State Vs Private

[bluebkke]

For those swithering between the two, I have the unique perspective in that one of my children went to one of the highest attaining private schools in Scotland and my other child went to our catchment state school which ranks in the high 200s out of 340 schools in Scotland (based on exam results). The main differences we noticed were extremely high levels of consistency in approaches in the private school (implying high level of management of what is taught, pacing, assessments) vs very varied approaches across subjects and teachers in the state school. Private school dealt with behaviour in a much stronger, more authoritarian manner - for example, extremely well behaved child caught chewing gum had to do a Saturday detention. State school was much less rigid but behaviour in my child's classes (S5 and S6) was all totally fine (except loads of tissue at all times in the toilets - what is that all about??). Expectations in the private school were much higher, for example, I was asked for a 1:1 meeting as my child got a B in an end of term test (they were concerned) - state school they genuinely celebrate attainment at all levels but this can also lead to a feeling of low expectations at times. I suppose all of that is fairly obvious but my main take-away is there really isn't that much in it. The teaching overall at both was good, with some teachers that my two got more or less from. The content of the courses is all very similar as they are all working towards SQA, though the pacing was more intense in the private school, leaving more time for revision. The kids at both were on the whole very similar - lots of lovely, motivated, inclusive children. My kids were only at these schools for two years each and are now both at their first choice universities so appreciate it is a bit of a short window, however, it is a perspective I haven't seen in this forum so thought it might be useful to share. My decision to send my oldest to private school was partly influenced by discussions on this board but retrospectively, I don't think it was necessary. However, my two are both very motivated academically and were able to find like minded peer groups at school.

Interesting perspective. We moved our kids from state to private in S3/S5. They too had a brilliant cohort, and some lovely teachers. But we were thrown by core subjects not having sufficient teachers (meaning significant gaps where the course could not be taught), a lack of rigour especially around homework, a lack of choice of subjects in senior years and a general sense of low aspiration.

I don’t think the kids are any better at private. I don’t really think the quality of teaching is better either but what they do get is teacher-consistency, regular (teacher-not-peer marked) homework, and an environment where they are expected to aspire. The teachers have more time to support them and are definitely more available. I’d say overall it’s a nicer environment and the kids are proud of their school which they weren’t before.

While politically and financially I’d rather have kept them in state, we have no regrets.

I think you're coming at this with limited experience - as we all are. You have experience of one private school, one state school. Not all state schools are the same and not all private schools are the same. There are rubbish private schools in the same way there are rubbish state schools. And even more importantly, not all kids are the same.

All you can do is make the decision which you feel is best for your kids at the time. We purposely chose to live in an area which has some of the best state provision in Scotland and haven't regretted that for a second.

What private school did you use op?
Did you find a significant difference in extra ciriculars, trips etc on offer?

Yes, I guess that is a difference, but in exam years extra curriculars don’t seem to be compulsory and my two didn’t really do any or want to do any. In the private school they also had people in all the time to talk about careers or share amazing things they’d done - climbing Everest and things like that and offered overseas trips - I don’t recall anything like that in the state school.

I don’t really want to get into naming schools but the private is often at the top of the academic league in Scotland for schools that do SQA. The state one has around 20% leaving with 5 Cs or more (I am never sure if that means Nat 5 or Higher). So in terms of overall attainment they are far apart, but they just didn’t seem as far apart day to day as I suppose I thought they would be. But agree with the above comment that they were only there for a short time, and went into S5 - the lower years in the state school may have been trickier. Having said that, mine was a mentor for S1s in the two years they were there and only ever said how cute they were.

Thanks. I suppose in my opinion if you are an engaged parent then your child will likely be fine wherever they go but for the children who dont have the structure at home maybe they would do better having more in schools. The irony is that they are less likely to have parents who can afford this or prioritise this spend. Where the child can benefit from a private education is in the extras - foreign trips, playing sport, music etc which make for a fun childhood but as you say, not everyone will want to take these up.

I think this is super insightful and thank you for sharing.

That's interesting to hear. I think it's generally accepted that bright, academic children with involved parents will do well just about anywhere and that illustrates that very well.

If your DC were only there S5 and S6 I do think what they experienced in S1-4 matters though. In a school with a lot of disruptive children in classes many of those children will have left after S4 or not be in Higher or AH classes. Also if there are shortages of teachers it can be the lower school years that suffer from not being taught by a subject specialist

Expectations are definately strange in state schools in Scotland. My daughter is in S3 and always on track on her reports. No issues raised in parent-teacher interviews. But only one subject is allowing her to take National 5 in S4, the rest National 4 only because they don't think she'd manage to pass National 5. If I knew I would have hired a private tutor. Seriously considering private school for my 9 year old.

Scottish state schools are appalling at letting you know how your child is getting on. 1 report per term in private.

That's shocking @ShireRed
If the norm is to aim for Nat5 in S4 then clearly she is not "on track"!

Not all state schools are rubbish at letting you know how your children are doing. We've had regular reports all the way through, letting us know what level our child is working at, whether they are on track or not along with behaviour and effort.

Currently in S4 and the most recent report included their target grades, the grade their work is currently at and prelim marks. We're very clear about the target grade for Nat 5s and how they are tracking towards those grades.on occasions where I have had concerns, it's been really easy to talk to the relevant staff member and saw changes as a result.