To ask why you send your children to private school?

[WhatWorks]

Just that really. I think it would be interesting to see the spread and variety of reasons why people make certain educational choices.

For mine, it's about the values at our catchment state school. I am sure that most schools in most areas are quite inclusive. Unfortunately, children at our local school say things like "I don't play with (insert ethnic minority here) children" to non-white children. If they like an ethnic minority child, they tell them "you aren't (ethnic minority), you're white like us." Teachers do nothing about this sort of behavior, so we've gone elsewhere.

So, what are your reasons for sending your child/children to private school?

Just want them to have a brilliant time at school and develop a love of learning, I also value lots of physical exercise and sport which the private sector does really well.

Interesting. Scotland here. Primary is local authority. Excellent rural school. Two teachers job share my child's class. Both utterly wonderful. The attention and time I would not be able to replicate elsewhere. Composite class, primary 1-3. 14 pupils.

High school meanwhile, likely to be private all the way. Catchment school makes me cry never mind the children. And I know most parents with children ages with mine feel the same way

I taught in one and got 50% discount and it made the pragmatics of three DC and a full time job manageable. I think that since the 1990s there’s been a slow creep of narrowing curriculum and less exciting teaching in many state schools. The music, drama and sport were also a big factor.

A lack of diversity at their ‘outstanding’ primary. Moved them at 7+.
Literally no effort put into catch up post Covid. Eldest was not pushed to her potential.

Outside academics just the amount of opportunities on offer. The sport, I don’t think one of my DC would be a county netballer if she’s stayed at her primary.

i love the mix of children from different ethnic backgrounds. They were the only children of colour in their respective classes. Other religious festivals were not even acknowledged.

The overall drive of the teachers is outstanding.

The extra curricular on top
of the sport is amazing!!

We moved mid-year, a move planned a long time in advance. None of the schools around us would even give us an indication on whether they would have spaces for the kids, or if we'd be able to access the after school club. We both work ft, couldn't afford to wait for God knows how long to get school places and there was no guarantee they wouldn't end up in different schools at opposite ends of the city. So we had the kids sit the entrance exams to a private school just in case and they ended up going there. Glad we did.

In the private system where I am the ratio teacher to students is 1:8 or 1:7 depending on the school. In the public it’s more like 1:13 to 1:15. My child isn’t outgoing and I don’t want him to get ‘lost’ and be invisible in a big class with no enough teachers. The rest of my reasons are more minor.

YABU not to report every single instance - of course the school have to act on it. legally, they need to report to the council, for a start

I wanted school to be enjoyed, not endured. Our only state option was a fucking mess and DD was a quiet, nervous kid who would have been cannon fodder there.

I didn’t say music and drama! Public speaking, overall culture of just loving their school and learning. The growth mindset and of course the smaller classes. At prep 14-18 and Seniors around 20-22

Yikes your catchment school sounds awful!

Honestly we just sleepwalked into it. We moved from abroad, started calling nurseries in order of distance and they were the first ones to say yes. Then she seemed happy there and it was covid so not like we could tour other schools anyway and 3.5 years later here we are with a sibling also attending!

Private school where I live is not the same as UK (not nearly as expensive) and I chose it for my kids as it offered much smaller class sizes than our local school and didn’t have as many behaviour issues. Also more varied class options (music, art, gym, technology etc).

I live somewhere with poor local schools. If I lived somewhere with great schools, I would have used them.

@notknowledgeable unfortunately nothing happens when the incidents are flagged, as it's an entrenched culture there. Ultimately, most parents work, and sadly can't keep hounding a school that doesn't want to change.

If you can afford it then I don’t see a big issue. What I do find a bit unusual is people who sacrifice literally everything to send their kids to private school.

Because they have learning needs that the local state school cannot meet. We did try for a few years to stay put but they were falling further and further behind. Moved age 7.

DD will be starting at private reception in September. Touring the state primaries near me was horrifying. There’s no money for TAs, so 30 four year olds (many with undiagnosed SEN, no English at home, myriad social problems) share a single teacher. I don’t believe they can actually teach much in those circumstances.

Because an independent school was the only one within 50 miles that could meet my child's needs.

I don't pay the fees though, it's funded via his EHCP.

Check if they have passed an account of these incidents to the council - they have to have done by law. If not report them. If they have, then they need to have recorded the outcome as well

Secondary school near us is a massive academy chain. Bad behaviour, huge site, dispiriting paint-by-numbers curriculum. Everything is corporate, dictated by their central directors and teachers have zero freedom to teach interesting and creative lessons.

Private school is a tiny rural one, not fancy, no particular focus on sports or extra-curriculars but a real nurturing approach. Teachers can teach, and they can get to know the pupils. The pastoral care was what my shy, anxious child needed.

Op, that won"t be all the children at the school, just some

It cost the same as nursery fees which was affordable for us (one child). It provided much better wrap around care. It's much more ethnically diverse.

Hands down, my child gets a better education (he has friends in the equivalent state school and they simply don't have the teachers, nor the resources, to offer anything remotely similar). But he also gets the huge benefit of extracurricular activities and opportunities.

What I've noticed in the last year or so, though, is that it is far tougher to get into Oxbridge and Russell Group unis, which is as it should be - though at times the reverse discrimination is jarring.

Felt like the state system was broken. Had seen first hand how it had failed my nephew. Felt more confident about private. Have just one child so whilst the fees are felt it is doable. Gives more certainty with before and after school care which is essential as we both work full time.

Outstanding state school didn’t stretch her - fine; that’s our job to pick up at home. However, then it degraded to behaviour in class being so poor teachers couldn’t manage and class locked down regularly ending up with them just managing to (barely) get through maths and English each day and nothing else at all. On top of that my child being so bullied and teachers and head ignoring for months - my child wanted to harm themselves and tried to run away to escape the school. We tried to engage with school but they wouldn’t do anything meaningful to change it. So we left and our child thrived in a small, nurturing - private as no other state had places mid year - environment again. Then got into a selective private secondary so we’re just going with private - wasn’t the plan but we can definitely see the benefits!

JungsWordTest
It isn’t tougher for the privately education to get into the top unis, it’s quite the reverse. They are massively over represented even though the percentage of privately educated students are so low. We’re talking about students with the same exam results.

“Across all definitions of top university, students from private schools are over-represented. For example, several universities in the Russell Group have very low proportions of students from state-funded secondary schools.” Sutton Trust

We live in a grammar school area. I have 4 children. 3 very high achieving academically. My eldest has autism and dyspraxia and literally everything is hard for him. But he loves a rule and has a great sense of authority and as such never puts a foot wrong at school. He struggles a bit academically but does sit within his cohort. So in short significant impact of his asd and DcD but not a profile that would get an echp or much additional support.

I could not bring myself to send him to one of the other schools locally for secondary, I really felt he wouldn't cope. Thankfully my wonderful mil gave us some early inheritance and he goes to a small independent secondary school. The class sizes enable him to cope better but it still isn't perfect. I have alot of guilt that we can only do this for one, especially as the others would make much better use of the extra curriculars, but the playing field is already so uneven for him and it felt like the only way to sort it out a bit.