Alan Bennett: Ban Public Schools

[DaDaDa]

Have we done this one yet?

In an ideal world, I agree with him.

lights blue touch paper, retires to safe distance with nice cup of tea and digestive biscuit

Yes - but niceglasses they would still have the wealthest parents regardless of being state educated...I am sure they would also be confident (alot of that comes from home background and do extra-currcila actitives.

TBH in my experience (and I don't teach secondary) is that childrne whose parents are interested in them are more likely to get into oxbridge and the difference between state and privare is that private schools push more pupils forward for entry...money does not buy you brains!!!

But the point is there should be no advantage to that wealth in terms of education.

I agree re the interest.

niceglasses - I also would be happy to pay more txes for a better ediucation system...but I am not for banning the private school!

Cazzybabs - agree - I too think that if the parents are interested in their children's education, the children do better - encouragement, expectations, extra work etc etc I suspect.....

Oh fab, another private school v state school thread I don't think the last one has even finished yet!

Getting rid of private schools is NOT going to make the state system work or be fair. There will be good and bad state schools just like they are now. Those currently use private schools will just move into the right catchement aeas and thus push prices in those areas even higher than they currently are. Madness to think that this wouldn't happen. And it is not more moral to move into a good catchment that to pay for education in the first place - both penalise families with lower incomes after all.

Hula - would you give the moneyyou spend on fees to a state school if your dd went there or would you have another holiday or save it for uni fees etc ?

And only somethin like 6% of childen in Britain use private schools - so really 6% are not going to really make a difference. Other than those 6% suddenly taking up places in the best state schools.

As for grammar schools - is that goin to be be a fair system? Disadvantage the less able children, which statistically generally come from lower income families - thus pushing the divide further.

cazzybabs - no, I wouldn't give it to the state school. I don't know anyone who would either TBH. It'd be saved towards university and/or tutrs to enable DD to do whatever she wanted/needed in the future, or yes - bigger car, bigger house (obviously in the right catchment area), more holidays, for DD's future...

So financial state school wouldn't be better off.

Agree niceglasses and Alan Bennett but can't post on these threads - become quickly insane

Paying more taxes may not work either -- unless it was ring fenced directly for specific use to improve. I pay enough in taxes as it is!

Yes well done Alan Bennet and I echo PW's sentiment.

Tonight's resolution is to try to stay calm and not turn into ranting madwoman so will leave

Keep up the good work niceglasses

I don't know about the figures and I don't care if its only 6 per cent, - (where the feck is the percent sign??) which seems low I admit - its still 6 pc which should be going to state, and probably lots of parents who would invest both financially and otherwise in the state system.

Taxes, well, we will just have to agree to disagree, I would pay more and yes maybe it should be ringfenced.

So how do you feel about that 6% all moving to the best school catchments, or all paying for tutors to get into the best grammars, thus taking up places previously available to other children?

This would of course then push up house prices in certain areas, making certain schools just as selective and meaning families on lower incomes, not able to afford the housing, still being discriminated against.

nice idea in perfect world where it would improve the state system.

But in real world, I can't see long standing old schools like Eton being forced to close. Call me cynical but too many people with too much power would oppose it and make it impossible to do by any means necessary.

Secondly if by chance it did happen, those who were against their children going to state schools would just find a way round it - homeschooling, private tuition. It wouldn't make any difference.

Nice, but not going to happen, at least in the way he foresees it. I see the theory, that those with the money and power to make changes would feel the need to, but they would just find another way to take their kids out of the school system.

Is it going to improve the state system? It only improves it if Eton continues to run in its present form, but is open to those who either live nearby or are most able regardless of their ability to pay.

But then that would be selective.

really the whole boring class system has to brought crashing down so we can start again.

i have this idea that the education system in France is perfect, and everybody just goes to the local school. Is that true?

I think I would probably keep the private schools but make them take a nice big percentage of poorer children on scholarships.

You could even have link-ups with particular crap schools so that there are, say, 3 places at Harrow available to people who have completed 3 years at Sink St Comp. That way you could avoid having the scholarship being taken by these so-called sharp elbowed middle classes, as they wouldn't want to risk their child going to Sink St Comp for 3 years with no guarantee of a place at the end of it. Especially if it was just decided by 'which child would benefit most from the scholarship', rather than academic achievement.

I've already said I think moving/renting to enter best schls just as bad.

yes, perfect world stuff, still worth aiming for I would have thought.

So how would it work in the perfect world?

All schools would be state comprehensive schools, and they would all be bloody wonderful. That'd do.

It's the whole ideal world scenario: everyone is equal, everyone oes to same school, everyone lives in same houses, everyone earns the same, etc. I don't think that scenario will ever happen, just as schools will, and never have been, the same offerin the same level of education throughout.

No they wouldn't all be wonderful I'm sure. They would be fair though.

I don't want to have a row - its something I believe in thats all, I've set out what I think - its unfair, it should be scrapped. They're would be problems but at least it would be fair. It wouldn't be the rich yet more access to the best, the best facilities, the best teachers.......

Moving/renting, travelling miles. Its all wrong in my book.

Oh niceglasses, I wasn't being sarcastic, sorry, it did sound it. It was a sincere question.

Yes, it is about the unfairness of it, I agree. Is unjust.

BTW - I never said everyone should live in the same house or earn the same!

I have heard that about French schools too. Don't know how they have achieved it though.

I do PW.

They killed the King and Queen and declared liberty, egalite etc. No class system. That's the fucker in this country.

I swore