State school kids at Edinburgh university- how bad is it for them?

[StartingAgainFGS]

I keep hearing reports of state school kids not fitting in at Edinburgh uni (at best) and at worst some real bullying going on. Heard it described on here as "pony club bullying". We are very far away from the private school demographic and I wonder how my DD would cope. We would be scraping by to send her there in the first place and I would not like her to feel so out of place that she's uncomfortable/unhappy.
Are these reports exaggerated? Does anyone have a state school DC there?
Thanks!

@RestitutionGranted It really cuts both ways. There are many left leaning students who loathe the privately educated and that’s why these schools are taxed and dc who go there are not welcomed by the left. These students are like their parents and don’t give privately educated dc any time at all. They criticise all of them. I don’t agree with any of it in either direction but the old Momentum left is intolerant.

@Wbeezer that's really encouraging thank you!

@PumpkinKnitter that's really good to hear! We'd definitely be looking at cheap halls anyway.

My daughter is at Edinburgh Napier . Fantastic university .
She has loved it
Her friend went to Edinburgh uni to do the same subject and ended up transferring to Napier as the course was so much better
Links to employers ..support etc amazing .
Also she hated the fact a lot of the Edinburgh uni crowd were v v rude to her for having a Scottish accent .

No issues with bullying at all. Edinburgh is THE university of choice for most students at the moment. Your dd did will to get a place there.It seems to be extremely popular, and considered ultra cool by young people.

It does have so much to offer culturally, socially, artistically and of course it is very sporty as it’s close to water, mountains and the sea. A great surfing contingent..

My dd has had a wonderful experience, with a great mix of friends, and everyone gets on well. State and private seem to mix well, and there have been no issues. It is most definitely fun with so much to do. That’s the biggest problem, it’s not as fun at home!

Whatever uni you go to there's always a posh group of kids. I went to one up north and this still happened, they tend to group up together and don't hang around with the commoners 🤣. I was also very shy when I went to uni but still made loads of friends and had the time of my life.

Your DD has done well to not face issues but Lecturers are having training courses on how not to take the mickey out of accents for goodness sake. That to me says there are issues at Edinburgh University

I think the fact that there are issues can't be disputed now! I guess it's down to a combination of luck and circumstances and personality as to whether an individual is affected by them.

More people at Edinburgh U are state educated than not (and 25% of pupils at school in Edinburgh go to private school) so it will probably be fine.

I don't think being nasty is confined either to some state school or private school teenagers. There will be awful people in both groups (obviously more in the state school group simply because there are more state school people). My children went to day private school but there is no way they would mock someone for an accent (I am from NE England by the way and went to private school) or bully anyone. However some teenagers will bully others in both sectors.

As for lecturers they should never mock accents. There is however a difference between teaching kindly and mocking. eg my mother with a class of 40 children after WWII in Newcastle taught them things like you don't say "you was" and you don't say "on the weekend" as the correct preposition is "at" the weekend etc. That is teaching 6 year olds so they will thrive in life and be well educated rather than mocking an accent. It can be a fine line between the two I suppose at times. She was known as being particularly kind with all the little ones in her classes and teaching these things at least gives the child a choice as to whether they want to use the grammar that might help them in some jobs or not use it because they regard it when adult as some kind of cultural or regional imposition to be required to use the grammar of people in particular jobs I suppose.

(Nothing will ever make me happy hearing haitch with an H but I would never dream of saying anything to anyone about it of course)

@Xenia Regarding “haitch” - you might not employ them in a role where clear accurate English matters.

I find it odd that any dc is worried about a tiny minority at a university. There are league tables of which unis have the most privately educated students so factor that in if you must but it’s a very narrow criteria. Whether that’s a good reason to choose a university is open to debate. In fact staying in your comfort zone is not what university is about.

It’s fairly clear that people in a new situation look for people like them. More mature dc are able to look more widely very quickly. Joining societies based on interests helps. Although the lifestyle ascribed to Edinburgh seems expensive!

If you want the vast majority from state schools then look at Sheffield or Liverpool. If you are wanting to mature as a person and wish to mix with people who are great, but have a slightly different background, then the choice widens to include Edinburgh. I think an incident or two is vastly over played by a very sensitive minority. Obviously most students are happy and a few lecturers getting it wrong isn’t saying all lecturers are the same. Ditto the students.

Bullying does happen at Edinburgh uni (as it happens virtually everywhere). I posted previously about this. In 2nd year my DD lived in one of the Pollock halls (worked as RA). Her next door neighbour regularly booted her door (and shouted abuse at her) in the wee hours. She reported it once at the beginning of term but it was played down as high spirits/hazard of the RA job. She found the 3am Saturday morning "wake up" particularly tough as had a 6am coffee shop shift on a Saturday. Finally she managed to tape him. Played it back to me and it was shocking misogyny. I called accommodation office and she was immediately moved. He was disciplined. After then only other bullying incident was about cleaning (internationals used to servants who considered cleaning women's work!)

