar a year in Canada where they were in the state system and it was lovely in way that no state in Britain is any more imo. No frantic pressure to take stupid tests just to show how good the school is, no obsession with H&S above any other consideration like enjoyment and wonder, they were nurtured and welcomed for being clever rather than having to hide it, no treating boys like defective girls, and real individual focus on and knowledge of our children's idiosyncracies rather than expecting them to all be the same, proper physical exercise and wide range of creative arts, excellent support staff to bring them up to speed in French. For the same experience we have to pay £££ in the UK.

The main reasons we skipped into the private sector (against every principle in my body before my son in particular started school) were these: I was told by several teachers in no uncertain terms that my lonely little 145+ IQ son was slightly not quite right in the head because wouldn't go out to play football with the other boys (reception year, just 4yo), "away with the fairies" (year 1, 5yo), "not even going to get level 1 at KS1 SATS" (year 2, 6yo). He was to transfer for year 3 was to an award-winning state school where they had no morning breaktime beyond the end of the autumn term of year 3, just "5 mn in the book corner", where there was no physical education apart from music and movement in the hall or x country running after school. We just knew that he would have a meltdown if forced to continue like this, and sent him to a prep school with 5+ hours a week of serious exercise, proper breaks and plenty of common sense. It took those 3 years of my son being very unhappy at school (to the extent that he started to hurt himself deliberately) for me to realise that I had to find an environment that suited him or he would be very very unhappy for his whole school life.

Now coming to the end of the fees (hurray!) as DS is about to leave school and DD1 is going to state 6th form college as the money has pretty much run out- all our savings gone etc, I have no pension scheme as everything I earn goes into fees (yes, I really do feel that strongly about it). Only DD2 left in private school now, potentially the 4th in time although she is still very small.

Fabby - 10 A levels? Really? Am impressed. Nobody at my independent school gets 10 A levels.

Sorry just read your second post. 10 GCSEs is still impressive, though.

State now but previously private when in London.

I wouldn't hesitate to go private again if I felt it was necessary for either of my kids.

What they need is the top priority for us and if we can buy them something better then we will. Doesn't seem necessary at the moment though as the state schools where I am are excellent.

Actually, if I lived in London I might think differently and use private (if I could possibly afford it)
I would be more inclined to use my money to move to an area with good state schools.
I would say state as preference (even if I had the money)
private if we were very unhappy with the state schools
and HE as a very last, tried everything and failed,resort.

DS: State primary until 8 and then prep feeder for London Day School. Bright, sporty boy who was not catered for adequately at state primary.

DD: State primary until 11 no problems at all. At state girls school with an exceptional reputation. Unfortunately it is trading on its reputation. Has been horrific, rife with bullying and falling standards under a weak head. Transferring to independent.

It is regrettable how narrow the state curriculum is at many state schools, especially in relation to languages. Our DD is bright, top average, but not a high flyer and although I believe she would leave a state secondary with qualifications I'm not sure she would leave with a particularly good all round education and there is, I believe, a subtle difference.

State primary, state secondary

I believe that you, as parents, are the biggest factor in your child's education certainly up to secondary. I hope to have instilled enough of an understanding and appreciation of education for my children to be self motivated enough to sort themselves out in secondary. Has worked so far. Dd was elected leader of her school council and ds continues to do extremely well academically. I believe we are responsible for making the most of the opportunities we are given and my children seem to have adopted that attitude. I don't believe that any state school wishes to fail its pupils - some just need a bit more help than others.

IMHO it looks as tho this decision often depends on the quality of the local state option. Dd is coming to the end of preschool year in locat state school allegedly 'good' per recent report but has done very little all year. Teachers are lovely but haven't even recorded that dd can count to 6 - one of the supposed landmarks for this year which she could do before she had started. Apart from mixing socially, I suspect she would have been better off spending the year with me and her grandparents. The school is now losing 10% of income but don't get me started on politics.

We chose a school for her for next year which was private but is now state and sponsored by the private trust. I am so grateful that we got the place at this amazing school. As it is girls only we are considering private for ds when the time comes after our state experience. I'll have to work extra days but it will be worth it. At the end of the day surely we just all want what we consider to be the best for our dc.

I think Oxbridge admissions are about 60% from state schools at the moment aren't they? Not great, when only 7% are private sector, but also not outside the realms of possibility if that's where your ambitions lie.

Probably shouldn't admit this here but I used to work in the Recruitment Dept of a large organisation. While I was a lowly junior one of our jobs would be to sift through CV's to get them down to the number the panel wanted to see (usually 200 plus applicants and they would want to see the top 20). First sift would be 1st class honours only through, next sift would be degrees from certain uni's (including Oxbridge but not exclusively) and final stage would be to pick out the ones who had got that far from a state school while the privately educated ones went in the reject pile. I'm still undecided as to whether it was a fair process or not, but it was the one we had been asked to apply.

State.

For 3 main reasons:

1. We couldn't afford it.
2. The closest private schools are about 1.5hrs away, so even if they got in on a scholarship they would have to board.
3. Because there are no private schools locally everyone goes to the state schools, meaning that the standards there are quite good. A surgeon's child sits next to binman's child in class, and for the most part you are judged on intelligence rather than income. Which is good.

In our area, the private primary schools are geared towards studenst with Special learning Needs...so I send mine to a state primary

I got 7 A levels and went to a private school.

I fail to see the point in 7 A' levels-no one needs that many.