Keir Starmer went to private school

[Asking4afrend]

AIBU to be shocked that Keir Starmer went to private school? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. So he enjoyed an excellent education which increased his social mobility and then wants to bring down the system that helped him, even when they gave him a 100% bursary so that his parents didn’t have to pay the fees?

This is from wiki:

Starmer passed the 11-plus examination and gained entry to Reigate Grammar School, which at the time was a voluntary-aidedselective grammar school.[1][12] The school converted into an independent fee-paying school in 1976, while he was a student. The terms of the conversion were such that his parents were not required to pay for his schooling until he turned 16, and when he reached that point, the school, by now a charity, awarded him a bursary that allowed him to complete his education there without any parental contribution.

I only found out about this today when I was googling the school for another reason and looked up the alumni. What a hypocrite. You didn’t hear about this in the election during all his “my father was a toolmaker” speeches.

John Healey (and Starmer) attended private sixth forms, Hilary Benn and Lisa Nandy attended private prep schools, David Lammy's state boarding school fees were funded by an ILEA scholarship.

Also, if the benefit that he benefitted from was 'freedom from state control' rather than anything to do with the fee income, then that is no longer a benefit for private schools since lots of non-fee paying school have 'freedom from state control'.

So if those are the only benefits you think private schools confer then academies offer the same benefits.

Because they can offer things the state can’t; eg disciplined environment, school having flexibility to offer different qualifications (eg A levels, IB), teaching of a certain ethos (eg religious perspective or focus on eg music or sport), because their child has suffered in state, a smaller environment, selection, a completely different curriculum…

More barrel scraping.

Given many private schools have smaller curricular offerings and fewer facilities than state schools, what benefit do YOU think private schools offer?

Kids go where their parents send them.

Nice try 😁

Yet there are numerous posts concerned about whether the current cabinet are privately educated or not. Why care?

You're the one claiming Starmer benefitted from attending a private school, not me. Seems you can't explain what those benefits were.

I only found out about this today when I was googling the school for another reason and looked up the alumni.

Yes sure you did.

So what is justification to taxing private schools if there is no benefit from them? Labour have an objection to private schools from an ideological perspective - it is not just about additional benefit to some children; state schools have that. It is about opting out of state control. Same with home educating.

Well put

Clement Attlee comes to mind

You were the one boasting;
None of the Cabinet went to private schools. First time ever.

Clearly not correct as you can see from my post.

Funny interpretation of “boasting”.

YABU.

HPFA

Would your partner have stayed at Reigate Grammar if his parents could afford the fees? Did he go to sixth form elsewhere? Reigate College opened in 1976.

I think 'First time ever' implies a boast.

You're absolutely scraping the barrel and tbh I'm cringing with embarrassment for you

Too funny 😂😂😂

Apparently 16 year olds have no mind of their own - why is Labour giving them the vote?

No, there is only one privately educated minister out of 25 in the current Cabinet.

Private schools are a business even though some have "charitable" status .the status is just historical and doesn't mean much else other than tradition.

16 year olds don’t choose their own school. Or at least not in the universe I inhabit.

Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) did apparently - same year group as Starmer but chose to go Reigate College for sixth form.

I imagine his parents chose.

Well some do depending on where their strengths lie and how well they do in exams maybe not keir starmer though as clearly he was very academic and Alevels were the main route to university ,back then
I'm 51 and I chose which college I wanted to go to not my parents
As did my 18 year old son.