Whitehall “braced for private schools collapse” 5

[ICouldBeVioletSky]

Starting a continuation thread in anticipation of the fourth one filling up…

www.mumsnet.com/talk/education/5301690-whitehall-braced-for-private-schools-collapse-4?page=39

He went to a state school that became a fee paying school although he never paid fees as he was taken on the roll as a state student. So did he get a private education or did others pay for a state grammar education?

The state grammar school closed.

A private school opened.

Starmer got a private education paid for by other people: first SCC then private parents.

His past means that he doesn't have the excuse of not knowing what he's destroying. That's relevant.

I’m a true “leftie”, but don’t fit any of those criteria. And I haven’t lived in North London since the 1970s.

Why do you think Reigate Grammar will be destroyed? I would bet my house that it is not going bust any time soon.

The school continued to and to this day calls itself a grammar school. Why didn't they at least change the name if the provision were so different?

Because many ex-grammars which turned into independent schools kept the name "grammar" eg DGS, RGS, Derby etc. It's to keep the association of the name that people are familiar with + reputation of that grammar school

One of life’s great mysteries,

Exactly. So if the provision is so much different and better, surely they would change the name.

For some with comprehension or prejudice issues.

Why are some posters forgiving Starmer as a kid 40 years ago but not current pupils at Indies who have/are having to leave?

That made me laugh.

He got a private education for free.

Reigate grammar may not be destroyed but I doubt they will be handing out lots of Sixth Form bursaries, like the one Starmer benefitted from. Seeing that he is now a millionaire, and given how righteous he supposedly is according to some on here, the right thing for him to do would be to donate a bursary scholarship to the school, inclusive of VAT. Perhaps once he is done and is writing his books and speeches like the rest of them, he could do just that.

My DC was offered a full bursary at a school that charges ~50K pa. So 40 years later, as a "true leftie" you would say "they didn't go to a private school as their parents didn't pay for their education".

Right?

Most 16 year olds don’t join political movements with strong socialist beliefs. If he felt strongly enough at that age to join such a movement, surely he should have thought about whether attending a fee paying school (paid for by someone else) aligned with those views.

He got a private education paid for by others.

Was the school a state school when your son started that changed to taking fees? If it was, you are comparing like with like. If it's not, you are not. Right? Simples

Ohh we might have found a loop hole to the ridiculous spite against children here. What if we each pay for other children’s fees? Can our children be part of Labours ‘our’ children then ?

I think you'd have to pay the VAT as part of the deal though.

Yes, perhaps private school is acceptable to them as long as someone else pays for it.

Sadly no, because it's a special loophole that only works for Starmer schools that changed status after the child started. Or, possibly, for any of the numerous independent schools that kept the word "Grammar" in their name. We should await clarification.

Do you say that about all grammar schools?

It’s not a grammar school.

State grammar schools do not charge fees. Private grammars do. They’re entirely different. I do think it’s outrageous that the taxpayer is funding academically selective grammars when those schools are not available in most areas of the UK. The option should be there for everyone, and then perhaps fewer people would see the need to go private. If we want our children to go to an academically selective school, the only option is to pay privately. The inequalities within the state system are huge, and yet no one seems to be doing anything about that.

Loving the idea of a 14 year old Starmer going to his parents and saying “There is a possibility that I might become Prime Minister one day. Because of that, I won’t be able to stay at school.” I’m imagining him as a George Washington figure…