Whitehall “braced for private schools collapse”

[ICouldBeVioletSky]

Whitehall ‘braced for private schools collapse’ due to fee rises

Worth reading the whole article, it’s not quite as alarmist as the headline suggests. But as you’d expect, gov sources are talking it all down while the ISC is ringing the alarm bell.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/e6465c9e-d462-48cb-a73e-74480059a1f3?shareToken=05bf599cd4a2376fe3ce83cdce607100

I’d be quite surprised if some of the schools near us don't fold tbh. There will definitely be a contraction in the sector, I just hope those that hold on can remain a viable concern.

I would bet my house they are not a doctor or any HCP practitioner or at least I fucking hope not with that level of bitterness.

Have never claimed to be either a doctor or any other type of HCP, @Kittiwakeup so no need to put your house on the line. Can you point me towards any evidence of me being bitter in this thread though? As I've already said, I was privately educated myself and we were in the fortunate position to be able to privately educated our own DC if that had been our choice. So no opposition to private schooling either ideologically or based on envy.

I did find the swerve the thread suddenly took into competitive financial planning at one stage quite funny though, as well as a reference to 'top grammar school', rather than the equally serviceable 'grammar school'. But I can assure you that was just my enjoyment at the Hyacinth Bucket of it all, rather than any bitterness

You don't seem to know much about grammar schools if you confuse them with Hyacinth Bucket's pretensions 🤔

My DC went to a top grammar - from a single parent household with no assets. It's the opposite to Hyacinth.

Within the top ten highest performing in the country. Is that OK for you? All state grammars are not equal. And my decision to stay or go is influenced by that (as was the decision to send DC to the school the first place). Can’t see why that is funny.

Again, never claimed to know anything about grammar schools @Ubertomusic , only that I find the insistence on inserting the word 'top' in front quite funny.

The London superselective grammars my DC attend are not full of middle class white British kids from high earning households, in any event. The ethnic mix is available readily on the internet, in all the freedom of information requests. White British is now in the minority and it has changed significantly in just 10 years. The highest performing grammar schools in the country are dominated by children from various Asian backgrounds, Indian being the currently dominant ethnicity in our grammar schools. I suspect the new arrivals from Hong Kong, being a very educationally motivated society, will soon be significantly represented too.

Ah OK then, so you're just talking about something you don't have a clue about. Fair enough.

‘My DC’s top grammar is better than your DC’s not quite so top grammar’ is quite amusing. Especially for those of us that live in countries or areas that got rid of them decades ago.

It just shows you know nothing about state grammars. Just like independent schools (and non-selective state schools) they vary widely. Given that I was referring to my DC’s grammar in the context of our decision as to whether remain in the country or not, the performance of my DC’s grammar is highly relevant as that is what has influenced our decision so far to stay in the UK. If you don’t understand why I am making a point, question it. But don’t mock it. Although, I am glad you have as it speaks volumes about you.

I’ve got news for you - I don’t care about your top / not top / super selective / bottom of the list / whatever grammar schools.

Which is why I deliberately live in places where they don’t exist.

Yeah it's obvious you don't care at all... That's exactly why you keep posting insults.

Why comment then? Why mock? As I said, it speaks volumes about you. Have you seen me making fun of people on here where I disagree with their opinion. Making fun of someone is not a debate and adds nothing to your argument.

@Ubertomusic What have I posted that are ‘insults’? Being amused at the out grammaring?

I just followed up on another poster’s comment about the competitive grammar school comparisons that several people jumped on claiming that they were ignorant.

Seems like some nerves have been touched (which will no doubt be denied).

As I said, as somebody that lives in a none grammar area I find it amusing.

@SabrinaThwaite ‘My DC’s top grammar is better than your DC’s not quite so top grammar’….

Your quote, but no one said that in the first place did they?! No one was “out grammaring” as you put it.

Within the top ten highest performing in the country. Is that OK for you? All state grammars are not equal.

Out grammaring in all its glory.

