If you can afford to send your kids privately SHOULD you?

[Flum]

Just that really

Should we stop people using their wealth to outbid less wealthy people when buying houses in catchment areas of good schools?

Its just money. Unless you want to live in a communist state you cant stop people spending their own money. People with more money have more choices in life.

Did the OP mean the question in the way everyone seems have read it, ie if you can afford to, you should take the burden off the state, or did OP mean that, on the assumption that private education is best (NOT my assumption, or even one I am attributing to the OP, am just saying for the purposes of this post) then you should go for that if you can afford it because you are short-changing your DCs if you don't?

I am choosing the best education for my children at the moment, as is my right. It just so happens to be a state school.

You should do so only if you also think that anyone who can afford to pay more than their actual tax bill should donate more money voluntarily to the government.

I'll repeat, how much more than 50% would you like some people to pay in income tax alone, sevenoften?

Last time I looked we lived in a free democracy where people are free to earn what they can and spend as they wish.
Life isn't fair, some are richer, cleverer, more beautiful etc than others. You have to make the most of what you have and do your best. Luckily we have a pretty damnded good state education system generally and if you want it and work hard you can achieve.

No, there should be no compulsion to use private schooling for anyone.

The more I think about this the more extraordinary the question seems! You cannot possibly force people to spend their money in the way some people deem is appropriate.

If people who can afford private automatically opt out of state, then there are less people in the system with the influence and wherewithal to push said state to improve where it's needed...

Harry I read what seven said to mean that if you pay taxes and send your kids to private school you are effectively donating money to the government.

No - what Sydney said. It's not as simple as saving the state system money.

No you shouldn't, unless you want to.

That's exactly what I meant, AnaisB. You have paid for a state school education for your child, but don't take it up, thus freeing that money to educate someone else's child. That's a nice side effect for the government, but hardly something that can or should be demanded of anyone.

Ah, soory sevenoften! I see now!

Perhaps I should spent some of my surplus money on the state system?

Yep, because paying 40% tax on my salary in my very stressful job is just not enough is it. Perhaps they can take my kidneys too.

I pay tax, therefore I am just as entitled to send my child to a state school as the next person and I will because for just once I would like something back for all the thousands of pounds in tax and NI I pay into the system.

I could easily have afforded to send DS1 to private school when he went into reception. His brother would have been 1 then. I could not afford both of them at private school at the same time.
Two years later we nearly lost everything, our house, our buisness and could hardly afford food.
I would have had to pull him out of school and start somewhere else.
Over the last few years I could afford to send both of them but why would I. They are happy with their mates and I don't take money for granted.
I live in fear of losing it all again.

and where would you draw the line with that? If you can afford to should you have private healthcare/send kids to private school/opt out of state pension? I think not.

afte all nobody would argue the opposite would they?

If you have private heatlhcare/private schooling/no state pension you should pay less tax...

Yay, do let's have an even more segregated system if we possibly can- that is precisely what this country needs.

Indeed, thousands more sink schools![hmm[

Blimey Wannabee you're playing with live ammo today

No, besides which I want my child to have as rounded an experience at school as possible

School fees for senior schools (boarding) are coming in at £31000 + per child a year. Assuming most families have at least two children thats a lot of money to find after mortgage, food, tax, life insurance, bills, etc. Only a tiny % of UK families can afford this. I suspect most who have this kinid of money are alreay paying so making it compulsory would not have a significant impact on state ed.

Hijack alert...upahill How did DS go on his weekend away with his mate??

I think the priviledge associated with private schools somewhat obscures the deeper issue that by cutting funding in state schools it creates a huge gap between the haves and have nots even within the state sector.

In my children's state schools (middle class, village school), most parents spend a fortune supplementing their children's education with what is not on offer at school - the overwhelming majority of children will go to swimming, music lessons, ballet, football, rubgy, cricket, tennis even language classes outside of the school day.

Also they get all the resources and support they could wish for educationally, including internet subscriptions, laptops, tutoring, etc...

Surely despite not attending a private school they are at huge advantage in comparison to other children whose parents cannot afford to pay for all the huge amounts of extras....

Absolutely no, unless you particularly want to.
There are good state schools and not so good ones.
There are good private schools and not so good ones.
Send your child to the school that you think will be best for him/her taking his/her aptitudes and personality into consideration. If the school you think will be best is private and you are able and happy to pay, then go for it. Otherwise save the money and put it into a fund for higher education or a deposit for his/her first house or driving lessons and a car or whatever!!

No. With the exception of Gordonstoun (which takes a whopping 90 pupils per year) we do not have any private schools in my area. The next nearest is about 100 miles away.