Postcode lottery. Does where you live really make such a difference to how you educate your DC?

[OrmIrian]

I am just curious really. I know very few people in RL who choose to educate privately. Some probably wouldn't even think of it, some would but can't afford, but most just don't feel the need. On MN I am left with the impression that that is not the norm, but it does seem that many of those who struggle with state education are in London. Is that a fair assumption?

I'd love to know if that really is the case.

definitely not the norm to go private here,but it is an affluent area with excellent state schools so yes
I would prob go rpivate if I lived near shit schools

Not norm here either, again out in the sticks in a reasonably affluent area. (South Devon)

Ormirian - I think people can be seriously misled by the demographic on here into thinking that going private is "normal". It seems to me about 50-50 on here, at least among those who join in the Education discussions.

In real life it's 7% of people, and that's an average hugely weighted by a large London private school population. Further north it can be anything between 5% and 0%.

That's what I thought uqd. Which is why I asked. It's definitely a bit 'out there' round here

I think some London boroughs have closer to a third of children in private schools.

Very postcode specific here. At primary level there are some excellent schools with very small catchments and then other schools where the best that can be said is that they do a good job in difficult circumstances. At secondary level we are affected by the existence of grammar school in neighbouring boroughs, and church schools in this borough.

For parents who don't accept that they will pay at one or both levels then there seems to be a reasonable amount of angst involved in getting into the best schools. But equally there is a large population who want a local school regardless of facilities or results.

And of course this "normalising" leads to discussion of it as just one of a range of "choices" available. It's like caviar being discussed in a book of healthy recipes for normal people, and the only real question was whether to use a bone or silver spoon.

no "normal" here because of the social demographics, but I think if people could afford it then they would - in general the state education round these parts are pretty poor.

Someone on a previous thread posted a link to the % of privately educated children by area/county. We're in Surrey, and it was one of the highest at about 25% iirc.

Well again the London housing profile is very different from the norm. A house of the same size as our current one but in a good catchment area would cost £200k more (well at least at the time we were looking for schools). Our school fees will cost less. Many parents compromise by buying a smaller house in a good catchment.

I suspect that there are many places in the UK where the house price differentials weren't so stark, and where the differences between a 2 bed and a 3 bed property wouldn't fund private education.

Where we live the primary schools are great but our secondary school isn't and we won't get into the great ones either side of us so we will try the local girls grammer, state funded boarding grammers or a bursery.

ladymuck - you're quite right. Difference here (Sheffield) in a "good" area between 2 bed and 3 bed , or 3 and 4 bed is quite large, but not 200K.

Of course, with school fees you actually have to find that money every year, whereas with a mortgage you may have a reasonable repayment rate spread over 20-25 years.

A £200k mortgage over 20-25 years is a lot more expensive than school fees over 7 years I have found. The payback would come if you also assume a 40%+ capital gain on your £200k.

Mind you if the mortgage rate stays low then even if heavily mortgaged homeowners fail to make the capital gain at least they are also paying less for the school catchment each month.

Round here (Exeter) there are double the national average of secondary children in private schools, similar to London. People who wouldn't have considered it elsewhere do so here, it seems. My children are still primary age but it does seem that the secondaries on offer are fairly mediocre (and that's putting it nicely). My dc will still be going to the local state school but that's cos we're diehard lefties not cos I think the school seems so fantastic.

I didn't know that fennel. We're in Somerset and I don't know the stats. But a straw poll of my acquaintances would suggest private is rare - but many of my acquaintances are from the DC' school

Herts. commuter belt here. Great state schools (unless you are seriously unlucky, obv. there are the odd not so good ones) but plenty of private too as there are lots of people with serious cash.

The percentage of children going to private school really is skewed because of the London weightings.

I am in Sheffield and most of our non school friend's do not use private school. We are in a minority defnitely. On our estate there is a significant number using private schools for a range of reasons; elsewhere in town the number may be lower, again for a range of reasons.

I think London probably does have a bigger issue as the schools vary so greatly and catchment areas are a bit odd too.

School fees down south are generally far greater down south than in the north. I suspect we pay far less than those nearer London.

Like Fennel we are in Devon and the state schools are poor so our DC's will be privately educated which is the norm among the other parents we know.

Ormirian, it's particularly the Exeter area, Devon doesn't have a high proportion of privately educated children overall.

I live in a large traditionally working class town. At secondary, the nearest private school is a 40 min commute away - so unsurprisingly, very few children go private. Unfortunately, the state schools are generally rubbish too, so there's no choice at all. We will almost certainly move to a village, when DD gets close to secondary age, but there is very little choice for us, and so most people just have to put up with it.

We are in the grim north but have 7 or 8 private schools in the local area (within 15 miles of the centre). It is seen as pretty normal where we live but it is not seen as a problem if you don't. The main reason for this is that the State schools are having to compete with a large number of private schools meaning standards are high, extra cirricular activities are heavily invested in and the majority of state schools are consistantly Outstanding in Ofsted reports.

As parents at the state schools we are well aware that we are very very lucky and that we owe most of our good fortune to the private schools either directly or indirectly. The "failing" local schools would be considered average in most areas of the country.

Thanks all.

Do they really compete then kingc? I always assumed they tended to work the other way, ie the 'best' pupils go private or to one of 2 good state schools, and the others are left with the alsoran schools. Good news for you that that isn't the case.

Our local 'good' school is having to work a bit harder these days since a so-called sink school has pulled up it's socks and is now 'outstanding'. A few noses out of joint round here The other 2 schools are still struggling TBH. There are private schools here but not that many. Way off the radar for most people.

In our case, we were new to the area, with children in Years 6 and 8. DD2 got into an excellent state primary, and is now in a superb state secondary. DD1's year was oversubscribed in ALL the decent state schools (and there are several) within a 10-mile radius. I was offered an "improving" school 13 miles away (and my heart just sank when I visited it - I ended up in floods of tears at the prospect of my child having to go there). Went to appeal, but nothing doing. So I've had to wipe out my divorce settlement putting her through private school. All because of where we live.

Whatever happened to this wonderful concept of "parental choice?"

I can't say the schools are fabulous here, from bog-standard to sink comps and average to very good primaries, but I only know two families who send their primary-age children privately and another two or three families whose children go private at secondary. And I know A LOT of families around here, having children between 6 and 13.

OrmIrian - re noses out of joint - it's always amusing when the schools in the smugger catchments are out-performed by those in supposedly "less good" areas. Can't help feeling schadenfreude!

....postcode lottery?

It is a phrase I particularly dislike (it is often uttered by those who also say 'it's political correctness gone maaaad!'), but there is, in some places anyway, some truth in it.

....an example, from a city with the highest proportion of fee paying pupils outside Metropolis (and not too far from the OP).

Fancy your luck in the 'lottery'?. Then try entering 'BS7' into the search box of Rightmove, and have a peek at the myriad overpriced Victorian terraces. Many will mention 'west side of Gloucester Rd' or 'sought after Redland Green catchment'. Those that do not mention this will be up to 25% cheaper, being on the wrong side of the tracks. This school has been recently opened, and is placed specifically so as to service the most affluent areas of north Bristol. This took years of crystal voiced, barbour jacket clad campaigning for an oik free state option for Toby and Jemima.

....all the other non-faith schools in the city are dismal. So many of those who can afford private provision do so.

Mercifully, I live in a neighbouring authority, where schools are fine. Not great, but fine. There is a distinctly moderate secondary just on my side of the boundary. This is hopelessly oversubscribed by those anxious to avoid the Inner city option, where I hear the uniform is reinforced with kevlar.....