High earners should be charged for state schools!

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

BBC report this morning carries the suggestion from Dr Anthony Seldon, head of the private Wellington College, that parents with a family income of £80k should pay for state school places.

WTAF? Kind of ignoring the fact that it is ONLY people on fairly high incomes who actually pay enough tax to cover the cost of their child/children's state school place (roughly £4500 per year per child). Yes of course tax is collected according to an ability to pay and then distributed so all benefit from "free" education, which is right and proper...

BUT he thinks people who are already paying a lot in tax should effectively be penalised and charged again for their child's place at state school! Although maybe he's coming from the POV that if high income parents have to pay for state school, they will be more likely to pay out for their child to go to his private school.

Let's hope they bought their house at the right time, and have no more expenses or children.

Wouldn't it just be easier to change the catchment rules so that people can't just buy up expensive property in an area so that their children get in, even if they have no real connection to the area/school?

Yes, I think he has a point, if he means the selective state schools, where the wealthy have their DCs tutored to ensure a place, then why not charge over a certain income, the thing is proving someone's income.

Also, what is the point of doing well, achieving a good career with salary to boot if you are always going to be penalised for it? Whatever happened to equality of opportunity rather than equality of result?

Even if you tutor, though, that's for one year at, what, £40 a week? How is that getting even close to 15,000 per year for 7 years private schools.

Equality of opportunity should be the same for all children though, shouldn't it ophelia275? The more you link educational opportunities to parents' earnings, the less equal the opportunities for children.

And how do you pay for your transport to work and a railcard, running a family car and after school care?
If you have no external family help that is, or your mortgage either higher or you privately rent which is more expensive. Where I live a family house is about 1200 - 1400 pm for a 3 bed

Charging for secondary school is simply the next logical step from the current situation where wealthier (but not necessarily wealthy) parents have pay a proportion of maintenance for university aged children who are not entitled to borrow the full maintenance loan. This proposal just lowers the age limit at which parents will be forced to contribute, from 18 to 11. It is very wrong. There should be equal access to education for all children, regardless of their parents' income.

Unfortunately, there will never be equality of opportunity in education.

My parents couldn't afford a house near a fantastic school, so I went to average schools. I wasn't tutored officially but my parents are both highly intelligent and motivated, they spent a lot of time with me ; teaching me, supporting me, educating me. Money will never buy that but I was at a huge advantage purely because my parents focused many years on promoting my education.

I think that's the problem tbh

Same here Owllady, rents are £1200 - £1400 for a small 3 bed. A mortgage on equivalent property is about the same with a 10% deposit. Also commuter costs for work can easily be 5k a year. We are in this situation on 60k with 3 dc. Could definitely not afford to pay for 3 school places as well. I'd have to home educate them.

He's just getting free publicity for Wellington.

We are the same Iharegeorge

In some (perhaps many) areas of the country outside London and the South, people could afford private schools on a salary of 80k (although it may be a stretch) and I'm sure that many people would rather do that rather than pay for their children to go to a state school. Overall, a policy such as the one suggested by Seldon would massively increase the number of children going to private schools in this country.

Can I just remind people that deciding not to send children to private schools is not always about money. Asking better off people to pay for education is undermining the principal of state education. But of course he knows that.

if i were going to have to pay £12000 a term or whatever, regardless of whether i went state or private i would choose the school with the best facilities, small class sizes, etc. - this would almost certainly be the private one. i guess that is the point?

it seems to undermine the principles of state funded education to make people pay for it. it also seems a bit to call for it from your positon as head of an independent school.

Family income of £80k isn't much esp in south east - add in after childcare mortgage payments - also many of these people have lost child benefit - families wouldn't be able to afford bills. Totally madness to suggest. I would however suggest that children of migrants brought over by their companies on massive salaries have to pay for state schools.

bronzehorseman your posts really, really pissed me off.

How very fucking patronising!

People have all sorts of circumstances pointing out the bloody obvious.

We don't live in London but somewhere in the s/e because this is where we have our jobs for fucks sake. We also have family and friends, some of whom depend on us so we haven't got the freedom to say shove it, pack up and move as you said you did. Good for you mate.

Hilarious that you feel you can judge families on 80 k being well off. Well we would be comfortable but having to pay 1.2 k per month in child care (and possibly later for stTe school fees) makes us scrape by. That's why I am working p/t now so that we don't have to pay crippling child are costs.

Our mortgage (finally on repayment rather than interest only) is 1400; count on top council tax, insurances, bills, student loans, nursery fees, food and clothes shopping etc. fucking etc.

Fwiw, we have a basic 3bed in a normal, not fancy area, a normal used car and cannot afford to take the family on holidays. That's ok, but do not tell us that we can afford school fees.

We would be ok with 80 k (not our current income anymore) if we didn't have the nursery fees of 1200 a month. If schools start charging that it would be really, really dreary.

This is my plan then: give up work.

I fucking hate my job, hate leaving at 6.30, hate going on the tube, hate bitch troll boss, hate going back on the tube, hate having to get off to collect from after school club, them getting back on the bastard tube to be home for 18.00. There would be no point, no point at all.

And being pushed to work p/t to avoid earning 80 k or whatever, means obviously I am not contributing to the industry I am trained for in a way I could otherwise and obviously contribute less in taxes. Not much of an incentive to strive and be upwards mobile us it? Might as well chill out and take things easy rather than workin my arse off.

changebag I totally sympathise.

Oh yeah, and once internet rates star rising our mortgage will obviously increase. But, of course we'd be bloody well off on 80 k and could afford school fees. Yeah right