Seeker! Your post of 10:57am is the most ignorant post i've ever seen on MN.
So all your ranting on MN about diversity, this is what it boils down to. You really don't have fucking clue!
Ds started off at the local state school, he was one of only 3 black children in the entire school, the majority were 85% Italian the rest white english, very economically diverse. it was painfully obvious not just to me but also my then 4yr ds that we were different, several children on separate occassions wanted to know why he was "brown", on many occasions got the 
look, some children assumed ds and the two other black kids in the school were siblings ? 
we took it all in our stride, the children were obviously just curious, but this made my 4 yr rather upset and confused and definitely "different", the parents just generally didnt know what to say to us after the initial polite "hello".
The next local school was 90% white, again ds2 was one of only 6 black kids. Similar story, not at all ethnically diverse, the majority Seemed middle class, nice jobs, the number of 4 by 4's each morning were mind boggling.
Ds received a few invites and i always made sure he attended but whenever we extended an invite back, we always got the look followed by a decline, upon speaking to the other black parents at both schools they were in exactly the same boat as us.
I am degree educated and dh has a masters from Harvard, NOBODY gave a rats arse wether we were MIDDLE class, your idea that a middle class black person and middle class white would have more in common than someone of their own ethnicity is just mind boggling!
Ds1 and 2 have since moved to a prep 
oh yes its lovely Seeker! They've got black, yellow, white, all the colours under the sun there, no one bats an eyelid when you walk into a room, no silly questions ds1 was suprised to meet kids from our home country 
he's got invites comming out of his ears from all races, ive made friends with the white mums, black mums, and two mums from singapore.
I'm sure the local state schools were more economically diverse but to us the Prep school represents the type of diversity most important to us. The children are learning a lot about other cultures, religions and customs from through direct contact with other children, something that was completely lacking in the two local state schools, they may have been economically diverse, but who cares ? (obviously you do) And why on earth would that be important to me ? i couldnt care less wether you were middle, upper or lower so long as there were some people who looked like me, my dc finally feel like they belong.
Someone not too long ago was spouting rubbish about how private school kids spend their holidays down at granpa's country home blabla, my dc dont have any granpa with a house a house in the country, they have family and friends outside. Of school from the various economic backgrounds, they have 3 cousins in an inner london council flat, an aunt in a modest terraced 3 bed, and an uncle in a 2 bed flat in dagenham. They visit them all the time and spend lots of time at these places, they also travel broad a lot to visit grandparents who live a very humble lifestyle, where there is no running water and no electricity.
My dc certainly know how to talk to people from all walks of life and understand how many live and that they are priviledged, so i dont need to hunt for economic diversity at school.
Please let me know the area where middle classness crosses all racial barriers in this country, if that were the case class discrimination not "racial discrimination" will be making the headlines for years.
You obviously have a huge axe to grind with anybody that uses private education, as you continuosly lump everyone in one box and bang on about economic diversity, buying advantage, i'll bloody well buy advantage so long as i can aford it, i've suffered enough to get where i am should my children not enjoy the fruits of my labour ? How ignorant you are.