Does anyone REALLY send their children to private school?

[Mosschops30]

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I know it would compromise confidentiality and all...but, based on the positive experiences/descriptions on this thread, I would love to know the names of the private schools mumsnetters have selected for their children. We can research all we like, but a personal recommendation from a happy parent is just as powerful, IMO.

Sorry to butt in, just been reading the thread and the varying views and just thought I'd put in my twopenneth worth.....

This is my personal experience - not everyones and by no means would I wish to upset anyone.. The parents that I know who have sent their kids private are (apart from being MUCH better off financially than myself) more, how can I put this politely, to say materialistic would be wrong, but they come across in a quite but obvious superior manner - in that they think their kids are 'better' than other children who attend state schools..... As I said I know not all people are like that but the few that are spoil it for the others don't they...

Do they?

Best not to generalise IMO

Didn't think I had Cam. Did I offend? Hope not, I just seem to know, now what do they call themselves.... privaledged people... (which I'm not obviously as we only earn between us a little over what people are paying in school fees every year...)

Not read the whole thread but we are considering sending dd to prep school when she's 5. She's going to the private nursery attached to the school which we can afford coz of the nursery grant. Not sending her coz we're snobs...just coz I want her to have the best start in her education. I don't know if we'll be able to keep up with the fees once we lose the grant but I'll do my damndest to.

Must say that I'm seeing a lot more working parents who have been paying out huge nursery bills and are then feeling that they can afford the private school fees. They didn't set out wanting a private school, but a lot of private schools have got their act together in terms of wrap around care.

Of course people who sent their children to private school are privileged!

They are extremely fortunate to be able to exercise choices that some people can't.

I could of course make the generalisation that all people who can't afford to send their children are usually inverted snobs - and if I preface it by saying I don't mean to offend - then thats okay I suppose

galaxy, don't blame you. we all want the best ed for our kids don't we. just a shame that the darling government can't dig deep and put more funds into state schools so we don't have to sell our homes etc so our kids get the choices we didn't..

ladymuck, i was paying for ds1 to go to nursery for 2 days a week so i could work and it was costing us £200plus every month which was less than I was earning so we couldn't afford it... I didn't even know there was a LEA play group in the same village for FREE!! no one advertises it, you're just expected to know.

This thread is looong. I would love to send dss to private school, primarily because of the smaller class sizes. He is currently at a state nursery and have applied for the attached school where he will hopefully start next year.

We'll see how it goes. There is an outstanding state primary near us, but we are just outside the catchment area, which is O.123m from the school, and it only takes 30 kids a year.

I am currently SAHM, but once the kids are at school full-time plan to work and if needs be this could fund private school for them, if they are unhappy/not thriving in the state sector.

I know people who've been through private and state schools who have all ended up at good universities. From what I can see, the key to success in academic terms is parental involvement and encouragement.

But pfer this government has put an awful lot more money into education over the last 8 years. In 97-98 the total government spend on education was £37.2bn. For 2005-6 it is projected to be £68.2bn. (Makes the £2bn saved by having 7% of pupils at private school look quite small). I'm not convinced that just more money is going to make a difference.

That said, neither do I feel that state schools are uniformly poor - I've limited experience, but the ones I saw locally were all great, but we were fortunate to have a choice of schools.

The issue is more about whether the state education policy is suitable or not. Those who can afford it, can opt out of the state's education policy. It doesn't mean that they woudl uniformly choose the same priorities in education though. They can select a school which would suit their child and their abilities better.

Blu - unless we decide to sell my "property" (ha!) in Lambeth next year, we will join the fight for school places. They have already told us that they won't even look at us until we can prove we are living in the borough, and may not allocate the DDs with a school until the day term starts. Cannot afford private for both and quite like the idea of them mixing with a wide range of children, rather than the privileged little bunch that their current international school (DD1's best friend lives in a castle, FFS!).

A castle in Lambeth? [puzzled]

No, castle in Belgium. Back to Lambeff next year. Are there any international schools in Lambeff?

Ah, sorry.

Don't know about int; schools in Lambeth. Used to live in Wandsworth and thank our lucky stars we didn't live in Lambeth due to poll tax/ccl tax differencees. Moved out of London before school s were an issue though. Frend in Putney had awful time trying to get her very bright daughter into any school in SW London so swtiched to private. Until that moment they had been staunchly anti-rpivate.

Sorry - that was they couldnt' get her a secondary school place.

Ladymuck (sorry went to bed)....

I know the govmnt has put a load of cash in already but it's just not enough is it. I am in the catchment area of 5 secondary schools. 3 excellent, 1 good and 1 very poor. I was lucky enough to go to one of the excellent ones (and hope that in a few years they'll still be as good and my ds's can both go to one of them).

I have friends / family / work buddies from all of them, and we all agree that the only visible difference is that the excellent schools rely heavily on donations from some of the more affluent parents. The poor one doesn't have regular fund raisers etc or send out any literature on what the schools needs, the others do. They get what they need by asking parents for donations it's as simple as that. So, in our opinion (obviously not yours) they just can't be getting enough funding to keep up with standards being set.

My eldest son goes to private school and my middle son has just started at a state nursery (he will follow his brother to private school next year) In my experience the mums at the private school and a LOT more inclusive, tolerant and friendly than those at the state school. I can see people looking down on me because I am a working mum at the state school,one mother even told me she though I 'looked like a prostitute dressed like that' (I was wearing a skirt and Jacket for work) I find the state school parents critical, nosey and judgemental in a way that I have never ecxperienced at my eldest son's private school!

So don't worry about the other parents !

Yes- it's a well known fact that state school parents are invariably evil, Phaedria.

have you considered what some of the nice, friendly, private school parents' attitude towards the state school parents might be, Phaedria?

Oh well, it only took a week for reasoned debate to fall by the wayside!

Don't be so critical and judgemental, Scummy!

Well, I'm sorry if it's judgemental but all this pc crap just gets me down, blu. We all know that the state sector sucks and is full of critical, nasty folk and I really don't see why i can't just say so.

So what are we saying, private school parents are too polite to tell Phaedria that she looks like a prostitute or do private school parents consider it ok to look like a prostitute because that's what we all might have to end up becoming in order to afford the fees if they keep going up

Is that un-pc enough for you Scummymummy