Has had minor issues with her accent in tutorials with students (not staff) saying I haven't a clue what she is saying.

However she would choose Edinburgh again but not work as RA and share with randomers. Her placement year and final year flat shares with friends have been calm.

Honestly there are training courses for absolutely everything these days. Lecturing qualified academics about regional accents is insulting! Honestly ridiculous and a chronic waste of money.

The students mix really well from all four corners of the country and overseas, with all kinds of ‘accents’ you seem way to ready to pounce on any perceived issues.

Edinburgh is a fabulous experience by any measure, op’s dd should choose for herself without her mother’s input.

Increasing self esteem and confidence starts with autonomy and taking responsibility for yourself. It’s long overdue if she isn’t doing this already.

I presume the uni training has been but in place to try and counter all the negative publicity from the tab social media incident.
www.thenational.scot/news/24647236.anger-edinburgh-tab-accused-anti-scottish-bias/

There's a whole lot of victim blaming, justification and denial going on, on this thread. It's almost gaslighting the people who have had negative experiences.

'my dc went to state school and didn't experience it so it can't be that bad' (oh alright then so all of those other experiences of bullying and classism are irrelevant).

'they were kindly were correcting your grammar not mocking your accent' (this suggestion in itself is very problematic).

'not all private school pupils are like that' (where have we heard similar 🤔).

As many people have said it's not a private Vs state school issue, but there is an elitist sub-culture at Edinburgh that bully and belittle - using wealth, power and class to do so. Of course this is a minority and not everyone will experience it but it does has a notable impact on those that do.
The only way to challenge and change it though is to keep showing up and keep claiming these educational spaces for everyone, not be drawn away and kept in our lane by those who are determined to maintain the status quo.

I wonder if it’s more pronounced at Edinburgh as less dc in Scotland privately educated

25% of dc in Edinburgh are privately educated.

@TartanMammy I think many people are getting fed up with narrow minded folk who take offence very easily. I’m not saying that any accent should be mocked but getting along with others is what mature people can do. Students won’t gel with every other student. Why would they?

I see mums on these threads complaining about “posh” accents. Do you think those dc are not mocked for their accents? Of course they are - probably by those on these threads complaining their DC cannot possibly mix with them! If you are posh though, you can never ever complain about anyone taking the piss out of your accent! Never in a million years. It’s a one way complaints train and young people need to get a thicker skin and take offence less easily. It becomes tiresome and divisive. Everyone needs to grow up!

DS is hoping to go to Edinburgh this year and is privately educated. He has a lot of state school mates at home and id hope that he will do so at uni. I’d be mortified if he was thought to be a posh wanker and the type that would bully state school pupils.

There seem quite a few posts on here exhibiting prejudice towards private school pupils saying things like ‘state school pupils treat everyone nicely but private school pupils don’t’ and calling them ‘yahs’ or ‘rahs’. There are nice and not so nice people in all demographics. Plenty of state school bullies too and plenty of mocking of ‘posh’ (aka Home Counties English) accents. I went to state school and have a non-posh English accent and crack my Scottish friends up with the way I pronounce certain Scottish phrases (I’m in Scotland).

An additional point to consider though - many Scottish pupils who live within commenting distance will be living at home. This means they may seem less obvious in university life - they won’t be in halls, or around much at weekends, and may have maintained their previous circle of friends for socialising. This is more common at all Scottish Universities than English ones.

My state school dd briefly dated a young man who was 19th (ish) in line to the throne…..🤣

There is, of course, another aspect a group called ‘Scottish Social Mobility Society’ might be leaving unsaid - Scottish Nationalism.

I went to Edinburgh Uni in the 90s and lived in Pollock Halls. There was a decent mix of state and private school kids. I was asked what school I went to quite a lot in the first few weeks 🤣 I had got better GCSE and A Level grades than a lot of the privately educated students, and they were genuinely shocked that I had performed so well at a comprehensive school!

I was never bullied.

This link says over 50 unis have a 93% society not just Edinburgh although it seems to be getting press for it.
www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/view/93club

Glasgow Uni 93% society has just been resurrected and active again

@Kattuccino I think these days an awful lot of students at Edinburgh will have similar grades. Years ago far fewer As were awarded but these days many at Edinburgh will have them.

@ViolasandVioletsI agree. Parents on MN are often mocking certain accents and no doubt their dc do the same. “Do unto others as you would have them done unto you” always is the sensible route.

My son is in second year at Edinburgh Uni. He’s both state schooled and Scottish and has encountered no issues with any walks of life. He did not apply for expensive accommodation though which may have helped.