How much do you sacrifice to send Dc to private school?

[VeryTiredMummyOf2]

I have 2 Dc, just want to know what people give up? And is it worth it?

No she agrees with me it was not worth it.

Not elitist but the question is very specific and some people who have just come on the thread to berate those who do pay fees and trot out all the cliches about children at independent schools and not add anything constructive.

If someone is asking how much did you pay for your bike and is it worth it I wouldn't post to say bikes are useless and you are wrong to pay for one ,I would leave it to those who are able answer the question and who know something about cycling.

Sorry cross posted with happygardening.I would also say I have never met a parent like xenia ,I think her experience is very specific to a very competitive part of North London

It's very arrogant to presume everyone should agree it is an opinion site after all.

I don't think everyone should agree but the OP doesn't ask if you agree with school fees .She asks if having paid fees you think it is worth it ?

east so you had a rubbish time at your independent school thats very sad and unfortunate for both you and your parents who I'm sure stumped up a considerable sum to do what they thought at the time was the right thing for you. My DS2 had a rubbish time at his narrow minded educationally restrictive tedious primary school and now 7 years down the road and after us spending a considerable sum has never been happier at his super selective boys boarding school. But I wouldnt say his school is right for all even if you could put to one side the financial issue because I've enough sense of perspective to know its not.

Actually, I was quite interested in the 'is it worth it?' part of the OP, happygardening. I think that it's quite difficult to account for the 'worth' of a private education, unless you have dc at both state and private.

Ironically, where I live, the 'worth' of a private prep is the unlimited 11+ practice so the dc can get into the state grammars!

Thats a real shame east I cannot imagine looking back on anything that I'd paid for over a period of time and thinking it wasn't worth it, I'd have stopped paying long ago if I'd felt it was poor value.

Ah you see I have DS's at both so unlike many who post on this type is thread I really do know what the difference is between one of the UK's top performing comps and one of the UKs most selective boys hoardings schools is! I'm not spouting uninformed prejudices out of date anacdotes or second/third hand stories.

Heswall you don't realise untill it's too late though.

east this is only your experience not the experience of every independently educated adult.

Bonsoir Sat 07-Apr-12 14:30:25
We give up nothing. Paying for school (and extra curricular activities, and holiday courses) is part of ensuring our children become the sort of people we would like them to be.

This is so sad :(
Parents nature their children to be the sort of people they would like them to be. You don't have to pay for that!

We are lucky to have super state schools locally. We have experienced the independents locally and our DS is going state this year. For us, spending time together and enjoying time together is priceless. We want to make a wonderful childhood for our boys, experiencing different things, mum being at home for them. For us we feel the boys will cope with giving up our time, wider experiences etc later on at secondary level where we believe the school takes on a more prominant role in securing future success academically.

Happy, I'm assuming that your privately educated dc is on a bursary and you're not giving up as much as some people need to?

Have you considered making substantial sacrifices to privately educate your other dc, or are you happy with the comp? Or would that eat into your quality of life?

mumblesmum we and he are very happy with the the comp it is an outstanding school and frankly vastly superior to many of the indie schools in our area which is why I'm not paying for him and have no qualms about not paying for him either! I know that there are good and bad in both sectors and also that what works for one does not work for the other.
DS1 would hate DS2 school but if a school like DS2s school is right for a boy then it beats anything the state sector can offer hands down.

Private education does make a difference if local people do not use local schools. Most of us just want our children educated within the mixed environment in which they live. If a section if that society chooses to opt out it will affect those they choose to leave behind.

It ought to leave more resources for those it leaves behind but of course it doesn't work that way. If each school was allocated £2,000 x 30 regardless of whether all 30 children joined the classroom or not then that would be fairer around.

It leaves more resources in the general fund though - if every child in private education suddenly turned up at their local state school there would either have to be an increase in taxation or a cut in the per head spend.

"If a section if that society chooses to opt out it will affect those they choose to leave behind."
Why will it? We live in a rural location next school in my county 12 miles away I fail to see why choosing to send one DS to school out of the county affects my local comp in any way. In fact places are becoming increasingly hard to get so maybe you could say I'm doing those who cant afford to pay a favour because it is a very desirable school.

it's less that than the fact that if a chair is left empty it can be filled by anyone eg. a child who has been excluded from every school in a 15m perimeter.

More in the general fund which they choose not to spend in the children which says all I need to know about state education.

In our schools case the places are filled by the families in the new houses being built here. In fact there aren't enough places only those living in our small town are guaranteed a place. It maybe different if you live in a large city but this is a small market town with a highly desirable top performing comp the only one in a large radius.

Only 7% of children are privately educated. So if you have a school with 1,000 pupils then if all those 7% were added to that school that would only be 70 extra. Doesn't have much impact on local schools at all imo.

No ones explained to me why it it affects those who are left behind. I don't think it makes a scrap of difference to them but it would make a hell of a difference to my DS if he was not at his super selective indie boarding school.

You think most schools could afford an extra 70 pupils turning up? I'm a school governor of a school with a massive deficit. They'd be up shit creek if the roll increased by 70 without any more cash.

I think you'll find its 7% of all school aged children not just those in senior ed.