an interesting rationale for choosing a private primary school??

[Twiglett]

was chatting to a nice woman today, turns out she lives very near to DS's pre-school (and future primary school), however they don't send their kids there because

by sending their children to private education they free up resource in the state system

... what do you think of that??

How can a school not be a community or part of the community? I just don't get that at all. Tell that to the old folks who get their Christmas parcels and entertainment, the women's shelter for the Harvest gifts, a nearby church who get the choir once a month, our church who borrow the school's sporting facilities for Sunday School outings etc. etc. etc.

So, by the same logic, if you send your child to the school that is not closest to your house, then they are not in a community either. It's only a community if you are forced together somehow and exert no choice?

fab rationale and probable true

do you understand the British class system?

BTW, the majority of kids in private schools are from fairly ordinary families. But those families put great emphaisis on education instead of having a bigger house, flashy car, exotic holidays etc.

A lot of those families use inherited money to pay the fees, or have help from grandparents; a lot extend their mortgage to afford the fees; a lot are families with two working parents who were used to paying nanny or nursery fees and/or need the extended hours that many private schools offer.

Not a community, pah!

Why don't you explain it?

I went to a private school myself, Ameriscot. Actually, it was one of the top girls schools.

I was uprooted out of our local community to go there, because my parents wanted me to belong to a "community" of educated middle class people that they thought was our true "home"

Because I care about my childrens education, they wont be going to a private school!

A private school sits uneasily in most communities IME, because 90% of people have no chance of going there or sending their kids there.

That argument suggests jealousy.

What are people supposed to do with their money? What is politically correct in your view?

In theory, my political views are at odds with my decision to use the private sector. I work in the state sector and I fully appreciate the concept of funding and integration to bring the whole standard up. In theory, this is the ideal situation but in reality its never going to happen.
I have to be pragmatic. As a mother, my job is to give my children the best possible start not to change the world

Ameriscot,
what do I have to be jealous about? Ive had the best that the English education system can alledgedly offer!

I am not saying that other people shouldn't choose private schools if they want to.

Simply that you said that private schools are part of the community just like state ones, and I was pointing out that they are not.

Our local private school is one of our town's largest employers, providing jobs for about 150 local people.

I think plenty of private schools are part of the community - they certainly are around here. We get to use their sporting facilities for sports lessons for our kids (state educated).

Nightynight, I don't believe you can say that without having prior knowledge of the school that Ameriscot's children go to! Not all private sector schools are large mansion buildings housing young boarders in the middle of the countryside! Many are in urban areas and take great pride in the role they play in the community.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience at school but it's a wonderful experience for many children.

My two go to a private school which is very proud and mindful of it's charitable status. It (and therefor all the parents who pay) is paying to build a new state school in one of the most deprived areas in London.

And the reason we chose it is not because we have money to fritter but rather that the education being offered was too much to pass on. (esp. music and sport)
Also, as a state sector teacher, I KNOW the dramatic difference made by class size. In a class of 15, a child will get so much more attention than in a class of 32!

my school was in an urban area actually. I repeat, I am not saying that private schools are a bad experience. Just that they are socially divisive, hence the cynicism about fitting into the community.

It is your freedom to be socially divisive if you want to!! I repeat again, I am not telling anyone that they aren't allowed to choose a private school!!!

homemama, I am a state school teacher and I made the same choice for the same reasons. My son is in a class of 10, he would have been in a reception class of 30. DD is in a class of 14.

hmb, but will the children at the private school ever speak to the children from the deprived area on equal terms?

ameriscot, I do believe that private schools can be part of a community, but often they have a wider catchement area, and so many of the children do not live very close to each other. And yes, I do think that children should, unless there are outstanding reasons why not, go to their local school (I am talking primary level only here btw). IMO it the ridiculous theory of parental choice over their childrens educational whereabouts that contributed greatly to the differential between schools - when it was normal for every child to go to their nearest village school that school was usually just as good as the others in the area - you didn't get the extremes of good and bad schools in an area taht you can get nowadays. And every local school should be good enough for every local parent to want to send their child there.

If we are talkinmg about the deprived area in london, the school is a state school. Not a private one. The organisation that runs my kids school is private but the school they help to fund and run in state. So they are far from not being involvev in the area.

If you are asking do my kids mix with children from deprived areas the answer is no, but they do mix with kids from the local state school.

And for that matter most middle class kids that go to the school that I work in mix with other middle class kids. The children from the most deprived backgrounds are often in bottom sets and tend to mix with other children from deprived backgrounds.

I don't think that argument carries much weight though nightynight

My children go to a state school in a middle class area with very few 'deprived' children (although there are some but nothing compared to some of the estates in inner london where we used to live).

Many families still choose private education round here but there are many state schools (especially some of the church schools who can effectively select their pupils) which are as socially divisive as private schools.

hmb
the point I was actually making was that the situation you describe, of the private school funding the state one, is actually a description of two separate communities, geographically close but a world apart.

foxinsocks
I hate that pantomime of trying to get ones child into the best state school and agree that it can also be divisive - like private schools.

foxinsocks - you're right actually, ds1 is starting school in Sept and it's a state school - however, apart from the size it could equally be a private one based on the population, the facilities, the extra-curricular provision, the results....

It's a very good school and all sorts of shenanigans go on to get kids in there.

In fact it's true of several of the state schools around here.

It's quite bizarre actually because most of the people I know who live around here and are going private, are doing so because of class size but personally I would rather a class size of 30 than one of 10. I prefer bigger and busier and the kids are used to that so I think it'll suit them.

The school does make a difference though - if it was classes of 30 and results and facilities were crap, maybe I'd think otherwise.

That was totally off at a tangent wasn't it?