Education superclass?

[Amber2]

blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainmartin1/100245274/it-is-much-worse-than-sir-john-major-says-a-new-superclass-is-being-created-in-london/

This is interesting coming from John Major ...sounds like more lobbying along the lines of the Sutton Trust but do people really think it's much worse than it ever has been..? and this is do with with the inexorable rise of London...and the global money flowing in there...and so to creating an elite superclass of private schools also ...not just any old private school but a small handful of elite ones, applications to which have reached record numbers, presumably more and more from London and from overseas with over inflation rises in fees pricing out the traditional middle classes that used to be able to afford these schools.

Shootingatpigeons - yes, I agree oligarchs are still in the minority. They would have to be, really. Driving a battered Volvo, however, does not make you hard working and virtuous. It just means you drive around with your headlights on permanently and have enough money to own and drive a car. So maybe better not to refer to it when making your point.

And when it comes down to it, anyway, even if something always has been a particular way to date, that doesn't mean it is right... or has ElizabethJonesMartin forgotten her feminism?

rabbit I referred to it because strangely enough it is true, in fact their ubiquity in the school car park at parent's evening was in itself bizarre but let's not let reality get in the way of a good stereotype! doesn't admit to driving battered Volvo for ten years and would still be driving it now if I hadn't managed to drown it in a northern flood, Londoners shouldn't venture beyond all our privilege

I suspect my DDs will go through the same process in terms of educational choices we did since strangely they seem to have grown up with similar values. We set out naively wanting and thinking our DDs would go to state schools but in our London borough they only have enough state primary school places for half the children, come allocation day you discover you are one of hundreds without a place. They even openly stated in the minutes of the Admissions Forum that they could confidently expect most of those parents finding themselves not allocated a place to find other options, interesting education strategy based on deterrent. This is only going to get worse in London with the pupil bulge about to far surpass the number of state school places (the number of additional pupils coming through in our borough will need two five form entry secondary schools) Then at secondary there are four really outstanding comps I would have loved my DDs to have attended but then so would the 1000 other parents who make them first preference and they only have 180/200 places. The only places were in the three schools that through scandalous mismanagement had become so bad, acknowledged so by OFSTED no one local sent their children there. So that is the reality of the choices made by parents in London suburbs many of whom end up in the "elitist" schools, whether or not they drive battered volvos........

And I am still active locally in campaigning against the Council's scandalous school place planning strategy, and in favour of an inclusive free school, because, even if I was deprived of choice, I hope I can make a difference for future parents and their children

Shootingatpigeons - come and live in the provinces. It's much nicer, here.

Please be aware, though, that the middle class car of choice around here is whatever the second hand car salesman has on offer at around £3,000-£5,000. Going out of your way to find a Volvo is a bit excessive.

rabbitstew I know! I pine for China and Yorkshire, not necessarily in that order...... But sadly this is where the jobs were.

So we got on our bikes

And we got a Volvo because the Mercedes kept breaking down

Mercedes, Volvo, Bike. Walk. A natural progression. Not much further to go, now.

Or do you mean, you came down to London in your Volvo and haven't got the bike, yet?

Actually my father lives up North to be honest I lived there when I was younger. There nowt there its cold and it rains alot. There aint no jobs that gives a living wage. So like Dick whittigon I went to London. I didnt have a cat though. When in London they laughed at my Northern accent. I worked hard made a good living I did squire. Then the misery of English life hit. I was skint. I paid half my wage to the goverment. So when offered a job in the sun I took it.

Its ace being an expat...You get to live in an apartment for free. You get a live in maid and get driven to work. I don't own a car you see.... cant afford one....

The best thing is that you live so close to Thailand, Malaysia and other great places...So you can pop over for the weekend if your bored. Although have to admit shopping in NY is better than Bejing.

BTW I heard that Volvo's are quite good cars now...and not the perserve of the dysfunctional driver...

Volvos have always been considered good cars, Kenlee.

Sitting in my cosy house, sun shining in through the window, not getting on with my work. Lovely.

