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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to wonder why David Cameron is sending his daughter to a state secondary school?

229 replies

sexonthebeach · 19/10/2014 14:18

He went to Eton and his wife went to an exclusive private school. Both have done brilliantly well, so why are they sending their daughter to a state school, particularly as most London state schools are apparently a bit rough.

On the one hand, I applaud them, as they are showing support for the state sector, and of course the standards should be sufficiently high that no parent should feel they have to spend £££s on opting out. On the other hand, are they just using their child for their political agenda.

Miriam Clegg has also made similar comments ie that their DC will not be educated privately, as why would you pay so much for the privilege of your DC to take their maths exam in a tailcoat? For some reason, Miriam comes over as more sincere, but I still can't help wondering if this is part of the Cleggs' political agenda, given that Nick went to a top 'public school'. Miriam, not being British, probably can't understand why the Brits want to send their kids away to boarding school, in any event, instead of bringing them up yourself - it seems to be something peculiarly British, going back centuries to the days when the noble families would send their children to the households of other noble families to be brought up.

Anyway, I've digressed. Do you think the Camerons are being responsible parents or being unreasonable to use their child to further their political agenda?

OP posts:
MrsMcColl · 22/10/2014 06:38

Don'tdrinkand - sounds like you perhaps haven't read the news stories or the full thread. David Cameron's daughter is in Year 6 and is in all probability going to one if the two excellent CofE schools for girls in Westminster.

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 22/10/2014 07:01

Oh ok, sorry, at first I assumed it would be senior school but I did a quick google to check and the first story that I came up with was her going to infants school! I must admit I thought she was older than that by now, but I (stupidly) assumed it was the most recent story that came highest in the google results!

So yes, as I first suspected she's off to a state school that is quite, quite unlike 99% of others. No surprise there then, same as Blair and the London Oratory. If they had to choose between fairly good, mediocre, humdrum and awful like the rest of us, I'm sure it would be a very different story!

CadmiumRed · 22/10/2014 08:14

However the state system is not actually polarised into schools which are talked of as 'finding ways to be very selective of intake and are therefore as good as private' (Hmm) or "failing sink estate hellholes with metal detectors on the door and a resident police officer" .

Miss Cameron would do very well in my DC's state comp in S.London.

In fact a whole range of children of different abilities and backgrounds do well there.

I am not envious of the place at Greycoat, and do not 'dream' of a place there.

If people calmed down about state schools in general (obviously some need to improve...but there are private schools being shut down due to lack of Safeguarding rigour, for example, and that doesn't seem to tar the whole sector!) no-one would think twice about a politician sending a child to one.

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 22/10/2014 08:57

Oh I agree with you on the whole Cadmium but certainly in many inner city areas there is an issue with polarisation, just as there is with housing, income, and social demographics.

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