To think private education probably isn't worth it?

[Rumplestrumpet]

Not about the VAT issue... Nor the ethics of private schooling, but rather the return on investment.

Private education is so expensive I wonder is it actually "worth it"? Most private schools near us are £25-30k a year, meaning £150k-£200k for secondary education. Will it improve their earning potential that much?

Would it make more sense to pay for some tutoring/extra curriculars and put that money into a buy to let for them to have when their older? For that money they'd have a flat paying for itself for them to take over when they are older enough, rather than trying their chances on the property market.

Interested in anyone whose parents forked out and think now maybe it wasn't the best investment...

My colleague (whos in his 50s) regularly bemoans what he spent privately educating his three.

One's an eternal student living at home

One's never really committed to a career (late 20s) and cycles through poorly paid temp jobs interspersed with going backpacking

One went to uni for years, left with a pile of debt & a 2.2 and became an estate agent

What was the 'worst'?

This is very true. There are definitely private schools I wouldn’t spend my money on.

It wasn't horrific or anything. It was just not worth paying for, in my opinion. Very old-fashioned, extremely sporty but academically mediocre, poor staff retention, not great behaviour. Bloody freezing old buildings. Beautiful location though!

Why spend £500 a week for extracurriculars? You could enrol your kids in music lessons and clubs every evening and weekend and pay a lot less than that.

£500 a week. That's a huge amount of money just to play a bit of hockey and do some acting.

For us yes. We only do primary level. The schools near us are over subscribed and not very good. So for us it gives/gave our dds a solid foundation in their learning, attitude towards learning, homework capability, faster paced reading development, much smaller classes ect..

I actually spent sometime with the local primary schools pre dc because of my work and even though the teachers were fab there was just too many children. Too much time was taken up organising the kids to achieve any real bums on seats learning. it must be beyond frustrating for the teachers.

I don’t see it as an investment as such just being fortunate enough to give them the best start we could in their education.

Round here a fair few customers of private primary schools are dual income couples working in medicine/finance/law/corporate roles. The attraction is the schools cover from nursery age to 11, are open early to late and after school activities are within that, so for example your child could do martial arts or cooking or whatever and then go to after school club. All on the same site. Organised by the school. While they get on with earning the money to pay the fees...

Plus the schools prepare for 11+ and the entrance exams for private senior schools.

Basically they fulfil a need that the state sector does not, because it doesn't need to as its purpose is education, not education + childcare and state primaries don't prepare for entrance exams.

Maybe some of these parents think about "return on investment" but I think it's more likely they want to keep their jobs without being subject to the vagaries of state wraparound provision. Holiday clubs are easier to find than wraparound.

More briefly, they must think it's worth it or they're not being very rational, are they?

Because almost no private school parents are paying just for the extra curriculars? Both my kids have SEN, it’s unlikely they’ll ever access the after school clubs etc, they struggle enough to do the core subjects. I don’t care. I’m paying for the small class sizes and teachers that have time to know my kids and actually teach them.

Depends on the child, the alternative options (and whether you can get in) and the quality of the private school.

This. We failed to get a state place at a decent school. So DD1 is going private for secondary (yr 7-11). DD2 will be better served in state and we have more chance to get her in - so she’ll be state.

it all depends on what you have available.

I got a government assisted place in the 90s and it was incredible. It was a completely different environment where everyone wanted to learn and took pride in it. I loved every moment.

If you can afford school fees you are in the richest 7% of the population, very much the elite. Why pretend otherwise?

It's not about grades. I got 5 As at A level at a mediocre state comprehensive. I don't think the experience did me any good in other ways. I would have liked to enjoy my school years, felt safe, enjoyed learning, had opportunities to do different activities. Instead it was a case of keeping a low profile, strategically skipping the lessons with the worst bullies. My parents didn't give me a house deposit either though. Maybe if they had I would think it was worth it?

@Summerhillsquare what's wrong with being in the so called elite? If you work hard at a job you get paid for it, and these high paying jobs come with certain responsibilities and risk. Is that a crime?

I’m never going to feel ashamed about the money I’ve earned. I’m not rolling in it either!

We moved to an area with good state schools instead of paying for private education. We spent the money we saved on multiple holidays each year, fun stuff every weekend and paying large amounts into pensions so we could retire early/mid 50’s.

What a sweeping statement. You get spoilt entitled brats and really ignorant, insular people in all walks of life, evidently.

I think it depends on the school. I was privately educated and don't think I would have got the same level of education or achieved the same grades/career in the local state school. However our state primary is fantastic and has recently been re-awarded Ofsted outstanding. I don't think a better education could be achieved in a private school. The only benefit to my eyes of private school would be smaller class sizes, but that would be at the expense of some great things that I see at the state school (for one thing, diversity and partly linked to that, an amazing, fun and very interesting curriculum). We could afford private but I don't see the appeal. A lot of the benefits in terms of extra curricular things like extra languages and swimming lessons are things we pay for privately (often quite cheaply as they are offered by the school). I may change my mind at secondary and go for private, as secondary options seem more limited (I wouldn't begrudge paying tax if so!).

This is factually incorrect. Not all of the top 7% wealthiest send their child private. There are millionaires using the state sector. This means, by definition, that there are plenty of people using private schools who do not fall in the top 7%. There are thousands on bursaries who are far from wealthy. Also, around 20% of pupils attend private school at sixth form level.

Aee we really slagging off kids we’ve never even met?

It's hard to measure isnt it?

There's some saying about because chikdren grow up we think the purpose of childhood is to grow up. But the purpose of a child is to be a child.

So you have to think was it worth it today as well as did it lead to better grades or jobs tomorrow.

I vaguely think most people are careful with their money, so it's worth it for them. If it wasn't they wouldn't do it

Exam results wise it perhaps won't be worth it. Who knows I can't see the future what the results would be should our DC attend a state school.

They're academically very bright.

However, all the money in the world would be worth it to me to protect my ND DC from some of the things they've experienced at their state school. From kids who have no respect for school and teachers and whose parents feel the same.

I'm under no illusion that bullying doesn't happen in private schools.

But smaller class sizes, less stretched staff and a cohort of children with parents who show interest in their children's education sure make it a LOT better for their mental health.

Nope not worth it. Imagine if you saved it what your child could do with that money, for instance training, setting up a business or investment. I know a few people privately educated who are on the minimum wage.

I think this is different when it comes to Eton etc, there you’re paying for the network.

I mean I disagree but you are of course entitled to your opinion.