to think there is not much difference between private schooling and moving into catchment area of a good school?

[knowitallstrikesagain]

Lots of people I know consider themselves to be against private education. But the vast majority of them aspire to live in an area with a good high school. These area are more expensive to live in, so basically they are talking about using money to get their children a good education, they are just going about it in a different way.

AIBU to think you should not be 'morally opposed' to private education if you move into a desireable area just to be near good schools when you are well aware that other people cannot afford this location?

since when was paying £1600 per month rent classed as social housing?

I dont know anyone who could afford those sort of rents even if it did give them access to outstanding schools

Agree with that Graham. The cultural/economic thing is just a convenient excuse to bash private school parents with.

Whatme, thank you, that's exactly the comparison I was getting at when I compared my former, cheaper to rent large, country house to the Dulwich Village shoebox. :)

FioFio, your opinion strikes no chords with me. But then again, I'm not middle class.

Graham behaviour and standards can often get mixed up with the perceived economic background of the children. Regarding cultural, there is a large Somali community at my local comps, this has detered some white middle class parents purely though mis-guided assumptions about gang culture.

I think people are scared of ordinary children. I think they have forgotten that they are just ordinary

I know of the SS paying £500+ per week private rent. £1600 is nothing!

FioFio I agree .

YABU. We chose where we lived based on many factors, none of which was the school catchment. Our first child wasn't even born at the time. We based on things like the doctor, park, decent sized grocery store plus several independent food shops were all within walking distance. We were renting at the time and a year later we bought in the same area because we liked it so much and were making many friends locally. Yes, it does have a good school, but at the time we didn't know that.

We could have moved to the next town 10 minutes down the road where we would have certainly been able to buy a bigger house for the money, but it wasn't about a poorer school, it was not as good a neighbourhood as the village were we live.

However, even if we had bought in the cheaper town instead of where we did in our village, it would have saved us around £40,000 on the price of a house. Let's be generous and say even £50,000. Looking at the website of one of the local private schools, the school fees alone for Reception would have been just under £9000. That goes up to £12,000 for Years 5 and 6. So with 2 children, by the end of primary school, we would have paid just on school fees alone (based on this year's fees, not increases) over £125,000.

So to say that we moved to somewhere because of it's school and that's comparable to paying for private is 1. untrue because our decision wasn't based on that and 2. private school is still a hell of a lot more expensive than a living in the "best" school catchment. Plus living somewhere nice offers more than just a good school, it's a quality of life thing for the whole family, not just possibly (and only possibly) better education for the kids.

Frontpaw? Doesn't that now exceed the local housing allowance maximum? A quick look at Shelter's website tells me that the max is £400.

"I think people are scared of ordinary children. I think they have forgotten that they are just ordinary"

What!

FioFio, mine are just ordinary children.

no graham, your are ordinary children with manners apparently, where as the hoi polloi at the state school are the ordinary children without them

Yes, fioFio, you're perfectly correct. Mine are ordinary children with manners.

Isn't it odd how a discussion about state vs private always descends to this, with the independent school parents being accused of having various views on state school pupils despite never having expressed any such opinion.

They're always the ones in the wrong although I have yet to see an independent parent being deliberately rude or dismissive to a state school one.

If I wanted to be rude, I could say that that's rather telling.

This thread seems to be very city centred.
Where we are Schools are miles apart and only in the largertowns. If you're rural your children will only get transport for one school.
So if the school really doesn't suit and not necessarily through snobbishness then there really are only the two options of move or go private. If you have other Dcs who may be awtrled how is it morally worse to go private than it is to move house.

Graham - more than likely now! This was last year in a block I lknow. One family £500 a week, one £650 a week. It boggles the mind (two and three bedroomed flats). That's the going rate (and the catchment area is for schools with bad ofsted reports). Then the dad moved out of the three bed and got his own place (SS also). I don't know where people will go with this new cap.

It is odd Graham, I've noticed the same. It's like it's ok to criticise the choices made by people who have some spare cash, but criticise the choices made by those who don't and you may as well be the devil himself.

*settled

I live on the same street as an "outstanding" village primary school that has small class sizes and is much sought after. I am also in the catchment area for the very best senior school that is also ranked "outstanding" by ofsted. Incidentally, I pay £1,500 a month in rent for our family house, as that is the going rate around here and after viewing 13 houses I was damn lucky to get this one - on the morning it went on the market, paying my initial deposit on the phone to the agency while still viewing it. We had to live in this area due to work.

However, I have a hellish 45 minute commute to do a normal 20 minute journey (traffic!!!! urgh) each morning to take my children to independent schools. We then do without flashy holidays, cars and expensive clothes to pay the school fees. Why? Because I weighed it all up and think the independent schools ARE better. Not all independent schools, but these ones in particular are better imo than the very best the state sector has to offer me.

I had no idea your children went to private school graham I was passing an opinion on your post on manners and behaviour. My neighbours children go to one of the top girls school in the country, their manners are appalling . Do I think they are representative of all girls in private school? no of course I don't, I think they have no manners because it doesn't seem important to their parents to have them either!

Isn't it odd how a discussion about state vs private always descends to this, with the independent school parents being accused of having various views on state school pupils despite never having expressed any such opinion

And from the lofty moral heights of having moved to the naice area with the best state school in to boot :)

VJ are you Seeker on speed?

Generally, Parents do what they do to provide the best education they can for their kids. On that basis I don't judge you, so I'd appreciate the courtesy back.

I chose an independent for my DS for all sorts of reasons. Just one of which was its close ties to our community, including a state SN school. The kids in the class are a wide variety of backgrounds, THEY ARE JUST KIDS.

The misconception that independents have some fartarsed, drummed up on the back of a fag packet wont cut much ice with Ofsted.

We don't ski, not do we have a speedboat, we do not have a landed estate with staff. But if we did, DS would still be brought up to be kind and considerate and conscientious by his family and school.

All this bollocks about privately educated kids being elitist snobs is as insulting as saying all comp kids are going to nick the tyres off your car.

My private school child has impeccable manners

But my state school child is just plain rude

bronze