Why on earth would you go state if you could afford private?

[Schmedz]

This thread is for Maisie and happygardening . I like dares!

I don't know about the Dutch bonsoir, but having visited Germany several times (have family there) I really had to chuckle at your idea that they have better dress sense than the British! Where do,you spend your time when you come to britain?

"The Americans and Dutch and Germans are much better dressed than the British, if you care to go to their countries and look and compare like-for-like."

What makes you think we haven't?

Well I've lived in Germany and think the Germans dress better on the whole too.

Because only Bonsoir, alone among mumsnetters, has travelled. Oh, and Xenia has too. The rest of us have, at the most, been tourists. Or even- heaven forfend- trippers.

Bonsoir - why do you assume that you are the only one that have traveled there and that the rest of us are just generalising based on TV perhaps? :)

TiffIsKook - you were the one who used tourists as your data point:

"American tourists are easily identifiable on the streets of London. The older men by their elasticated trousers, white trainers, wind breakers and baseball cap."

Well I've lived in France and found the French to be stylish I guess, but with no originality or personality in their way of dressing, features which I find much preferable.

Yes, British originality... bare legs in winter, home-hennaed hair, muffin tops, tatoos, cheap washed-out black polycotton...

Well, my mum still lives in Germany and she and her friends dress much better than MIL and her friends (who are British). Mind you, she has subscriptions to Elle and Vogue, etc.

FWIW, the best-dressed Europeans are the French and the Scandinavians... they tend to be a lot more fashion-conscious.

The American upper middle class/upper class dresses well in general, too. But what you wear tends to be a lot less important there than what type of credit card you have in your wallet...

TOSN yes I quite like a folly but lack the rolling acres to put it in!
Elibean its "our PTA is inclusive" that mkles me run for the hills. They want you to inclusively run white elephant stalls teddy bear stalls and attend hideous cheese and white tasting evening. Im an anti social bugger and cant think of anything less that I want to do!

"Yes, British originality... bare legs in winter, home-hennaed hair, muffin tops, tatoos, cheap washed-out black polycotton..."

Maybe in your circles.

Try any university town (even the "better" ones)...

I wouldn't say the french folk that barged their way past me yesterday at St Pancras station were very stylish. They were a scruffy lot and bloody rude.

TifflsKool

That's very interesting. The UK is in a completely different league with its class system. Is this a result of the monarchy still existing? Does this exist anywhere else?

I went to uni with a Princess from my home country (no monarchy there anymore), my brother was at school with a Count. My mum used to get invited to fashion shows by a duchess... never seemed to faze us.

^^ And not to forget, my best friend at the state primary also married into nobility...

We don't seem to have the same class barriers as Britain.

Tasmania- just checking. You didn't grow up in the UK? Is that right? You have never had children in a UK state school, or taught in one, or have young relatives in one?

The French have a class system that is "all in their heads" too, with all sorts of social codes and markers. In fact, all old-established countries have significant segments of the population that are descended from the élite and believe them to be special because of their blood and their insider knowledge of arcane codes of behaviour. They cling together in hope...

Tas, that's not at all what I mean by 'inclusive'!

Never mind.

Antisocial buggers can do all sorts of other things - eg donate stuff/cash, if they don't want to donate time. Or become Governors, who can avoid Teddy Stalls if they don't want to talk to parents or children.

Whether its PTA or not, that is hardly the point - thing is, I find it slightly depressing that more people (on these threads) don't seek to put their cash and their energy into trying to change things. There's a lot of 'well if state schools were more like xyz, then...' or 'well you're lucky, its not like that near us...' or 'they don't have the facilities...' but not a lot of 'what can we do about it?'

Bonsoir, true words indeed!

DH's siblings all went to a terrible state school (and I had to help with homework for the much younger one) which is the reason we wouldn't send DC to state school unless, of course, it was one of those magnificent ones I've mentioned in a previous post. I went to uni here where you could see the difference between state and privately educated kids. My British contemporaries used to joke I had a radar for it. But it was actually really audible and visible.

I also had friends in Germany who spent time at a British comp and what they said confirmed a lot of what's being said here... but then again, they were comparing it to the German system, where getting 90% in a Maths exam would at best give you a "B". Sorry, but the "75% for an A" thing really makes me shudder. No wonder I got what I thought of as low grade requirements to get into uni...

So one terrible state school, means they are all rubbish?

And it is ridiculous to say 90% for a B so that must be better than 75% for an A.( not strictly true anyway) 90% of what? 75% of what?

Elibean - the worst parents IMO are those who opine that the state schools are no good where they are without ever having set foot in one. They then divorce/go bankrupt and whoops, private schooling is no longer an option and they become evangelical about the state school their child goes to

My niece went to Uni here too (Oxford) and she could tell the difference between state educated and privately educated kids too. One of those differences (not everyone, obviously) was that the state educated kids had their feet planted on the ground, and knew how to study independently faster than the privately educated ones.

I went to Uni here too (London) but it was a long time ago, so my experience probably doesn't count