this must be the parpiest of parpiest article

[cod]

int h paper its acconmpanies byt two girls in boaters ffs

THIS is why i want to kill most peopel hwo go to private shcools

\link{http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,171-2149872,00.html\nobs of nobsley in nob land}

mental maths quite overrated. am accountant and don't even know times tables - nver held me back one iota

oi Flum, I'm the only iota in this village

Hmm - didn't it occur to her that probably a lot of the mothers couldn't actually afford to work full time. DS is in reception and I would say out of 29 in the class, probably at least 20 of the mothers work part time. One, I know, works full time and one doesn't work and there are some that I am not sure about.

or they ahev better htings to do?

Getting more the more I think about it.

Quite the shallowest, most illogical article I have ever read.

The woman obviously would benefit from a good education - for herself.

But lots of these are working around school hours in order to avoid paying childcare. One works in an opticians 10-2, one works evenings as a hotel receptionist, others are in supermarkets/care homes, that sort of thing.

lots of working parents at ds1's school - the aafter-school club is full to bursting

our before shcool one had to fold

we have a b'fast club as well, don't know how many use it

I'm the "have better things to" category I suppose, Cod. I work 3 days and childcare takes up about 40% of my net, so if I worked 5 days it would be the same but 40% of a bigger net.

One of big reason we chose the school we did for DD is because it included before and after school. Catchment state school didn't offer before school, and the after school club is a bit adhoc - so would have had to try and find childminder, easier said than done round here at the moment.

this article is surreal....can this family really exist? what a load of old toss...she comes across as a mega crap mother tbh

my GOD I think my eyes may pop out of my head this woman's self awareness gene is obviously deeply deeply recessive give a woman enough rope (or, say 500 words) to hang herself actually she is clearly such an appalling misfit I can't even get cross with her Pity, I can find

dh just read this and said that florence should have been soundly thrashed when she started whinging about mental maths!

Someone tell me what was the POINT of this stupid article?
She scrimped and saves to send her children to private school. The state school seemed good but had large classes (there's a surprise). Her daughter is happier at her old school.
BIG DEAL!
"Does a seven year old really need 5 acres of land to play in at lunch time?" What is she ON? Of course they do. 4.5 acres just won't do.

I've been lurking here for months, but this has finally made me post.

Daft bint - we did all of that: took our 2 little darlings out of their tiny weeny cosy private school and stuck them in the local state primary when they were 6 and 8 and I'm very glad we did. Not only have we saved ourselves a fortune but they have learnt to mix with all sorts of different people, which they certainly didn't in their private school. The eldest took more than 2 years to settle in and make friends, but it has strengthened her character and made her stand up for herself. We had tears and tantrums, bed-wetting, calls from the school about the fact that she didn't fit in and wanted to sit in the library reading at breaktimes because she had no friends, but now in Year 6 she is Little Miss Popular and loving it. As for mental maths, they are both doing extremely well in every subject and I cannot praise the dedication of the teachers enough. It's not a particularly good school, with a wide mix of people from different backgrounds and cultures, but they do their best in often challenging circumstances.

Having said all that, I confess that we are going for a private secondary, but only because the state options in our borough are crap and Little Darling 1 failed to get into the selective school in the next borough an hour away and we think she deserves the chance.

And yes, I work full time, no cleaner, no au pair, and we are all very happy, thank you very much. Cleaning the floor at 5am? Only if the MIL is coming to stay! Why can't she spend half an hour in the evening, when the kids are in bed, having a quick wipe round like the rest of us? I have people like Shona Mrs Hoity Toity Sibary, but perhaps I'm just jealous?!

Should have read "hate" of course, not have!

She has acted on her gut instincts, nothing wrong with that, I guess we all have to do that at some time.
But then she had concocted a story around it, bolstered by her prejudices. Then used it to fuel the state vs. private debate, and no doubt boost her career. How many days or hours of schooling will this article pay for?
Probably journalism at its worst.

Oh but mummy, the classrooms are so squashy. The rooms are small and poky, the teachers use dipthongs and glottal stops and the other children smell of turkey twizzlers and are called Chardonnay and Millwall

This has got to be a piss take, surely

Can't let you be the last poster if it is your FIRST one.

Although the writer of the article comes a cross as a pretty pathetic specimen. I think seeing your little darling unhappy is liable to make any parent behave in an over protective fashion.

Gamegirly, for example it must have been tough to see your two take such a long time to settle in.

These things are always easier when you have no other option.

I am only able to leave my weeping toddler at her nursery for 45 hours a week because I know that at the time I took the job the choice was nursery for her or no food or home for either of us. If I had CHOSEN it, it would have been even harder.

Thrrrrrrruuuupp.

Yes, agree Fio.

She may well have made the best decison for her dd, but using the state system as a scapegoat is wrong.