can state primary education plus tutoring = equivalent of private?

[wheelsonthebus]

we planned to privately educate dc, but dh lost his job and now dc is going to a state primary - downgraded from good to satisfactory by ofsted . if we have dc tutored from yr 1 say, can we get up to standard of a private school(with a view to moving dc if our finances improve - possibly at 7, but definitely at 11). Can an hour a week really achieve anything? Anyone done this from early on? Interested in any views. I now work f/t so doing lots of stuff with dc after school myself is not really an option (except at weekends). I'd be interested to know when tutoring shd really start. My friend said her primary school gets great league table results but that's because most parents pay tutors. Also; what do most people get tutors for - maths or English or both?

Metella, I will readily acknowledge that the State Primary DC attend is only satisfactory (according to Ofsted) and offers precious little in the way of EC activities.

But I don't have a problem with any of that because DC are doing okay (or better) academically. DC aren't keen on EC activities, anyway.

private school + tutoring might add up to a decent state education

but you'd have to give up fencing, and Latin

vinblanc - although I see Ed Balls as a privately educated twit, this sports strategy seems to be working. We have had specialist coaching in street dance, golf, hockey, multisports, football, tai kwan do, rugby and a few more. These have been organised through our primary links advisor. I'm from the SE, and visited a friend in York last week, who was accessing much the same thing. Fact.

But they have to be 9 and underachieving

Greeny - I nearly wetting my pants laughing good to see you it was all a bit dull without you.

ooops missed out the am. Poor education and wine are not a good combination.

Research by the British Olympic Association indicates that at least 60% of Britain's most recent medal winners went to affluent independent or private schools. Yet independent schools are attended by only 7% of the school population.

A little difficult (though not impossible) to explain fully if the sport provision at both types of schools is equal.

More anecdotal evidence is that at my dcs secondary school the year 7 intake is roughly 50:50 state:independent, but every year hardly any of the state school pupils manage to make the A teams for most sports. Clearly the excellent state sports provision that seems to be available in some places isn't available in our feeder schools & so isn't universal.

As far as academic achievement goes I do know at secondary level the value add is higher at independent schools to the extent that they have to apply different prediction algorithms to results from eg Midyis baselining tests for independent schools.(pupils with the same year 7 Midyis scores from independent schools achieve more highly at GCSE than children with the same scores at state schools, so you can't apply the higher intake ability argument to this). Of course this is only an average - some state schools do better & some independents do worse and it relates to secondary, but I'd be surprised if the same wasn't also true to some degree at primary to be honest.

Blast, and I was so hoping for an Olympic medal in the family. I am gutted now.

tricker,

your anecdotal evidence doesn't give me any comfort versus my own anecdotal evidence. I just think that I am more discerning.

Re:Olympians

Tom Daley (Dive world champion) had to leave his comprehensive school because he was mercilessly bullied for his achievements. He is now at a public school with an elite swim program, where it is pretty cool to achieve.

stop press - children from affluent families whose parents pay for schooling also have more opportunities in sporting activities

that post is very, very simplistic - there are many factors influencing children's achievements

and there are lots of privately educated super-sportsmen etc who can barely string a sentence together or add up a shopping list

private education is a shoddy poorly-regulated hotchpotch - a tombola in which you gamble with your child's potential in order to improve your social self-image

and because orivate schools are businesses, not educational facilities, there is a tendency to prioritise children's achievements and aptitudes towards vote-winning photo-opportunity crap like playing for county cricket teams and building toilets in Venezuela during the school hols

nothing to do with education

Ah, so £12,000 year = possible Olympic medal. That's why it's value for money.

Now all we need is a percentage of independent school pupils who actually achieve a medal, and we are laughing.

thedolly you don't imagine top flight sports clubs round the country employ a single coach? or that our national teams are drawn from a single club did you?

vinblanc and no one is ever bullied in a private school?

Sneer all you like, Feenie. Whatever independent schools are doing vis a vis elite sports seems to be reasonably effective (in a British way). I don't think we should try to drag them down. When it comes to Olympic medals they are not in competition with state schools and everyone is on the same team.

Figure out what state schools need to do to emulate public schools and drop the politics of envy.

Bullying goes on in all schools, mrz, but independent schools tend to deal with it rather than pretend it doesn't exist. Also, it is rare in independent schools to be bullied for being a sporting elite. To be on a top sports team or individual, you are more likely to be worshipped.

lol at "envy"

I wouldn't let private school staff loose on my children for all the tea in China my dear

I think parents who choose private education are warped and irresponsible

Business is business - education is education.

and bullying in many private schools is of terrifying proportions

It is not properly addressed - in fact it is positively buried in many cases because it's bad for business - there is no proper regulation and private schools are MUCH less likely to have coherent bullying policies and protocols for challenging bullying

You know nothing, greensleeves.

Don't think I sneered.

What a very incisive and well-evidenced remark

The best I can find on good old google is that almost 50% of the Olympic medallists attended independent schools......

given that the whole topic is made up of sweeping statements, with a fare amount of bull(&t thrown in, evidence would have been quite out of place.

How fortunate for you

you haven't really said anything, though have you? Apart from the mild personal abuse.

Bullying - "independent schools tend to deal with it rather than pretend it doesn't exist" ha ha I know someone who removed a child from a local independant school. The child was horrendously physically bullied. The school swept it all under the carpet. The bully was the child of a moajor donator to the new library fund - surprise surprise.