Private school vs private anything educational

[stopitstopitnooow]

If you have an issue with private schools, why? Do you have an issue with:

Buying houses in expensive catchment areas
Extracurricular activities such as music lessons, swimming, sports coaching
Tutors; language, 11+, GCSE

(Also, private healthcare, dentists, opticians)

I honestly don't understand the angst when it comes to private schools. Let people spend their money however they see fit.

Everything Governments touch goes bad.

And the more money and power you give to Government the more difficult it will become to feed ourselves.

I can’t afford lost private things. But I do pay private dental care because it’s an affordable
monthly fee and includes the kids for free and dental treatment is a lot regardless. This actually works out pretty good deal.
but I also don’t have a problem with how anyone else chooses to spend their money.
move been fortunate with anything I’ve ever needed from nhs. But I know some people went private for quicker treatments.
and i honestly can’t say what else I would pay for if I had the money as I am not in the position to make the choice so I really don’t know what I would do.
I did know a kid who’s parents were letting him choose between private and non private school and he was stuck choosing because the private school focused more on rugby and the other more on football and he was exceptional at both.

I teach at an outstanding state primary and our current issues are 100% down to funding. It’s hard not to be bitter when the nation’s most vulnerable children are being neglected by their government. Proper funding would mean that children with SEND would get the support they needed, whether that’s at a special school (no special school places where I live due to funding) or in mainstream education (virtually impossible to get an EHCP nowadays and even if you got the full whack it still wouldn’t fully pay for the staff or resources that child needs). Children are coming to school hungry. Many aren’t safe at home. Parents are battling poverty, addiction, domestic violence and mental health problems without the services that used to exist to support them.
A system that rewards children from rich families and leaves those from poor families to languish cannot be right. I love my school but it’s not the same place it used to be with the cuts getting worse and worse every year.

Increased funding for the school would come at the cost of making more children hungry and cold.

The Government parasite has grown enough that more and more people find it hard to live.

"Weather its state or private, the knowledge and information is still the same, and people can teach themselves the knowledge rather than just relying on a teacher"

Tell that to supporters of private schools!!

You aren’t reading the chain are you?

No I've not read the full details so apologies

Private school parents are customers, paying for a service and they can and do walk away if they don't feel they receive value for the after-tax income, so teachers and schools are compelled to respond to complaints. They have already paid their tax to fund state education.

State schools don't have to satisfy individual requirements, so just deliver 'one size fits all' on a take-it-or-leave-it model. There will never be levelling up to match the private schools, as parents have no leverage in maintained schools. The offering is pitched to be adequate for the average, rather than outliers with any SEN including G&T.

Increased funding for the school would come at the cost of making more children hungry and cold.
I would never advocate for funding schools at the expense of other vital public services. There are so many other ways to get the money. Closing tax loopholes for billionaires would be a good start!
I wouldn’t necessarily want private schools to shut but it is an unfair system especially when it relates to children who can’t help which family they’re born into.

No one can honestly say that given the choice they would prefer to send their child to an awful school on a matter of principal.

@CaveMum didn't Jeremy Corbyn's second wife divorce him because she wanted to send the kids to a grammar but it would have been against his principles?

Philosophically I am wary of the idea of private schools; but in practice I have GC at both state and private schools and I can see why the parents have made the choice of private. They can afford it and the opportunities are wonderful - a whole range of add-on clubs of all sorts (so no need for out-of-school classes), access to brilliant facilities, serious attitude to learning where no-one is taunted for being a "swot", great pastoral care, clear discipline leading to a structured learning environment, musical opportunities that are lacking at the state schools (choirs, instrumental teaching, several bands/orchestras) etc. etc. The private schools are streets ahead of the comprehensives here. I wish I could afford to help the other GC to go there.

It goes against the grain with me to be saying this, but the difference is glaringly obvious to me.

What I would like to see is properly funded education for ALL children - I would like to see every child have these opportunities. Instead we have underfunded schools who struggle at every turn - I know, I am chair of governors at a state school. Teachers in the state system are dedicated and desperate to give of their best for their students, but are tied by narrow curricula and lack of funding to make sure that every child of every ability has the input they need. Is there a government that might offer this? I doubt it.

His principles, or his career?

His ex wife said she wasn’t prepared to put Jemery’s career before their son’s future. He, however, was quite happy to.

Well, it creates a privilege divide like no other and really is just for the wealthy but if you want to send your child to a school where everyone looks the same, behaves the same, thinks the same, comes from the same background - you do you.
Just don’t come in to MN bleating about it or the cost or the fact that you will soon have to pay tax on fees.

