.. to think private primary schools offer a bad deal to families?

[kif]

This is really confusing me - and I don;t want to hurt feeling in RL by raising this with the people I know.

Private schools at primary level: by and large they offer a bit of a rubbish deal, don't they?

I'm just completely bemused why people persevere with them.

I hear about:

• zero to no outside space (busses to local parks) - compared to fab imaginative playgrounds at local state schools. Presumably it's required by law of a state school, but not of a private school.

• Substantial commutes to school. Who needs the extra stress? What's nicer than walking to school breathing fresh air?

• No school dinners in some cases - I find this pretty shocking tbh. Good communal eating is so important.

• Heavy homework demands on top of a long school day - leading to stress between parents and kids as they try to achieve it

and the complete killer:

• 'We'd love another baby, but we couldn't afford another set of school fees' .

OP i think your OP is rather silly TBH.

Your sample is way too small. There are as many different sorts of private schools as there are state.

How did you get the 3out of 4 sn children are bullied statstic?
Not in my state school, they work hard to be inclusive
And I think the smaller class sizes increases the chanve of being bullied actually
Your horrible little shits comments speaks voulmes- don't you get those in private school then?

Not really sure I understand the point of this thread! Our DCs go to a private school which has both junior and secondary parts. They were at the local state primary but neither was happy- one bored and not being challenged, the other struggling in a class of 32 kids. The private school suits them both- lots of grounds, sports every day, cooked lunch on the premises sat in "family service" style at tables often with teachers dotted amongst them- its a real social event!And as for "not wanting them to mix with the hoi polloi"- my son's best mate is still the boy he was at the local state school with and infact as a social group, I prefer the kids from the old school, but the education was failing them both there.

so many generalisations.

ultimately we choose the best for our children we can afford.

As for the commute thing

DB and I both went private and walked to primary school

DD may well end up in a state school bloody miles away as all of the ones near us are either heavily oversubscribed or have religious entry criteria

So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

It is silly - it's not meant to be an incisive commentary. I'm just... bemused, and MN is as good a place as any to 'hear it like it is'.

oh

fyi my dd1 did not get a place at any local state school.

Kif, I see you live in east london. I knopw the school you are referring to and your observations are bang on
It's all a bit wierd

This hoi polloy stuff is a ridicuous generalisation as well. Some parents may be hideous snobs, others will do it for different reasons. Frankly the mix of students at state schools in many areas isn't exactly broad either.

I am still debating about ds but the private primary school I am considering is attached to his nursery which he attends at the moment offering more consistency.

Where the school is allows me to take him to school instead of a childminder.

The headteacher of the primary school has bent over backwards for ds as have the senior school in trying to find information / help for him to deal with his dad's death.

The class sizes are smaller. There is a huge playground it is next to a race course.

However, if I lived next to a good local school and could juggle full time work and ds going there I would do it.

It is a personal choice, there is no right or wrong tbh.

Your school may be inclusivemrsruffalo, smallwhite cats may not be. Presumably if she lives inthat community she knows the school/people who have children there, may have even been to visit. Who knows

But we all make choices for a variety of reasons, usually NOT to do with snobbery though.

I was trying to be vague, as I really don't want to hurt any RL feelings. How people choose to raise and educate their kids obviously cuts very deep.

But it is weird - and tbh disappointing, with its stink of market forces winning out over childrens' welfare and proper, meaningful education.

OP, you're trying to justify your choice and not feel guilty that your friends are spending a lot of money on their dcs' education that you don't want to spend and/or don't have.

Leave other people alone and stop attacking them as a way of coping with your insecurities

(I'm sure your dd's school is great btw and wish her all the best)

Yea Kif, you are just insecure, got it?

I disagree to a cetain extent MrsS. There are private schools in my area where I think, why do parents spend money on that, is it just snobbery.

But then I sit back and think well maybe there are reasons I don;t know about. After all different people want different things and different childrne need different things.

Yes, whitecat, I am lying to goad you

Oh I dunno

I am happy to belive that in the case of this particualr handful of schools that the OP is talking about, that her OP is an accurate observation.

Silly to extrapolate the situaiton with 4 schools, to all the schools in the country though.

Exactly, sodor

There are private schools in my area which I think are rubbish too. To my neighbours' shock, I sent my dd to a pretty "rough" state school (that's how it's perceived anyway and it does have its issues). She loves it and is thriving. We could have afforded private but saw no need

But I am me, my daughter is herself, this school is one particular state primary and the private schools in the area are particularly unimpressive imo. So the OP is being completely U.

We have advertisements on TV in OZ warning us that ALL of our schools will go down the gurgler the same as the UK if league tables are brought in

what are kif's insecurities, please mrs shackleton ?
oh i do love a good thread where someones insecurities are pointed out

one banana two banans three banana four
five bananas make a bunch and so do many more
la la la lalala la

I ca help with that, Oblo. She says she is "the pushiest of mothers" so obviously worries greatly ablut her choices, forced or otherwise, and wishes to reassure herself that everything is orl right.

You never did answer about your front shed.

Thanks, Hully for saving me typing time