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

[sexonthebeach]

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?

thefishwife, as I said, my friends are not churchgoers, so they did not get her in because they were in any particular diocese.

Abraid- sources, please.

My ds's school is a bit rough by Mumsnet standards. It's got Romanians and travellers and everything,

It was a BBC Radio 4 programme one afternoon about three months ago. Towns mentioned as problematic included Great Yarmouth and South Coast towns, along with south of England market towns.

It wasn't The Educators, I don't think.

Sorry, I just haven't got time to search back through all those archives. But it was interesting and rather counter-intuitive, but not a new theory--I've seen it talked about since about 2003.

I think that kids who have parents who give a shit and have the ability to help them do well. Most private schools are selective, so the kids are more intelligent naturally. the ones that don't select obviously have parents who care because they are shelling out money for their education. Nowt wrong with the state sector and I say that as a privately educated person.

The reasons why kids don't do well are that either a) their parents don't care, b) Their parents are so busy working hard to keep their heads above water that they can't support the children enough, or c) They don't have the understanding or the ability to help their children with school work or seek out help with school work.

Out of interest who in opposition are sending their children to private schools? I can only think of one and that was ten years ago so am out of touch!

"Admittedly they'll be screwed if they don't live there long..."

But they'd definitely be breaking the rules if they applied from anything other than their main address.

He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. And it isn't really anyone else's bloody business.

there are some fantastic state school in London god lord do you think we are all fighting off muggers daily and have drug dealers on every street corner

and their child will be going to a fantastic state school in London not one that is struggling

I know many parents would be happy to send their child/children to the best state school in the area if their child go a place not all do but we can be sure their child does get a place at their chosen school

My point re hijabs etc was that that is to some people's minds the definition of a rough school. For the record, I actively chose to send my children to a school that reflects the multiracial mix of our area - and indeed of their own ethnicity.

Incidentally (a) none of the Y9 kids I know at my DDs' comp have tutors afaik, despite the fact many of them are on track to hoovering up some v nice GCSEs indeed (b) the assertion that somehow Latin and a selection of MFL is not what you'd get at 'Stabbington Comprehensive' is testing my pelvic floor - my kids have that offer.

Prefer that than hypocrisy of Diane Abbot sending her son to private school when labour was in power.

Damned if he does damned if he doesn't.

Child has to go to school somewhere.

Ok I haven't read the thread, which drives me crazy when people don't.

I'm just bewildered by the OP.

So just because they were privately educated their children should be? Does that work the other way round if the parents were state educated they have no right to send their children to private school? Yes let's keep the plebs out of private schools and therefore widen the social gap.

Do you know anything about the Tory political agenda? Surely sending their child to state school is going against it? Isn't the Tory agenda broadly that the state shouldn't pay for anything? Privatisation of pretty much everything, the introduction of free schools and academies.

What does Miriam's nationality have to do with anything ? They do have boarding schools in other countries and many families send their children away to board in the UK.

What a massive assumption and generalisation that London schools are a bit rough, are you presuming because it's a city, every school will be that working class inner city school.

How can you judge wether a parent is being irresponsible in its choices for their child's education? Do you know anything about the particular state school they've picked I'm assuming by your generalisation probably not, do you know what options were open to them, and unless your David or Samantha I very much doubt you do.

London does have some of the best state schools. It also has some truly dire ones.

Clegg's 'state' school happens to be one of the best Catholic schools in the country located in one of the most expensive boroughs of London. Not exactly an egalatarian statement.

Cameron's choice is politically meaningless, it's easy to 'go state' with endless reserves of cash affording you real choice of school/location,
contacts ensuring faith schools won't be inclined to reject you,
a stay at home/flexible working parent (yes, yes I'm sure SamCam has a job of some sort but she's not exactly going to be legging it from work to after school clubs is she?).

Grammar schools are better academically than independants

"
Grammar schools are better academically than independants"

What a meaningless statement!

Well, obviously they're doing it because all senior politicians now have to choose the state sector for their children or risk being criticised for not having faith in the very education system they're responsible for. After all, the Tories are always telling us about the great improvements they've made to the state education sector.

I imagine that with her father's connections, she'll do OK in life.

Do we know which school it is they've chosen for her?

Maybe they talked to her about it. And she said she wanted to go to a school that would allow her to get home in time for tea. Where she would know some faces on day 1. And where the availability of a 5 language MFL department would help out with her ambition to study languages at degree level in future.

Wouldn't that be refreshing.

I am disappointed by the OPs comments. What is so wrong about mixing with children who may be "a bit rough"? Is being rifraf a contagious disease?

I can afford to send my son to fee paying but there is no chance that will happen. I think state schools offer more as they give a student the chance to mix with people from a more diverse background. Going to school is about far more than GCSE results, it is learning how to mix and deal with people.

I went to a comprehensive and then on to Cambridge University and I was disappointed when I got there as the other students were all wealthy young people who had been so spoon fed many of them could not work on their own initiative. I went on to teach on a college level at Cambridge for a few years and there were quite a few students who had gone to top fee paying schools who were disadvantaged by their spoon fed education.

I should add my parents wanted me at a fee paying school but I deliberately flunked the entrance exam as I did not want to go. I just wrote my name on the paper and left it at that, rest of the exam paper was left blank.

i do love the idea that his kid must be bright......perhaps they arn't

Yes, how does anyone know how academic Cameron's daughter is? That is just a weird assumption to make.

Nearly all top politicians send their children to state schools, they have to - as everyone's pointed out, otherwise what sort of message does it send about "their" educational system.

What drives me insane is they nearly all play the faith card, thereby perpetuating the ridiculous system where to attend the best state schools you need to be (or pretend to be) religious. Meaning this ridiculous system will never end as the politicians prop it up.

Gordon Brown, to his huge credit, despite being a genuine churchy type who could have actually used that get-out-of-jail card, actually sent his kids to the nearest state primary to Downing Street, not church, very mixed intake. Good for him.

I couldn't dare less where shiny Dave sends his kid to school but I do think he is a shameless man who is prepared to use his children as political pawn.
His attitude towards families with disabled children really disgusts me. His party have shafted and demonised disabled people and he dared come back with a response to Miliband about his late son Ivan and how he knows what disability is like due to his first hand experience. I don't think he has the first idea what it is like for normal families with disabled children at all because unlike normal families shiny Dave had a full time nanny and could work whenever he chose and afford whatever specialist care or equipment was required. He has never had to appeal against a cut to disability benefits or fight to get respite or much needed equipment.

Sorry for going slightly off topic but I think this whole school thing is another example of Cameron using his children as political pawn. If he wasn't doing this for politically motivated reasons we wouldn't even know about it, he would just make his school application and decisions in private.