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.

not less time in lessons, they start earlier, finish later and some do Saturday school too. And certainly they dont have all unqualified teachers, and where they are not, for example my daughters Art teacher had amazing industry experience, which I believe overruled teaching qualifications. But, I do agree, Private is not always worth it.

@MillyTheMoo sorry, I should’ve named the poster I was quoting.

I think Clifton College compares well with London schools, if thats the sort of thing youre after. But yes, there are several private schools in Bristol City that are only there because of poor state provision. However there are school run buses from Bristol to several other Private Schools that would compare.

yep, me too

One in private and other in state.

One is more academic and enthusiastic about school in general since young.

Other is bright but didn't get through the first round of private entrance exams nor grammars.

Around here schools select you there isn't as much choice as you are made to believe.

Because of where we live, one has access to a single sex comprehensive but other (different gender) would have to go to a mixed down the road with under national average gcse results and behaviour issues. C'est la vie.

Sorry meant to add am not in Bristol but London. no idea what Bristol schools are like.

It was the behaviour we saw in (local top) state schools that made us completely switch to private. And the fact that sport provision was given priority to balance the academics at the indie school. I’m not convinced that they get better grades due to being at independent school, or indeed better connections -is that even a ‘thing’??? But we didnt put them there just for grades, it was our peace of mind….even though we’re now pretty skint.

@goodluckbinbin you're stance is really terribly outdated and not remotely informed as to why the vast majority of private parents use these schools. There's been dozens of threads on this over the last few months. Why don't you go and read a few. You'll find lots of reasons why people use private and none of them are about making connections. I know you can say "well obviously they'd say that" but that's up to you. You can listen to real people give their real reasons or you can continue to just assert an outdated and inaccurate stereotype.

This

Absolutely this.

What a brilliant analogy!

Is it?!

I'm not sure all private pupils agree

I'm not sure all private pupils agree.

So what? Some people just don’t enjoy school and would be unhappy whether they went to a state school or a private school.

We have friends (both doctors) who send their 2 kids to a 3-18 private school nearby and they have said that if they can get them into the outstanding state secondary for year 7 they will move them as they can’t justify the cost.

We have some other friends who send their eldest (of 3) to the same school, partially funded by themselves and partially by grandparents. They can’t afford it for their other two kids and send them to a state primary - especially with the older one having VAT on fees soon. They would easily get their eldest into the same outstanding state secondary but would never consider moving her. The younger two will inevitably end up going there.. but it shows how much the “worth it” is individual to the family and even each DC.

For reference, the state school has a progress score of 1.3 and well over 80% 5+ in maths and English so it really is a very good school.

That sounds quite unfair.

Thanks for sharing. I studied at Bristol. It been many years since I have lived. I have not heard of Clifton College but I did meet many from Bristol Grammar.

It’s not what I would choose (all my kids go to the really good state schools!) but it’s not my dc…

The dad went to a very famous public school so I do wonder if an exception will be made for the younger (only DS) to go there.

Thing is you have to compare school to school and personal finances. There just isn’t going to be a universal rule here. I have no doubt that many of the private schools near me offer a significantly better educational experience than our local comp- better results, nicer facilities, calmer environment, more music, more sport etc etc.

What I haven’t determined yet is if we can afford that better education and even if we can how we weigh that up against other lifestyle factors and the opportunity cost. Is it worth it if you have to pay from income (and have financial pressure)? is it worth it if you can’t do work on the house or have good holidays? Is it worth it over earlier retirement? Is it worth it over giving a significant house deposit instead? It’s all of those factors which make the decision tough for me- if I had unlimited money I’d go private without a moments hesitation.

Honestly for me, its behaviour. The polite, well behaved children in our prep is markedly different to state. All of the children are dressed neatly in correct uniform. The atmosphere is calm. Children want to learn and are more confident, speak nicely.

It's the same reason we stretched ourselves to buy a nice house in a nice village. Essentially you are buying a better lifestyle.

And some people would be happier at School A over School B.
And whether A or B are state or private isn't really relevant.

I'd suggest if you are paying for a school, then I'd want it to be one where my child was happy, or at least as happy as they could be.

it's a bit of a crap analogy as it is implying the state bread is crap and each loaf is identical... which in turn implies that the state schools are crap and identical... when in fact there are many different types of state school.

so children in state primary schools are dressed in rags and badly behaved hey? They don't want to learn and lack in confidence?

Well done poster for revealing some what private parents think of state school parents and our children.

No it doesn't. I explicitly said that supermarket quality bread is perfectly satisfactory for most people's requirements. And if you think supermarket bread is all the same you haven't been in a supermarket recently. There's a huge variety of choice generally all at a very similar price-point to eachother.

"perfectly satisfactory" is hardly a glowing review is it?

and this is what implies everyone is getting the same loaf, as your whole post harks to communism (rather than socialism)...

If we decided as part of socialist principles that everyone would get a dole of bread paid for by taxes, the bread doled out would be the cheaper supermarket style