Is banning private schools a workable solution?

[APMF]

Whenever the conversation turns to bias in favour of privately educated people there are always voices that shouts out - ban private schools!

Is this a badly thought out knee jerk reaction or am I missing something?

IMO if private schools were to be banned the following would happen.

a) the rich would educate their kids abroad. Aged 18 those kids will be back to grab those coveted uni places and, on graduating, the top jobs. So no change there.

b) some will choose to buy up the properties around the highly regarded state schools. Thus driving up prices and nudging aside your untutored DC which is what is happening in parts of London

c) Some will take the fees saved and hire tutors in order to give their dcs an advantage.

d) x thousands of kids will rejoin the state system thus busting an already over stretched system. Tax increases for everybody to pay for the extra resources and if you thought that it was hard getting into your over subscribed comp at the moment ......

As I said above, is banning private schools a badly thought out solution or am I missing something?

[wildstrawberryplace]

Agree exexpat

[exexpat]

Difference not different

[iyatoda]

If festive was Xenia, she would have told rabbit and the others to work hard in their next life so that they could afford private schools rather than trying hard to close them.

[FestiveFrollockingFrenzy]

We don't know each other, sorry if I remind you of someone unsavoury :)

[rabbitstew]

To put it another way, Festive - you are doing no-one but yourself a favour to have so much spare income to be able to put into school fees. You could clearly afford to pay more tax or give more money away to charities which do not directly benefit your children, so don't claim you are doing anyone but your own children a favour by choosing private education.

[FestiveFrollockingFrenzy]

:) @ iyatoda

[AfterEightMintyy]

What do you mean we don't know each other? I only know one mumsnetter in rl.

[rabbitstew]

ie it's best just to stick with the argument that it's your money and you want to spend it as you see fit, rather than trying to take any kind of moral high ground.

[FestiveFrollockingFrenzy]

Fine rabbit. Personally I think I am contributing significantly more than some towards tax and therefore the social welfare of others but that's just my view :)

[breatheslowly]

Rabbitstew - leaving the high ground alone, the state cannot afford to educate the 7% of pupils who currently attend private schools without tax increases or cuts in other areas, therefore banning them is not workable.

[FestiveFrollockingFrenzy]

I am not taking moral high ground at all. I'm merely stating the facts of the situation which all have an influence on whether banning private schools would be workable or not. I'm a factual person more than of the moral persuasion :)

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

I am really not understanding your argument on this at all, rabbit.
I was going to say that we all accept the basic premise that all children are entitled to an education. In fact, we are legally obliged as parents to secure one. Hence the state provides one. If you do not in fact take up this entitlement there is clearly a chunk of resource there which you are not using, despite being entitled to it.
To put the problem another way, if every privately educating parent in the country decides to use state provision, there will clearly be increased expenditure on state education required.

[TalkinPeace2]

exepat
how can you comment on the uniqueness of the UKs private school system with no knowledge of how elite schools work in other countries?

look those schools up and you will see my point - they are where diplomats and politicians and the uber rich send their children - just like the UKs public schools

[iyatoda]

True Karlos. When I moved DS from state to private, another boy took his place immediately!!

[wildstrawberryplace]

See I don't get this tax thing. I pay a shitload of tax and I don't think I am paying for someone else's education or healthcare. It's not like I voluntarily and benevolently give away my dosh to others in need. It's a tax. It gets used for those things amongst others like the road infastructure and the ridiculous defence budget, but really, other than wincing sometimes at how much gets taken away, I don't give it a second thought.

I know not everyone is the same - my DH for one actually

[rabbitstew]

I know our family contributes significantly more than some towards tax, too. So what? We have more money to contribute in the first place. I am happy for that money to go towards the education of others. Other things I'm not so happy about, but I would not choose to be mean about the education of young people - I would want state provision to be good enough for my children, otherwise I wouldn't consider it good enough for anyone else's children, either.

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

State schools in some areas are already under massive pressure from recent increases in the birth rate - here in Surrey, for example, where a lot of children are privately educated. if Surrey state schools had to absorb all of these children the wheels would come off immediately - they're barely on as it is (hence my rejection of the Surrey state offering).

[rabbitstew]

Karlos - with the recession, more parents are wanting to use state education. It's a very foolish state which relies on 7% of parents being able to afford private school fees at a time like this. Why do you think some private schools are opting to become academies?

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Banning private schools would also Ben The Roysl Ballet School, Elmhurst School of Dance & Cheethams School if Music.

Children at those schools are selected for exceptional talent and in many cases fees are means tested.

[iyatoda]

State education is 'good' people profess that all the time on MN the problem is that one mans good is another person's crap (as was in my case).

[TalkinPeace2]

NO Country in the world has successfully banned private schools.
So really its a pretty pointless conversation.

[rabbitstew]

It's inane planning that has resulted in such a tight squeeze on school places.

[breatheslowly]

The state might not be relying on 7% staying in private schools, but may be relying on 6% staying in private schools and couldn't afford a total ban.

[rabbitstew]

The conversation isn't really about banning private schools, though, since I haven't seen anyone post on here who thinks it is actually feasible. It is about whether private schools are a good thing, though, or whether it is a virtuous thing to pay for your children to go to private school rather than take up a state school place.

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

"It's a very foolish state which relies on 7% of parents being able to afford private school fees at a time like this. " Precisely why I don't entrust it with the education of my children.