Eton On The Cheap

[peteneras]

Here's an alternative and cheaper way to access the services of the great School!

[slipshodsibyl]

Tony Little has specifically stated in newspaper interviews that he would not presume to offer advice to schools on educating children living in areas of social deprivation and with attendant problems. He said it would be insulting and to those educators who do have that expertise and wrong as it is not what he and his staff can do well.

A child I know well who lives nowhere near Windsor contacted a staff member for advice on an area not covered in her school. She received help and support freely from an individual staff member and contact has continued two years later. I doubt Mr Little is even aware of this kindness. It is hard to talk of 'Eton's opinion' when it is a large community of staff, governors and students with a wide variety of opinons and attitudes among them isn't it?

[slipshodsibyl]

insulting to those educator,s not insulting and to

[moutier]

go look at Rookwood in Andover.Main line to Woking and the boarding is very good

[difficultpickle]

Their planning application was roundly rejected by the local parish council, much to the founder's chagrin. Very funny ranty twitter posts from Simon Dudley, who is also the deputy leader of the town council and sits on the town planning committee.

[peteneras]

Fear not!

Holyport College is alive and well and heading fast towards September 2014 opening:

?Headteacher appointed, construction starts and DfE funding secured?.

Good luck to all concerned. It's a positive step towards the right direction for the underprivileged.

[MrsSalvoMontalbano]

Well done! Watching with interest

[bico]

I doubt that there are many underprivileged children living in the catchment area of this school!

[peteneras]

Yes, I know what you?re implying but Holyport College is also a boarding school. Therefore, proximity to the school is not a major criterion for admission purposes. Listen to what the school has to say officially:

?Along with all schools in the borough, we would expect to have a number of students who are eligible for the Pupil Premium. However, unlike other schools we have set a priority criterion in our admissions arrangements which states that up to 20% of day places will be allocated to children who are eligible. The final number may rise above this percentage if pupils eligible for the PP gain places through the other priority criteria?.

It is quite evident and very much stated in the school?s Admissions Policy that the underprivileged are especially catered for. [Page 2 - Ss 1, 2 and 5]

[bico]

Only the underprivileged who want to go to boarding school and can afford it or are able to get one of three funded places.

As for the 20% on pupil premium there is no mention on how they are going to actually get to the school. There isn't any bus stop within walking distance.

[peteneras]

So what do you want - to provide for each and every underprivileged child in the country to come to the school on a taxi with a guaranteed return fare and/or giving them free boarding if they want to board, just because life?s dealt them or their families a bad hand?

Next, you?ll be asking for the same free services and guarantee of a place at Oxbridge or a Russell Group university followed by a top job in government or in industry.

[bico]

peteneras you were the one that highlighted the admissions section in response to my pointing out that the school is not situated in an underprivileged area so I'm not sure what point you're making.

If you are saying that it is pretty unrealistic to expect underprivileged pupils to be able to access this new school then I am in complete agreement with you.

[peteneras]

The point I?m making is it is unrealistic to expect the school to cater for all situations. Remember this is a thread about (going to) Eton on the cheap -or almost as close to that as possible - that one would otherwise have to pay £33,000 basic annual fee for the real thing. At Holyport it is possible to get it all for nothing no matter where you live and the underprivileged have special priorities. That?s all I?m saying.

[bico]

Then we are almost saying the same thing. Holyport College is not located in an underprivileged area so those children will either have to board or find their way to school. It is not walking distance of anywhere that has low cost housing and there are very few footpaths even if it were. Whilst the school maybe keen to offer access on paper it will be interesting to see how they facilitate it in practice.

The only people I know who are talking about sending their dcs their are those who live very close to the school and whose children attend preps. They see it as a free alternative to the private non-selective day schools in the area like LVS and CC.

[peteneras]

But it is still better to have a school like Holyport no matter, and in spite of, where it is located than to have no (such) school at all. The 20% priority for the underprivileged no matter where they come from, is a good case in point.

[bico]

I would put good money on the fact that they won't fill those spaces.

[askeptical1]

Why can they build it in my area?
All of our schools have been rated "unsatisfactory" by OFSTED in a blitz last month

[what34]

Overseas students are boarding here. This is an Eton education at reduced fees & subsidised by the taxpayer.

[FourFriedFlumps]

@what34 that isn't correct and comes across as inflammatory. This is from the admissions section of the website:

Do you accept international applications for boarding places?

Admission to State Boarding Schools in the UK is limited to children who are nationals of the UK and are eligible to hold a full UK passport, or those who are nationals of other European Union countries or those who have the right of residence in the UK. Please note that the holding of a BN(O) passport does not make the child eligible for a State Boarding School in the UK.

[SirMister]

Last time I checked Eton was NOT a State Boarding School so FourFriedFlumps, your comment is NOT correct with regards to Independent (non-state) boarding schools like Eton.
You have incorrectly pulled the statement from a STATE boarding website:
stateboarding.org.uk

In fact, there has been a vast increase in the number of foreign students to Independent (non-state) boarding schools which has also coincided in a huge increase in the fees for independent schools. Probably a coincidence.

Inflammatory or not is beside the point, if you need evidence and can be bothered to look (rather than going in to a "that's racist" mode) then simply look at the numbers winning scholarships each year (i.e. Eton election roll). Probably a coincidence.

The increase in foreign students has also coincided with an increase in rigerous tuition outside of school with sky high prices for tutors (I know of £500+/hour but this might be even higher). Probably a coincidence.
This particularly strikes me as odd given that I suspect most foreign parents that send their children to the UK independent schools do so because of the education that is on offer here (i.e. more focus on creativity and all rounded teaching of the whole child rather than on measurement by results that you might find in places that the tabloids like to rave about in their attempts to dumb down UK students). However, their drive to hit the best schools & most prestigious scholarships by focussing on extra tuition is simpling turning these great institutions like the very places they have rejected from their own country.

I know that this is a sensitive subject and I really don't mean to be inflammatory - just trying to make a few observations and asking others if they are purely coincidental?

[OneOvoidOwl]

@Sirmaster the whole thread is about Holyport a state boarding school sponsored by Eton?

[FourFriedFlumps]

My comment was about Holyport not Eton- I completely agree with you that there are issues around numbers of foreign students and tutoring at certain public schools

www.holyportcollege.org.uk/admissions/admissions-faq/

[peteneras]

"I would put good money on the fact that they won't fill those spaces."

You have lost your good money!

"In fact, there has been a vast increase in the number of foreign students to Independent (non-state) boarding schools which has also coincided in a huge increase in the fees for independent schools. Probably a coincidence."

Don't know about other independent (non-state) boarding schools and foreign students can come to the UK in swamps but Eton - the real one - has a policy of not having more than 10 percent of foreign boys at the school at any one time so as to keep up with its status as a tranditional English boarding school. So the fee increase is a coincidence.

[SirMister]

peteneras:
Thanks, I didn't realise Eton had the 10% rule and I suppose that will help keep the status of a traditional English boarding school. I wish the other independents all applied the same rule.

OneOvoidOwl:
Apologies, as I didn't read the page thread before replying - ignorance is bliss at times.

I do think state boarding schools are a great option to have and there should be more of them. Would love to see the independent schools help the state boarding schools like Eton does. If they are to keep their charitable status then they should do much more on this front.
Would be great to see these leading boarding schools help 1 state boarding school in each of Wales, Scotland, NI, north England, etc....

[SirMister]

And apologies fourfriedflumps

[FourFriedFlumps]

Apology accepted 😊