To think that there would be less anti private school

[Poopoolittlekitten]

sentiment or threads on MN if people using private school were a tiny bit more self aware and didn’t ask for sympathy for rising fees or possible rising fees if Labour take away their false ‘charity’ status?

send your kid private if you want, just don’t come moaning about the costs or claim than anyone can go private if they ‘prioritise’ their child’s education they way you do. Particularly at a time when state school teachers are striking over pay and conditions.
And many, many people are working their socks off just to keep a roof over their family’s head.

YANBU - stop whining and looking for sympathy about your fees!

YABU - my milkman sends his 4 kids private by ‘prioritising’ their education so it’s not just for whiny poshos….

So if your only choices were a good private school where children thrived, or a failing comprehensive where there is bullying, dreadful exam results and not enough teachers, you would choose to send your child to the latter? You would willingly send your child to a school where they wouldn’t reach their full potential as a point of principle?

I’m fairly sure that all MPs (regardless of party) are nervous about the prospect of an upcoming general election, so I would have thought that all of them should be doing their best to try to improve the situation.

You sound nice 🙄

Thanks for starting another thread on the subject. Let me take the opportunity to remind you that a healthy independent education sector is a corner stone of a free and liberal society, helping to keep the insidious creep of authoritarianism at bay.

Reducing the independent education sector by denying charitable status and further entrenching elitism would be an egregious act of self-harm.

How far does that go? Would you pay for individual tuition? Music lessons? Extra-curricular activities?

Not trying to trip you up, just interested in where the ethics take you.

"Exactly! it was a simple question with a voting option - didn;t have to descend into another debate about private schools..."

Because you never tried to provoke that at all, did you OP.

How many threads with the same old same old now? What are you actually getting out of this?

I think there would be a lot less angst over state vs private if state schools were actually decent. My local one has 1,300 pupils and just one single maths teacher. It's a shitshow. The school was rated inadequate in 2019 and has gone even further downhill since then.

Lots of my middle income friends now considering they have no choice but to go private.

All I can see is a mass exodus to already over subscribed excellent state schools and even higher house prices in those areas.
If we can’t stretch to private school this is exactly what we’ll be doing. Selling our house and buying as close as possible to the best state school in the area. We’d be looking at exchanging our house for a flat because prices are so high in the catchment. Then move further away a year or two later when DC has secured a place in the school. Probably sell the flat to someone who wants to pull the same trick.

It's like... right then, bank holiday over. First thing Tuesday morning OP wakes up with just one thing on her mind ... that burning issue of private school fees. But oh no, she's not at all bothered really.

We'll probably stay in the same area, but find the money for the fee increase by downsizing.

Nope, my children will thrive and issues be addressed regardless just like they were when my husband attended the worst school in Scotland. He's very successful.

And it shouldn't be the principal, if everyone who CAN leave leaves no problems are ever addressed

Exactly. A lot of the dislike for the private sector is because the gap between state and private is getting wider. It shouldn’t be. We should be improving the state sector so people don’t feel the need to go private. There will always be some families who would choose the private route (for the luxuries such as amazing sporting facilities and boarding etc), but a lot of families in the sector would happily use the state system if it was better. They’re not paying out tens of thousands of pounds for the fun of it. A lot of the private schools aren’t the luxurious country estates often portrayed - they often have worse facilities than their state counterparts.

I agree with this and I don’t send my kids to private school either.

Your attitude is childlike OP.

It's a very good question and not cut and dried.

Having discussed it at length with my husband keeping kids in state school keeps interested and I vested parents involved in said school. It lets our kids genuinely have diverse peers especially in Glasgow where good versus bad ares are not cut and dried.

To our mind taking kids out of state school directly disadvantages schools. Tuition and extra lessons outside school etc doesn't do that. I wish all kids had access to all the same things as such we attend local free classes and contribute to any groups we can where other kids are funded.

I'm not stupid enough to think the playing field can be evenned fully. I grew up very poor, parents on benefits etc and was fortunate to be very academic. I know my kids will be fine because they have us involved to make sure they are and we've both managed from poor backgrounds. I want to also contribute to the success of kids growing up like we did.

But the issues aren’t been addressed in the state sector. That’s the point. Personally, I’d prefer my children to attend a school where they can learn in peace and alongside happy and engaged teachers and pupils rather than being taught in a disruptive class, being bullied verbally and physically for working hard and trying to do their best. Those issues weren’t dealt with properly a generation ago, let alone now. I agree that all children should have the same educational opportunity but I’m not going to send my child into an environment like that as a point of principle. Not all state schools are like that, but plenty are. It shouldn’t be a postcode lottery about whether you live near a decent state school.

How can we work on improving the state sector? Voting for parties that actually put education as a priority would be a start. Though when the people running the country don't use state schools for their own children, it's hard to see they will be particularly bothered.

NOT THIS AGAIN

IF YOU DONT LIKE PRIVATE SCHOOLS DONT SEND YOUR KIDS THERE

Why do other people care so much about what other people do? That's like me getting irate about people sending their kids to state school. It makes no difference to me. You do you, I'll do me.

Surely there's absolutely no need to even open a thread about private school fee increases if you don't have a child in private education?

Use the hide thread option - it's wonderful! I hide all threads that reference gross illnesses, vomiting, injuries, people threatening to share photos of their piles etc, without even opening them. Makes Active Convos a lot nicer to scroll down.

Exactly.
I happily pay school fees, I wish we didn’t feel it was necessary but we do.
No whinging about it and our DCs school isn’t a charity.
Why do people without DC at Private school seem so obsessed with those of us who do? I don’t start threads about State schools and drag up shitty uninformed stereotypes about the kids or parents there

If there were no other options than to send your child to state school all parents would have to work together, those with money and power included, those with strong negotiating skills etc, those with political influence and the school system would have no option to change. While the rich, influential, powerful and even middle class parents and those who have academic skills and gain scholarships can all just access a different system it won't be addressed.

OP, did you know, there is a whole 'secondary school' board where you could enjoy some fun bedtime reading about hundreds of MNers going through all sorts of 11 plus shenanigans to get their DC into the London 'super selectives' where fees start at £8-£9k per term.

I think you would also find the boarding school section a most relaxing read.

Then come into 'Higher Education' where you will find all your fave discussions and plenty of moaning. Enjoy!

They’re discussing it on LBC now. James O’Brien, high priest of champagne socialists, has just admitted he sends both his kids private, while moaning on about inequality and the ‘establishment’ in 99% of his radio shows.

Because politically, financially and ethically the existence and use of private schools disadvantage the state school system

Do people really believe this??

I don’t know the answers unfortunately. The current government haven’t done enough but the Labour Party haven’t come out with any decent plans either - their main education policy is about taxing private schools rather than improving the state system. It isn’t the answer. All politicians rely on the NHS (even if you can afford private health care, you still need the NHS for emergency care), and yet that doesn’t seem to be improving either. Unfortunately I do think that a lot of the problems lie with the population as a whole not valuing things which have no cost at the point of use. I don’t know how that can be changed though.