I’m going to have to quote Homer Simpson soon.

But I wasn’t referring to anyone else’s grammar on here was I? So I wasn’t trying to out do anyone. I was discussing it in the context of our decision whether to stay in the country or leave the UK and send both DC private.

Yes, it looks like some nerves have been touched as you still keep posting 😁

Don't you see how ironic it is that your choice of area was directly influenced by grammar schools/absence of them yet you keep mocking another poster for their life decisions being influenced by grammar school? I find your lack of self-awareness quite amusing tbh :)

It’s not ironic at all. I just happen to have spent a formative part of my DC’s lives in an area where grammar schools don’t exist (gotta love an international contract), and when we retired we deliberately chose somewhere else where grammar schools don’t exist to keep things simple.

No nerves touched here BTW.

Why else would someone take the time on New Year's Day to gleefully mock someone they don't know about something they openly say they know nothing about? 'I work at a senior level in the NHS' (subsequently conceded not to be a
clinical one) comes over far more Hyacinth TBH.

There are 4 superselective grammars schools listed in the Times 2024 Parent Power in the top 20 schools for results in the country, Henrietta Barnet, Queen Elizabeth, Wilson’s and St Olave’s. Those kids got top results on far less school resources -money wise - than many of the top private schools. Including Reigate Grammar, the private school Sir Keir himself attended - which happened to win some awards this year and is ranked No 16 in the whole country. So he got to attend, but many others won’t be able to anymore.

The top grammar performer being Henrietta Barnet. 95.2% of all A levels were A star, A and B. 96.9% of GCSEs were 7-9.

Of note, this school is the Alma mater of Munira Wilson who has spoken widely about how misguided the VAT on school fees is.

I quote from the Times:

• Founded in 1911, HBS, in Hampstead Garden Suburb, is consistently one of the top state schools in the country. Built on the principle that education should be open to girls from different backgrounds to study and learn together and from each other, it became an academy in 2012.
• Extracurricular clubs include animation, art and design technology, beginners’ Sanskrit, biology, book club, current affairs, economics, French debating, gardening, LGBT+, Greek, green team, creative writing and robotics. Students can sign up for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Year 10.
• There is a strong alumnae organisation. Former pupils include the life peers Baroness Altmann and Baroness Evans and Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham.
• HBS has opened a health and wellbeing centre and students are offered one-to-one mentoring and access to counselling.
• London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda) qualifications are offered up to the sixth form.”

That's so bizarre. When you retired (so no school age children presumably) you chose an area that did not have grammar schools? What an odd criterion!

(Mind you, DH is retired 10 years now and we have school aged children but we tend to be outliers demographically).

@rubbishatballet
You said…There are plenty of us who have actively made the choice to use state education when the option of private exists and are very happy with that choice, even when our child/children has SEN, and even when the school is not one of 'the most sought after'.

Some may say you chose to leech off taxpayers for your child’s education when you could afford to pay for it yourself?
How very noble of you. 👍

For any other service, saving the taxpayer money is seen as a positive thing. Why not for education?

In essence, many posters are very happy for adults to work their backsides off and pay tons of taxes supporting the rest of the country and be really ambitious, but then when it comes to the children of those ambitious people, they are somehow expected to switch that huge ambition/drive off? How exactly do people expect that to work?
Driven ambitious people want the best. If you narrow the educational choices for such people and their DCs, then good luck with raising taxes when there is global competition for such people and what they add to the country taxation wise. Aspiration and support for your own DC is always a good thing, in my books. Telling people basically to switch that aspiration off and be embarrassed about it, it will potentially have huge ramifications.

Your educational opportunities are not being narrowed. You just have to pay tax as you do on other luxuries.

Paying a 20 per cent penalty narrows choices, full stop. And makes other countries more attractive, full stop.

And your decision not to live in a grammar area means that you laugh at people who do? Very strange behaviour. I don’t laugh at people who live in non-grammar areas or choose different options for their education.