I send my child to private school because....?

[jabed]

Well, I don?t actually, I just work in one. But it seems to be a constant source of questioning on MN and given the current news articles (I have been reading the DM and Tory graph online) about how many of our left wing leaders hypocritically claim to be egalitarian and socialist whilst buying education for their children , or have had education paid for by their own parents. I just wondered, what is it we expect from education, and why is it some of us are willing to pay for whatever that is and how they see that as worthy of their money.

There you go. :)

I went to the council school so I'm a bit fick. Sorry about that.

The thing that amazes me is the amount of people with chips on their shoulder about "posh people" and "private schools".

Why does it bother you so much? let them get on with it, and you get on with your life

Risible.

I send my children to private school because i don't want them to look back on their school days as i do.

To say that i was misereable would be an understatement and when my DCs come home from school and tell me all about their day i know that i made the right choice. My DM on the other hand has just admitted she made the wrong choice for me & my DSis!

Yes, but do they listen to Liberace?

Chandon- I don't think anyone has said anything about posh people, have they? And anyway criticising posh people would be a bizarre thing for me to do, because I could give the Mitfords a run for their money and come from a family who considered the royal family a bit MIF.

As I have frequently said, on this thread and others, my objection to private education is political and philosophical. Not jealousy, or chip on shoulder, or inverted snobbery.

Jabed.

Once again I have to agree. I wasn't so clever, but dh went to a top performing non fee paying Grammar school that was a council school. He did do exceedingly good at primary though. If you were bright enough you went. DH was from working class one parent (father) family.

My mother called LEA schools 'Council schools', including the grammar school I went to. No derogatory meaning. The others were 'Church Schools'. Private wasn't on our radar

Karlos "all I do ask is for others to extend the same courtesy to me"

Of course

Bisjo "I think what I forgot to add is those same people who have jumped through the hoops ... are very critical of those who open their cheque books"

Not at all. You have every right to do whatever is best for your child, That's what I'm doing for mine.

I would imagine that I am at least the same age as you Jabed, if not older, and I have never heard the term 'council school'. I have also studied the history of education and the 1870 education act.

I could give you any amount of links they all say similar to

'The Education Act of 1870 was designed to make good the gaps in the church system by providing Board schools where church schools did not already exist. By the time of the 1902 Education Act which created the LEAs, the dual system of educational provision was firmly established both as a principle and in reality. That Act made LEAs financially responsible for both voluntary and Board schools, except for voluntary school buildings, which the governors had to maintain.

I have also tried all ways on Google to find any mention of 'council schools' and failed.

Exotic.

Just because you can't find the term doesn't mean it doesn't exist. My schools and those in the area I lived were called council schools. As others have posted and in my experience this wasn't a derogatory term as there were no other alternatives, for some considerable distance. There were no LEA's just County Council when I was growing up.

It was deliberately used on here as a derogatory term. If you did use it, it was incorrect and I never heard it in my area.
Can you imagine anyone saying to someone with a DC at a top selective state school saying 'oh mine just go to the council school'? It conjures up a sink school-or at least that was the intention. It is the sort of thing that irritates me about this sort of debate-that and the fact that I make a perfectly factual statement about the history of education and am told to read some books and learn something.

Sorry-if you had a child at a top selective state school you wouldn't describe it as the council school.

All the chippy, easily offended people - Here is a helpful link to confirm that 'council school' was indeed in common parlance.

Well - I could pay but I don't want to. I would rather use the church schools in my area

Well, yes- in the 1950's!

I may be old but I wasn't at school in 1950!

I objected on here because it was deliberately used to describe the sort of state school where learning will be disrupted and ignores the fact that Henrietta Barnett, Tiffin School, EdwardVI Grammar School etc are equally council schools as are any state schools. No one says 'I am paying thousands of pounds out because our local council school gets the best results in the country and I am hoping my DC gets a free place'!

Googling council school got me nowhere - I see that if I add 1950 or 1940 it gets results.

They are quite happy to say they are paying out for a grammar school - it paints a different picture entirely.

I think it was a bizarre expression to use- not sure who used it first. Presumably a fan of Gervase Phinn?

I have seen "children from council estates" used as a shorthand for the sort of children people go private to avoid, so the negative connotations are unavoidable.

It is the sort if expression that makes the whole thing a bun fight and ignores the fact that you should be choosing the best school that you can for your child. Some people have a DC in a state school and another ina private school - it doesn't have to be one or the other. Unfortunately over 90% of parents have a limited choice.

People who do have a child in a private school ought to be pleased they are a minority - if all could afford it the competition would be intense and they could be squeezed out!

I send my DDs to private school because the class sizes are smaller and that does matter! The resources are better ( of course they are I am paying for them to be) and they have access to a wider range of extra curricular activities than they would at the local state school. There are numerous other benefits too but the overiding factor THE reason they attend private school is because the education they receive is tailored to their individual needs. They are not educated to jump through government test hoops, they receive an excellent, broad and solid education.

I am glad to see I am not alone in knowing the phrase council schools. :)
It probably does prove I am older than some posters but I have always said that. But seems some posters can?t allow that to spoil their spoiling of a thread. Anything to get off topic and start a fight - eh seeker and exotic fruits?

Why I can only guess.

seeker - I am not a fan of Gervaise Phinn, saw him on TV once, had some thoughts about what I saw, never read his books. I do wish you could stick to the topic. You may have something reasonable to contribute but in the middle of all your obfuscation it?s difficult to tell.