Private school plumbs new depths

[Lemonsole]

Well. I have browsed many a thread here about the depths that Queen Ethelburger's school/faculty/college will go to in the quest for pupils.

Here I am, one of the people least likely ever to use a private school, and today they sent me a mail shot.

My jaw hit the deck when I saw inside it a list, by full name, of their leavers, together with their university destination and course, and full A level results.

Would anyone here ever send their DC to a school that sent that information out to randoms? Really? Here is my email to them, but I am wondering whether I should also report them elsewhere. Has any other Guardian-reading southerners been sent this rubbish?

I am horrified that you have mail shot me. My children are far too important to me to take the risk of educating them in any school that needs to send out mail shots to people who have never expressed any interest in your school.

However, as a teacher and parent, I am even more horrified that you sent the names, A-level grades and current university of your leavers in a mailing. This alone shows me that you have no respect for the personal data of your pupils and show scant regard for the most basic safeguarding procedures. You can show destinations without names, you know. Any good school or college can do this.

Do not contact me again. I am a member of the mailing preference service. Do not pass my data on to any other organisation. The reference on your envelope was jhjhjhjhjhjhjhjhj Please confirm my email that you have deleted my details and that they will not be passed on. I would also be interested to know where you got my address from.

AAAAAA from a state school and that place to read Medicine at Oxford from my own little Johnny Xenia. (Slight apologies. I'm just taking the opportunity offered by Xenia to boast in order to annoy an embittered public school stalker).

This Sutton trust report is 2008. Even leaving aside the fact that it's out of date, it's yet another ST report where at least some of the data seems flaky.

Bloody / bold: A A A A A A*.

Oh it's ridiculous. 6 bloody A*s.

This should never be done without express permission from parents or the student if over 18. The DCs' HS in the US published photos, names, university destinations and various academic honours of the valedictorians and national merit scholars, but only with permission. A friend of mine had a DS in a local very expensive private school. She was incensed when the DS's name and details were splashed all over local papers by the school when he was named a Presidential Scholar.

AAAAAA Yellowtip that's an amazing achievement from any school.

We got the mail shot too, but more interestingly it was addressed to DH - who barely ever uses the Internet unless it involves watching 22 men kick a ball around. Very strange where they have his name from ??

I got it too and I'm registered with the Mail Preference Service

I got it too, very surprised, just how desperate are they? I live in London and my kid is under 7 though I see they offer boarding even for that age. I reckon Boden.

We get the odd mailshot about local private schools. Why is this bad?

I got one too.
No idea why.

Good schools tend not to feel any need to send out completely untargetted advertising material, and nor do they divide their sixth form into two for the purpose of publishing results. I've never seen one before that felt the need to make it easy to contact each and every ex pupil. Bonkers.

Impressed by your competence bisjo and yes, I'm v. proud. He's cool.

"but it at least informs me that ds needs to have a Chinese surname to be a King's Scholar at Eton "

One was Chinese and one was Korean, thus I don't think an apology is necessary, but I do apologize to all for being such a bore about this.

There are two names on the list that I would hazard a very strong guess are Chinese, or more likely Chinese Malaysian and Taiwanese as I don't think the school attracts mainland Chinese (at least it didn't the last time I visited). There is one Korean name hence my frivolous comment about ds having a Chinese surname. If the Korean names had been in the majority I would have said Korean.

I didn't for one second say or imply that the Korean name was Chinese but for some reason you seem to think that I did. Feels a bit silly to point out something that was not meant as a serious statement but obviously I've touched a very raw nerve with you and for which I apologise that I know the difference between Chinese names and Korean names and didn't see the need to spell it out.

The other Chinese name had another scholarship, but you get the gist of my what I thought was witty and off the cuff remark

Frivolous or not, your comment had a point. A very, very experienced and long serving teacher at one of the schools at the top of the ST list showed DD1 the A Level results for this year a few days after they came out - and the correlation between the sort of names you mention and the very, very high scores.

I got this too - I can't think how we got on to a mailing list. Not Boden in our case. We're in the Midlands and the envelope had a Birmingham postmark, fwiw.

Not public. I don't like boarindg schools as they can cause psychological damage. Not bitter. I think both Y and I have been delighted with the education we have respectively had for our children in the private and state sectors. So that is lovely for both of us.

Not really understanding what points people are making about the Chinese.

What's interesting, (if wildly off topic) is that unlike every other ethnic group in the UK, the results of students of Chinese origin are independent of parents' socio-economic status.

I think it's really simple. It's about Tiger parents and a difficult culture. No group does as well as Chinese girls in UK exams.

This is the kind of thing they do

Gosh Xenia, no, not you. You seem very content. No, someone else entirely. Very discontent. A boarding school mum. Nutty.

Anyhow yes, we both seem happy and happy for our DC :). Nothing to do with A*.

I got it too and rang them to complain that it was aggressive and unsolicited marketing and that whilst I had never for a moment considered private education for DDs there was no way on God's Earth that I would ever consider a school which buys dodgy mailing lists and wastes school fees on aggressive advertising. The school secretary spoke to me like I was some kind of nutjob so I am relieved I am not alone in thinking their mail shots are way out of line

It seems immensely counter-productive. Why would anyone want to have a DC apply to a school which needed to use such needy techniques? Get rid.

You can always say to them - please remove me from your mailing list (and they have 30 days to do it).

That comment of Xenia's is an absolute classic from her and not in a good way.

Here the students going to Oxbridge from the local (state) 6th Form College usually have their names and photos in the paper on results day and I have to say that it does cheer me up to know that virtually every year their results are better than the very expensive public school down the road.