Private schools promises ‘enrichment’ with ‘world-class’ facilities while actually providing the exact opposite.

Why don’t we strive to bring states schools to the same standard so we can enrich the lives of all children?

Why does it, based on the way humans learn if everyone had the exact same education and subjects, some would excel due to natural talent, some would achieve average or good grades and some would need help, then factor some parents would then use outside methods eg tutors, summer camps etc, education will always be unequal due to the way humans learn.

Then it's not just about grades, it's the soft skills , people's ability to network, etc that can also make a difference

Tbh I don’t believe that world class facilities would solve the state school problems. Often private school kids are doing better not because of superior or specialised teaching or their parents making complaints as pp implied, but the fact they are from families which value education and foster an environment of learning and expect their kids to come away with decent if not good grades and go onto uni in most ways.

And their home lives are often more conducive to learning too as they’re not worried about crime outside their house or their parents not being able to feed them or struggling to pay the energy bill or getting by on zero hour contracts .

The most radical to make poorly performing state school better would be the hardest way - and that is for their homes to be improved . In some cases this would also involve the help of the government so parents aren’t stressed out working two low paid jobs to make ends meet and worrying about paying energy bills for example or stuck on a council waiting list living in temporary housing. I do appreciate if parents are failing to adequately instil respect and desire for learning in children it’s sometimes because of wider social and economic issues.

Richer parents pay money to move into good catchment areas, pay for tutoring, extra curricular activities, cultural enrichment through frequent travel with children…when they’re a bit older some teens get a car and driving lessons from their parents, some receive inheritances and don’t have to work while at uni, or get to live in a flat owned by their parents which is then gifted to them so they don’t need to scrimp and save to get their first deposit . Some young adults get funded while doing unpaid internships in competitive industries like journalism or the creative sector.

The fact is affluent parents whether they sent their kids to state or private school will use all their resources and connections to make sure their kids thrive in the long term.

As many have pointed out removing private schools won’t suddenly make everything a level or fair playing field. It seems to be a very unimaginative way to deal with the huge inequalities we have in society.

The area I grew up was and still is a predominately Indian Gujarati Muslim area (most people are immigrants from Southern Gujarat and parents don’t always value religion as they come from business backgrounds). All 4 state schools there have kids that all come from similar backgrounds, same race, same religion. As an Indian Hindu person who lived in that area I found it extremely difficult and my family is from Southern Gujarat too so I had points in common!

Also society itself could be improved by having focus on scientists achieving the popularity that footballers or pop, film, TV stars etc, that may also help to improve aspirations of many to study better, regardless of the education institution.

I don't recognise these private schools, perhaps they have changed since my day. My parents sent me to a private school after I failed my 11-plus twice. At that school nobody was given the choice of learning a musical instrument and there was no proper sports coaching.

If you couldn't keep up with the academic side then you got left behind. Children were divided into sheep and goats (a biblical reference). They were quite happy to write off numbers of children as hopeless. If you were struggling they would put more pressure on you, including sarcasm which to me was worse than the canings.

My parents sent me to a private school after I failed my 11-plus twice. At that school nobody was given the choice of learning a musical instrument and there was no proper sports coaching.

I think that private schools must have changed a lot since then. Sporting and musical opportunities tend to be outstanding.

I didn't think it was even possible to sit the 11+ twice @GreenAppleCrumble !

Maybe your parents thought music and sports didn't matter, but I can assure you that a choice of instruments, choirs, clubs, and a whole range of sports come as standard in most private schools -- even the most ordinary. Unless it's a madrassa or other religious institution.

Apologies, the message above should have been @ElonGates666 .

@Londiniumrocks
I think this is a real misunderstanding of the sector. The only things private school students have in common is that their parents can afford fees of at least £9k per year and usually value education. Most parents will be in the top 20% of income or so. Some will have help from grandparents or an inheritance. Some will remortgage their house etc. to do it. I know people who have only had one child so they can privately educate them. For me prep school is cheaper than nursery. Even public schools have some diversity of wealth level - Eton has 20% pupils on bursaries. Nevertheless most private school students have richer than average parents. Saying they are all the same for that reason is like saying that all children with parents in the lowest income brackets are the same.

However on other measures they can be more diverse. The state schools near me were almost 100% white whereas my private school was much more ethnically diverse with many pupils who lived or had grown up outside the UK. There were also many more religions represented. There tends to be children who are particularly talented in particular areas e.g music, sport so you usually get a mix of interests.