To think at a private school, it’s not the teachers that are better...

[Caitlin555]

....it’s just you are less likely to get the bad behaviour, and more likely to have smaller class sizes?

It drives me mad that there’s this perception that the teachers at private schools are so much better than at state. They are not. In fact, you don’t even need a teaching qualification to teach at a private school.

It is obviously easier to get good results and control a class when you’ve got a smaller class of (probably) better behaved, more affluent kids whose parents want them to be there and to not have the social problems that some schools contend with.

I wish parents would just be honest about why they are sending their kids to x private school - it might be the small class sizes, it might be the facilities, it might be that it is super selective - but don’t make it about the teachers as that’s an insult to those amazing teachers who work hard every day to make a difference at state schools.

And no, I’m not a teacher.

I don't think there's an independent school in the country which has 'extremely difficult entrance exams'.

These schools like to congratulate parents on how incredibly well their DC have done to pass the exams - thus flattering them in, along with the expensive fees - but none of the exams are 'extremely difficult' for an ordinarily bright child.

Not that it matters : all our teachers in our private school have a degree. They don’t hire anyone without a degree. Not the reason we send our children there but there you go.

@sst1234

Some balanced comments here but these private school threads are inevitably overrun by Marxist class warriors with an axe to grind rather about the evils of private education.

lol, haven't seen any marxists around here!

@goodbyestranger

I don't think there's an independent school in the country which has 'extremely difficult entrance exams'.

These schools like to congratulate parents on how incredibly well their DC have done to pass the exams - thus flattering them in, along with the expensive fees - but none of the exams are 'extremely difficult' for an ordinarily bright child.

Exactly - the exams can’t be that tough or no one would get in and they wouldn’t make any money

From my experience, the exams are simply to ensure that a child at least has an average aptitude and won’t bring the school’s results down horribly as long as they have the right support.

... Buying your way out of mixing with chavs?

I wonder what planet some people are on.
Eton would probably be out of most average wealthy peoples league but many lower tier private schools will have an enormous range of pupils, and diversity. The fees paid by all kinds of means and maybe not by the parents themselves..

Divorce, drug addictions, dv, alcoholism, abuse.. Doesn't stop when families cross an income threshold.

I don’t think the teachers are always better- I guess some are, some aren’t. I do think that it is probably somewhat easier to remove a poorly performing teacher though.

Our DD’s prep school has teachers specialising in a particular subject (maths, English, science, history, geography, music, art etc) from a much younger age. I think this allows the teachers to concentrate on their interest/area of expertise. And I do think the quality of their teaching is better than what is described by friends, though I also recognise that smaller class sizes etc play a part.

If you take what happened during lockdown, their school provided excellent teaching and support. My nephew, on the other hand, got a few work sheets (from twinkl) at the beginning and then nothing got over a month. After that there was another pack (about half a dozen) and then nothing. School did not respond to emails and calls either not answered or message taken and no call back received. Another local school with composite classes sent out work, but all aimed at youngest in the class. Again, school quite hard to get in contact with and no interest at all in providing differentiated work.

And it is also true that quite a few parents locally have been complaining that if their children worked hard through lockdown, they are currently not doing much whilst school “assess where each pupil is”. They ought to know who has and has not been logging in or sending work in, and surely can differentiate. One mum I know is worried her son is being out of learning a d has said if schools shut again, he won’t be working hard again if this is what happens at the other end. My DC’s school is back up and learning at same rate as before. I think there are quite a few reasons for that, but I think one of them is that not doing much = unhappy parents, which means they are under more pressure to get back up and running.

Oooooo curiosity really did kill that cat 😂

Affluent does not always equal well behaved

Affluent can mean an entitled child thas never been told no. They can be a nightmare to teach. They can also be nasty bullies to children from a "poorer" background.

@Caitlin555 I really don't think that applies to the top London day schools: KCS, StPauls, LEH, Alleyns, G&L, WHS, PHS, etc.

My DC's peers who went to the local London comps did not make Oxbridge

What? Thats truly appalling.

Come on... don’t embarrass yourself! Most average families couldn’t even dream of finding the fees. It’s a self selecting group of extremely high earners or those with private incomes. It is not diverse! Don’t insult people’s intelligence!

Again, spoiling children only kicks in at a certain wage level? Entitled dc only come to families who go to private school. 🙄. Utter cobblers!

@randomer

My DC's peers who went to the local London comps did not make Oxbridge

What? Thats truly appalling.

Eton, oh yeah, thats really normal.

You can remove a teacher on capability in 6 weeks. Brutal, yes. Hard, no.

I don't think you understand what diversity truly is.

It's a big part of it, yes. At my local state school,the kids swear and throw things. We went private,

It doesn't matter whether the exams are "extremely difficult" or not - the selective ones will take the kids who did best in the exams. They only need to be difficult enough so they can differentiate.

[quote OhTheRoses]@Caitlin555 I really don't think that applies to the top London day schools: KCS, StPauls, LEH, Alleyns, G&L, WHS, PHS, etc.[/quote]
I don’t know what all those acronyms stand for, I have to admit, and can’t really comment anyway but surely the main driver is money, they aren’t grammar schools.

Im sure Caitln 555

Your are definitely doing the right thing lol.
Just that it is going to cost you so many thousands more a year.
Well done you.

I don’t think you do!

My ASD kid is at a private school. The money I spend on his private education and private OT etc means more money in the pot for those who can’t afford to fund it themselves. How is this wrong? Judge away.

I don't think the teachers are better, but they're certainly more likely to only teach their degree subject. A lot of my friends teach science, and without exception, the ones at state schools teach all three sciences up to year 9 or GCSE depending on the school. Some teach maths as well. Those in private schools (and the selective grammar) only teach their specialism. So not necessarily a better teacher in terms of classroom management etc, but better in terms of knowing their subject to a much higher level.

I also get the impression that private schools are more likely to have native speakers teaching languages, but that's anecdote rather than knowing the statistics. (And of course that doesn't actually tell you if they're good teachers.)

God forbid that parents, teachers or others might be confronted with

'kids that swear and throw things'

Heavens above, you chose to be a parent and you can;t; deal with that?

@Splendidseptember, tbf, the academic bar for Eton is pretty high. When my ds was 13 I don't think it was more expensive than boarding at Stowe, Marlborough, Ampleforth, etc, and also had good bursary, etc.