If you didn’t go to a private school, what do you think about those who did?

[hanginds]

Do you feel they had an unfair advantage? Do you care? Do you think they don’t know about the real world?

I really struggle to connect with colleagues who were privately educated as they seem almost entitled to the job. They seem fearless about finding alternative work if needs be, yet I just don’t have that confidence. I assume it’s their background as it’s the only difference between us in the academic/work context.

So you know a few rich families whose children go to the local private school.
Do you also know the financial circumstances of every student at the school?

Hmmm. I’m not convinced but it would be great if you were right! Dd for some reason is in with the private school set socially. Insane!

Are you seriously arguing that private schools are as mixed demographically as state?!

Where I live I'd say they almost are.

A very high percentage of children in my city go to private.

You go in and ask? That's quite strange.
My friend is not allowed to discuss the offer her DD was given for her scholarship so there is no way of knowing what others financial status is.

If your DD wants to go private and you want her to, there is always a way. Most do offer means tested bursaries.

We thought about sending DCs private as they are into a particular competitive sport and private schools near us would give them around 5 extra hours a week training in that sport on top of their club time. It would have meant applying for a bursary and selling our house and buying a studio flat, but we could have done it.

In the end we decided against the move largely because of prejudice. My children are English, white, male and have southern English accents. They will already be hated by many based on nothing but their appearance and accent. I did not want them to also be privately educated as then they'd be southern English, white, male, AND privately educated which for many equals Toff, snob, mysogenistic, out of touch and privileged. I didn't want to burden them with that prejudice. This thread has confirmed that I made the right decision. It's a shame many are judged on appearance and schooling and not on their attributes, kindness, consideration, and other factors instead.

i don’t ask I don’t care I am just intrigued at your position that private schools are full of kids who have been given free places. They are businesses - how does that work then?

Maybe not 'full' of those on bursaries, but anyone can go private if they really really want to. Bursaries are available to most that want them and can't afford the fees.

Yes? Some more so. In regards to the one I went to, there may have been less financial diversity, but there was certainly significant racial and ethnic diversity. Hell, I was a private school pupil from outside of the UK.

What do you mean by "demographically"? I live in a rural part of the country. There is very little ethnic diversity within our area. The nearest private school has a far greater diversity within its population than our local state school.

Hmmm. Have to agree to disagree on that one…

Rick and poor. My old city law firm was amazingly diverse mixed geographically lawyers from everywhere but everyone was rich and clever so how diverse is that really? . State schools have to take everyone in the catchment.

As a kid the local private school used to have a kind of partnership with my school, we'd use some of their facilities and they would come in and help with clubs and stuff and they were for the most part overwhelmingly nice and their school was amazing with their own pool, rock-climbing wall, outdoor army obstacle type course and more.
As an adult, I dont know what school people went to, it doesn't come up in conversation much and I don't even put my school on my cv just the qualifications.

I love all these comments claiming private schools don't offer scholarships/bursaries etc. Of course they do - it's just not advertised everywhere! My school offered what they called assisted places but in reality a lot of the students went for free and others had hefty discounts. It's a lot more affordable than people think. It's often for children whose parents can't afford to send them but they have a lot to offer to the school so academic/sporty/musical etc.

it depends whether you value ethnic and racial diversity, or if financial diversity is the only one that matters to you.

Some of us value both! We didn't find our state schools at all lacking in ethnic diversity but I appreciate this will vary widely across the country.

The bursaries will vary school to school but i have seen that only 1% of private school pupils get a full bursary. More get smaller amounts. If a school has big endowments they offer more, but other will set a target like 15% of fee income but discounts can be low like 10% and cover staff discounts and scholarships too.

It's a nonsense that if you want to go to private school and can't afford it, that you can still go. Most wouldn't be able to obviously, otherwise the private school couldn't function.

’but I appreciate this will vary widely across the country’.

exactly. There are plenty of state schools in homogeneous areas, despite the narrative being that its private schools that are lacking in diversity.

Of course not everyone who wants to go to private school but can’t afford it would get a place, apart from anything else there wouldn’t be the capacity for it. A lot of private schools do offer excellent bursaries and scholarships though.
Equally if all parents of private school pupils decided to pull them out and send them to state school, there wouldn’t be capacity for them in the state schools. Ours is massively oversubscribed already, as many are. It would take years to build capacity to accommodate them.

Of course independent schools offer bursaries. People on here talk about 'private schools' as if they are all one and the same. Ridiculous! They vary just as much, if not more, then state schools.

When people make their fascinating sweeping statements along the lines of, "I know three people who went to private school and blah blah blah..." - what schools are you actually talking about? A 'big name' country boarding school? A small private school in the suburbs? A super-selective London Day School where there are 15 applicants to every place at 11 plus? These are all totally different school environments!

If people don't believe that independent schools offer bursaries, have a look at one of the schools mine went to - Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. Some 25% are on bursaries there and it's one of the top schools (academically) in the U.K. All the top London schools have bursary programmes - St Paul's, City of London Boys / Girls, Godolphin and Latymer, etc etc. These schools are urban and far more ethnically diverse than the average surburban comp.

All the people railing about independent schools - are you also livid about grammar schools which only exist in certain areas? What about Catholic schools where admission is based on how soon children were baptised? Or academies?

Education in this country is a postcode lottery. If you live in an area with good comprehensives - good for you. If you live in an area with grammars and your kids get in - good for you. If you live in London or other cities and the choice is between a comp known for stabbings or paying up for an independent (or moving) - you may well choose one of the latter options. By the way, there is no such thing as paying your money and your child waltzes in - they have to get through tough exams and interviews very often and many kids apply to 5 or 6 independent schools and get no offers. London is a totally different ball game. Some families suddenly find Catholicism when their child is born and play that game. Some pay the equivalent in stamp duty / house prices to move into safe school catchments. Some pay school fees. Some move out. Of course some people have more options than others, but that's the same with anything.

I think you misunderstand. People are surely talking about socioeconomic diversity rather than ethnic diversity.

And yes, there are some state schools that are lacking in socioeconomic diversity too,, especially at primary school level. I think most state secondaries probably cover quite varied catchment areas though.

Some may be, but more often than not it is a blanket statement on diversity in all its form.

All the people railing about independent schools - are you also livid about grammar schools which only exist in certain areas? What about Catholic schools where admission is based on how soon children were baptised? Or academies?

I'm not railing about anything tbh. I think private schools are often a monumental waste of money but I don't really care if people want to pay for them - that's their choice. I have a much bigger objection to state grammar schools and state-funded faith schools. I would gladly get rid of them both. And I don't support free schools either!

Academies are not an issue for me per se - they are state schools and open to all. Single academy trusts are fine as long as they are well managed and schools collaborate to achieve economies of scale etc. I have my doubts about some of the multi academy trusts, and if school resources are going to get creamed off to pay for central services, then I would prefer to see it done through the LA where there is more accountability.

Well, that's just ignorance if that's the case. It's pretty well known that parents from certain cultures tend to invest quite heavily in education, so hardly surprising that this should be reflected in the private school population.