To think State education is really poor?

[Boswelian]

We sent our eldest to a taster day at a private school. He was agog. His school don't allow playing on the grass when it's wet. The private school change them into waterproofs and wellies for break. PE 3x a week. Sport every day. Dedicated specialist teaching in art, DT, languages, sciences etc. 16 in a class instead of 30. The difference in the quality of life between the two school has really blown my mind. The state school is "outstanding". The private school reckon DS is 2 years behind their curriculum. We've been told in state that he's meeting expectations. How is this remotely acceptable?

@Boswelian If he really is 2 years behind they won’t be falling over themselves to accept into their very selective fold

Our state school has award winning choirs, puts on an amazing show every year, wins Science prizes (beat local private schools to do so), does loads of sports (including having a ski team), offers a huge array of trips every year and has excellent pastoral care.

We have chosen to continue with music lessons outside of school but only to avoid missing other lessons regularly - there is a more than decent range of instruments on offer.

Not all state schools are dreadful.

They have all those facilities and opportunities but they have to spend time with ghastly posh, entitled kids
I'm hugely proud my DS is a state educated kid at a top RG uni. All my kids are thriving in state schools.

Missing the point of the thread spectacularly, but my child’s state school has waterproof onesies for outside play. And they ask us to provide wellies.

@JaninaDuszejko
I clearly said IME (in my experience) and those children with SEN were given extra support. Deafness is a whole other level.
My point is there is extra resource at private.

Mine too! 🤣 DS would be upset if he had wellies provided instead of taking in his own Spiderman ones which he knows and loves, and the class's wellies all sit on a shelf outside the classroom door which is cute overload.

@CaptainJackSparrow85

Missing the point of the thread spectacularly, but my child’s state school has waterproof onesies for outside play. And they ask us to provide wellies.

LOL 😂👏

… and my son went to Oxford , worked damn hard! Doesn’t mean this shower want an educated , thinking working class!!!

It's extra curricular. So swimming, music lessons, dancing, sports, horse riding. It doesn't mean extra learning in the sense of "learning subjects".

*So how did I end up a solicitor from a working class back ground. I know many working class background doctors and lawyers.

If you want something badly enough you'll work for it. It's all too easy to blame someone else for what you wouldn't work for.*

Oh for goodness sake. For someone who claims to be educated, you are very ignorant. I'm from a working class background and have a PhD. So what. That does not mean that life success isn't MUCH more stacked in the favour of children from more affluent families. Yes, some (you and me) dodge, sidestep, or overcome the extra obstacles (or in many ages are just lucky). But do not be so ignorant as to assume that others are simply lazy. The odds are stacked against some children even before birth. There is a whole system at play here, and you need to open your eyes a bit.

And several of his fellow Labour MPs sent their children to private or selective schools. He was heavily criticised at the time for the school he sent his sons to.

There is extra resource at private - but it comes at a huge cost.

Obviously

Well said!!!

All the schools near us are outstanding. I was and am happy with ds's school. Ds1 left and is at uni, he's fine, ds2 still there. I've got friends with dc at private. But once you've got to uni, does it matter if your 3 x A* are from private or state? They said your ds was 2 years behind?

I went to a private school and it’s true - they have more of everything so pupils get more access to those resources.

In my private school we had TWO paedophiles (no joke) - on average state schools have fewer (the joke)

Well with poor comprehensive and the lack of grammars to plug the gap run old style ie with proper help for all children not what it's become today.... Yes it's harder isn't it for social mobility..
Grammar used to bridge that gap between private school and comps... And gave working class a chance to compete in that old boy system.

Imagine instead of trying to force all children into comps they had actually encouraged more types of specialist school?

Imagine where we would be now with children thriving in places suited to the rather than forced into these huge ugly 70s style blobs

Anyone whining about state schools not being good enough, I'm assuming you didn't vote Tory? Cause if you did you'd be a massive hypocrite.

My friends dd in last cohort got 8 9s and 2 8s in her GCSEs and she went to the local state schools throughout so if the talent is there, the child will do well anywhere.

Private schools offer more in the way of extracurricular activities and tend to have better PE teachers but the academic teaching isn't always better, sometimes it's worse!

I don't believe in private education. Simply one should one child have more opportunities over another because of money?! I'm pleased private schools are losing their charitable status

It’s not acceptable but will carry on as long as this lot stay in power !

I'm afraid that even a good state comp is unlikely to be able to compete with a really good private school, whoever is in charge of the country (unless it's a government that actually bans private schools). I've worked in (among others) a couple of genuinely outstanding state schools and a very good private day school. Absolutely no comparison.

If there wasn't a substantial difference, nobody would pay £15000 a year for the private school.

There is quite a variety of state and private education around.

I'd say in the main state education is adequete to get you on to the next stage for most people.

They aren't losing charitable status though. Stamer has u-turned because when he actually did some research he realised that it would be too costly and complicated to do that.
Also some children will always have more opportunities if they are born to wealthy parents eg parents can afford to buy houses in catchment areas of good state schools, more access to extra curricular activities etc etc

My state educated kids are just thick as shit. They're not even at a grammar school.

Haha sport every day would be my dc worst nightmare. But there are some great private schools. They’re not without problems though. Parents who expect their dc to get straight 9s because that’s what they’re paying for and dc whose parents are very wealthy so they have no reason to actually work and mess around a lot. Drugs. These things happen at private schools.

That's not true at all.