AIBU to think Private School isn’t worth the expense?

[Macaronsandcupcakes]

In my area (Bristol) all the private schools I’ve spoken to have admitted they will eventually pass on the 20% VAT (I’m not objecting the govt policy). This means the cheapest school will be charging £7k+ per term. For one child from yr 7 to complete their GCSE’s it’ll be £110k.

I completely understand the schools get better grades, but other than grades why is it worth it? Has your child significantly benefited?

Articles I’ve recently read suggest that the anti private discussions are gaining momentum, both from universities & employees.

My partner is keen to send our children. But I need convincing.

I think it totally depends on your child and their needs. I am also in Bristol and agree that there are lots of excellent state options now, contrary to outdated opinions. I have worked as SLT in some of these schools. Teaching is often better in state - the qualifications are the same but quite frankly, in my experience, you have to work harder in state schools/academies so this weeds out many of the weaker teachers. I continue to work in the education sector. HOWEVER I also question whether my children - who are very sporty and thrive in extra curricular settings - wouldn’t be better supported by a private option. I also believe private schools avoid the need to be an exam factory from year 7 - they get to be children for longer.

My children's state school has a lot of sports and extra curricular activities. It very depends on the school.

I agree. We liked our local state school & it’s improving every year. I can see one of my children struggling there. I’d prefer to support the local school (& wouldn’t mind saving some money).
The extra curricular is incredible in private over 10 activities at lunch and more after school; sports, academic and creative. I can see both mine loving those, but honestly wouldn’t all children?!

It buys you confidence. My experience: I went to a state school in a leafy suburb in London. I had an incredible education - (90s) - had fantastic extra circular activities (drama, arts, pottery, lanaguages - Russian as example took an extra gcse), music (we had our own music house), huge playing fields and rugby fields, loads of foreign exchanges and trips abroad. I loved studying so for loads out it. The key thing that made a difference to a kid from a working class background like me, albeit my mothers side are Scandinavian and teachers, ministers etc, was I was able to mix with children and their families from a wide range of backgrounds. I became friends with kids whose dads were on tour as musicians with Guns and Roses (it was the 90s), kids whose parents were well known actors, kids who lived on Richmond Hill, one of UKs wealthiest areas. It wasn’t just mixing with families who were in different wealth brackets, it was also the cultural and class coding / signifiers that I became without realizing it attuned to. It is these invisible, silent, immediate codes, attitudes, and tastes that mixing in different (upper / upper middle) grounds uou in tonenable you to enter worlds of employment and social cicrkes - that really sadly are very exclusive - and it is this subtle class know how that private school buys you, which may not be any use to some in life but it opens doors to higher earning, sowfiicc kinds of jobs in ways if do not have the know how and “codes” often it’s an uphill struggle. I’m not saying it’s a golden pass - it’s not. I’m not agreeing this is right. It is - in England - a sad fact.

If you have good state schools in your area it merits serious consideration of whether it’s worth it.

For me it’s a no brainer because the two secondary schools in our area are dire. One of them had not one single child achieve any highers last year, the other managed to get 5% of kids a pass in 3 highers but also had a child strangled almost to death in the cafeteria by a peer. My son would be eaten alive in either.

I went to private school on a scholarship from the age of 11. I got a lot out of it but sadly I don’t think it’s worth what it costs these days.

I was planning my finances so that I could send my child private for secondary but I’ve decided to send him to state school for now and put the money into savings. I’ll keep private school as an option if he’s struggling but if he does all right then I’ll have enough put by for his uni fees AND a decent house deposit when the time comes. I think that will actually give him more of an advantage than a private education will now.

Depends what you want out of school. If you want your child to fight for attention and resources in a class of 30+ where the system is rigged toward the academically brightest you go right ahead into your local state school.

If you want more for your kids you choose other options.