Note to self: do not do revision for an exam in front of a computer.

It seems to me all the jobs being in London doesn't make many people very happy. That's a shame.

kenlee what are you implying? since ten year old Volvo went to the recyclers three years ago that puts me firmly in dysfunctional drivers category

rabbitstew I did actually bike the ten miles to work for five years, because the transport system in this privileged capital is totally crap, and a Volvo next to useless if stationary on the Hammersmith flyover. However as you may have heard you take your life in your hands on a bike in London so then I did actually walk 40 mins from the mainline station, so in a way your progression isn't far off the mark. Obviously the oligarchs must get around in helicopters.....

And Volvos are very popular in Hong Kong, the Aussie expats even ship them home they are so valued

I think having choices in life (education, jobs, lifestyle) does make people happier ...you can choose a busy, high-flying life or a simpler one ...poverty of choice is miserable however. It is all about what doors are open to you and some have many more open doors than others.

rabbitstew it's not all bad though, I too have sunshine streaming through the window, procrastinating the PhD research supervised by specialist institution that is an inspiring world centre of excellence, as well as supported by the resources of the British Library etc. and the world class museums, there are theatre tickets on mantelpiece, and tickets to watch the filming of one of my favourite TV shows. Later I'll walk the dog along some of the hundreds of miles of towpaths and parkland paths that are open to all, no scrabbling around for a decent right of way, and the view from one made it into the Guardian's ten best views in England yesterday. If I am short of anything for lunch I can pop to the shops at the end of the road. Then of course there are those elite schools

Gosh 250k PA + and they drive 10 year old battered Volvos , thats taking dress down to far. I remember getting dropped off at my Crap comprehensive in a Brand New rolls and picked up in a brand new Mercedes .... Its all about
priorities though isn't it.

soul my point was that most parents at elite schools don't earn 250k, or anything like. They are teachers, salesmen, engineers.......that may be the stereotype but it's not our experience. A few may but not the majority. In fact the stereotype which probably applies just as much is the one of pushy tiger parents from immigrant communities.....

Right, she says competitively, revealing the former Londoner in her that she has not completely washed out, yet. It does not take us that long to get into London on the train to enjoy the museums, art galleries, theatres, concerts and parks - I only find London fun when I have free time, not when I'm working, so that's when I go to London these days; I can walk into town to get anything I want from the shops (although admittedly, for late night shopping I'd have to drive 2 minutes to the nearest petrol station ); if I walk in the other direction I walk into miles of beautiful countryside open to all; there are good schools within a 10 minute walk and some staggeringly expensive ones too within a very short distance if I wanted to go down that route; there are plenty of interesting places to visit nearby, if you own your own car. So, ner. [sticky out tongue smiley]

Now, where's my helicopter? I can't remember where I last left it.

I live in a fairly affluent area. Car of choice seems to be Subaru Forester... as low on the suspension as possible and with lashings of mud. I like those nice ride high-up Volvos and so on, but they appear to be the car of choice of the arrivistes .

Anyway, I do think it will be harder for young people from the provinces to "break in" to London in future, simply because of property prices. It used to be the case that you graduated, moved to London and flat-shared, albeit in some rather grotty neighbourhood at first. In time you could afford your own place. Now unless you are going to live 20 to a room, moving to London is terribly costly - in fact too costly for a normal graduate working in perhaps a very non-graduate job. Meanwhile, those who have parents living in London have an absolute head start with a comfortable pad and no accommodation costs. And, of course, they have been on the spot for juicy internships, which someone from, say, Devizes could not afford to take because of rent/commuting costs.

lainiekazan...I agree with your last comment and it goes to my comment about having choices...someone like a banker or top exec with a house in London which has escalated in value exponentially, could also probably afford a nice retreat in the country as well as one overseas.....bit harder to move back into London if your parents moved out years ago and are teachers in the provinces....the social mobility chances will be very different....not impossible...but much harder indeed.

The children of the teachers could become bankers... it's not much of a choice, though, is it?