If your Y1 child is at a private school, what book band are they on?

[applypie]

curious to see how far privately educated childred are actually ahead already after only a year of school.

In answer to the 'defensive state' accusations:
Just exasperated here.
I too am depressed by some of the comments of those who have chosen to privately educate or avoid their local state schools as they are in areas with too much 'reality'/ 'mix' of kids.

Indeed. There is one boy in DD1's year who is incredibly disruptive. He was asked to leave the local private school kindergarten and went to DD1's school, was then taken out and put in Steiner school. Surprise, surprise he is back.
And all dad can do is stand ^in the playground mouthing off about how crap the school is. I wish he could find a private school good enough for his son so we could get some peace

um, did I ever say my children were privately educated?

Don't think so. Because they're not.

OP - enjoy spending 100 - 200K on your child's education so that they can 'get ahead'.

When they get their 4 A*s at A level, you'll be able to sleep easy :(

They'll have better grades than most, but not all, state educated kids.

That is of course - if they're clever enough to get those grades.

All private schools are selective. Bar none. Because, even if they are not overtly academically selective, they select out the poor, the uninterested, the child with SEN and the disruptive.

Under those conditions it would be shameful if the remaining children did not do extremely well in their exams. just as it would be shameful if the children at my ds's selective state school did not do as well as the private schools- they are a very similar demographic. As are the top sets in comprehensives. The top sets in comprehensives are likely to be a bit more diverse, because there is a chance for kids without home advantages to do well.

These threads annoy me, the only way you can tell if any child would really benefit from a private school education is to give birth to identical twins and send one to the local primary and one the local prep, wait fifty years and then add up their total earnings plus happiness rating.

Anyone who disagrees is being hopelessly unscientific and is not really proving anything.

So there!

I'm more interested in whether private schools are of benefit to society, rather than the individual child. People are more likely to have a happier life if there is not a gulf between rich and poor, in terms of life opportunities. There is a lot of potential wasted because of the patchy provision of state schools, but the most influential people in the country are not interested in this, as the majority of their dcs will be at private schools, and it suits them that their dcs have the advantage.

"OP - enjoy spending 100 - 200K on your child's education so that they can 'get ahead'.

When they get their 4 A*s at A level, you'll be able to sleep easy "

my children are not privately educated. Perhaps we crossed posts.

What's wrong with 4 A* at A level?

I have to say that for us it was a really tough decision to take my ds out of his local state primary, as we really wanted it to be good enough, and it was also very handy for us. I did really love the fact that he was mixing with everyone form our local community.
However, I just wanted to pick up on the disruptive thing. It is really overlooked that classes are often big, and my ds who is easily distracted anyway, found it incredibly hard to concentrate on anything being said in the classroom. It was very frustrating for me, as I know he is bright and has a lot of potential. At the end of day it came to putting aside our own needs and wants and putting him first, and his potential. I don't think he would have achieved his potential staying where he was tbh....

This thread is very annoying, and I should step away.

But, OriginalPoster, private schools are of undoubted benefit to society. If there weren't at least a few schools educating children properly, then society would be run by the inarticulate and ill educated. Fortunately there are enough schools still turning out articulate and knowledgeable people. Most of them happen to be private. Unfortunately, as we won't be able to afford secondary ones for our DC.

Yes, I agree with you about stepping away from the thread...

but not the rest of what you said. shame your experience of state schools was so negative

Damselwithadulcimer- I presume you are joking?

Sadly, seeker, I don't think so. :(

She must be joking. Or doing a wind up. Nobody could actually believe that, could they?

Well... I am not entirely serious (I am partially serious, but I think private/state views on here are so entrenched that you can never actually have any kind of discussion either way). I actually think this thread is driving me slightly mad.

Are you saying then that at the moment 'society' is being run well

And where are your statistics that 'most' schools turning out these articulate and knowledgeable young people are private?

Damsel, you poor thing to have only visited in detail the bottom classes of the bottom groups of the bottom schools in the country.

Would you like to visit? I can show you round the local state schools, you would I am sure be hugely heartened that the vast majority of the children there are being very well educated and are articulate, intelligent and knowledgeable adolescents..

Well indeed Damsel. God help us if some state educated ruffians with their cocaine snorting, criminal damage tendencies were ^in charge ...oh wait a minute...

m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/s1GX-KwTGpykYSgk3yjse0g/view.m?id=15&gid=politics/2011/oct/01/george-osborne-bullingdon-club-chancellor&cat=politics

IMO to make any sort of sweeping generalisation vis a vis either education (private or state) is damaging, saying that state system produces children of inferior calibre is totally untrue and unfair, and private only produces spoilt little sh..s of limited intellect, with class divide engraved as standard is also wrong.
Parents make choices on behalf of their children in hope they are the wright choices, even with two of mine we couldn't apply same educational formula, what suited DS(exclusively state educated, now 16 with 10 A and two B) wouldn't suit DD (independent primary, now in Y1).
They are different children in every respect, and they have different needs, we have chosen private to suit our circumstances ( both of us working very full time), not because private education will give DD lobotomy, and new superior intellect, make her superior being with amazing reading abilities.
Lot of people of course simply choose private above state, because they can, and because they strongly favour class divide, private education often breeds.
I should not be confused with the above, never.[bush]

Came into check there was a big private vs state school ruck on here

yes activate, its almost as though op planned it all from the beginning