Is it OK for parents who can afford private education to take state school places for their DC?

[Schmedz]

asking for a friend....

Every child has an equal right to a state education.

A child who is better-off financially is not 'taking' a place from a poorer child - they are taking their place that they are perfectly entitled to.

If another child didn't get in, their parents need to appeal or take it up with the LEA if it's a policy issue - they are being ridiculous blaming other children for 'taking away' their child's space.

Yes of course it is.

Eh?
Are you serious?
I could afford lots of things. But choose not to. I could probably Just about afford to buy a new car and pay £169- £250 a month fees, but I choose not to .
why is this any different?

We all pay for state education through tax. Those who do not pay tax as they are not working for whatever reasons are also entitled to state education. We are all entitled to access it equally.

That's really reassuring to hear from everyone. I think there is a lot of guilt because the child in question has always gone private and now her (nonetheless excellent) indie doesn't offer the subject selection she wants, she is looking elsewhere, successfully getting an offer somewhere her friend did not. Her friend is gutted because said school is the one of only a few places that offer his preferred subjects and the family really felt they needed the place.
Of course it is ok in theory, but when personally affected by someone else's disappointment and distress about missing out, it's less easy, thus my topic question...

I could afford to privately educate my son, I don’t personally agree with private education.

Every child in the UK is entitled to state education, a child not being in public school does not prevent another child accessing state education.

All children have equal right to state education.
However using state education does not make a person morally superior to a person using private education (esp when they are 'lucky' enough to live next to a top state school... Probably through paying higher property costs)

Of course!
They are still paying for state education through their taxes.

Yes of course. The state system should be truly representative of our society

Now I've heard everything.

Imagine a country where state schools were only open to those who own below a certain amount (shudder)

It's only normal to feel sorry for someone who missed out. Unfortunately, such is life.

I think that's odd. I mean, the child in question might have missed out on many grounds. It's not a given because of child B, that child E didn't get a place. It might simply be because of child A C or D! One never knows.

(We missed out on a school place because 54 children had a sibling at the school and the other 6 lived closer or had other priority status.)

What’s the exact story about admissions?

State education is avaliable to everyone surely? Many children arent happy at Private School (my Nieces friend disliked the pressured enviroment and was much happier at the local Comp !) Even though her parents are millionaires !

Yes, access to education should not have any element of means testing to it.

“ Yes, access to education should not have any element of means testing to it.”
Agreed. That’s why grammar and faith schools should be got rid of and there should be a massive shake up of admission procedures.

Yes, it’s fine.

There’s any number of reasons why a family who can afford private education might choose state education.

The scenario you give - applying for a state school because it offers a desired subject selection that isn’t available in the independent school is a perfectly valid reason for choosing a state school. Not that the parents should feel the need to justify their decision.

Also, it’s surely not a given that the friend’s DC would get the school place if they withdrew the child and returned to private education? Maybe the DC missing out on a place wouldn’t have got in anyway...

It is definitely going on here in the US where parents are gaming the system. An adversity score has been rolled out that is measured mostly by what high school you are in during 11th and 12th grade when you take your exams (called SATS) and apply to university.
My second cousins live in Texas where it has been piloted and they reported scores of rich parents pulling kids out of elite private schools and enrolling them at the worst high school they could find for 11th and 12th grade knowing that their kids will break the curve by outscoring all local kids, taking valedictorian spots. They even hire tutors to teach them AP and do AP exams independently. They are literally gaming the system to get their kids in to the Ivy League with lower grades.
Here is an article about it in Time
time.com/5590396/sat-adversity-score/

I am sure something similar goes on in the U.K. because your universities give plus ups on applications to students who did A levels at a state school. It would be easy for parents to have their kid leave a private school for a state sixth form and then with private tutors look like a really smart disadvantaged kid who excelled “despite” the “adversity” of a state school education.

An interesting post.
I think most do tbh, unless they prefer to spend it on luxuries rather than education.

Or unless the local state schools are just as good as the local private schools (which is true in my area).

Unless they’re doing it on purpose to game the system. Like send their kid to an elite preparatory private school and then the last two years to a state school on the “disadvantaged” or “inner city” school list so they can get plus ups on their university applications to increase the chances of getting in

1. This wouldn’t work , as UCAS can see all the schools an applicant has attended.

1. No one who could afford an elite prep would send their child to a failing inner city school for their A levels.

1. The university courses which are hardest to get into have additional entry tests as well as A level requirements.

Of course. We pay taxes, we're entitled to something back for them too.

Also, we might be able to afford them now, but if we lose our jobs, we won't be able to afford them. Better to be cautious, use state education and use any extra money for extra/super curricular activities. It would not be good to have to remove your child from a private school during their GCSE years!

And as a pp said, private schools are not always better, anyway. They just keep the (poor) riffraff out, which is the main reason parents want to use them (don't keep the rich riffraff out of course, our current PM springs to mind).

State schools are not available to everyone - faith schools being my biggest bugbear but of course applies to grammar schools too.

0lga I wouldn't be quite so confident that it wouldn't happen here. Yes, Ucas might be able to see all of a pupil's school history, but if a university is trying to meet a statistical target of the number of state school entrants, then it may be that a student entering from state sixth form would still contribute towards this target, even though they spent their first 12 years of education at prep school followed by Eton. And it might not mean sending your child to a 'sink school' for sixth form - perhaps just a very good state comprehensive. Anecdotally I have already heard of pupils locally moving from independent to grammar or faith schools for sixth form, because they believe that entry into uni will be easier. I don't know if that's actually the case.