Private school fees to grade ratio

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Just saw this in the telegraph which lists school fees to grades achieved. Not fully taken in the info. But makes an interesting read.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/revealed-little-known-private-schools-outperforming-eton/

Yes, Eaton didn't pay for sponsored article and "Little Private" did.

A private school is a business. Every business needs advertising and covering the ugly parts.

In general, there is a correlation between how affluent is the kid's population and their grades. This is not only about private but it is visible at state secondary in the affluent areas.

Surely a school's GCSE grades are highly correlated with intake ability - so set your entrance criteria high enough for them high grades will follow.

If fee to grade ratio is the primary measure of school performance, good state grammars will come out miles ahead. QE boys or Henrietta Barnet results are far better than Eton or most other independent schools in the country with 0 fees.

But it's not really a good benchmark - the fee is mainly a function of costs (staff, facilities and so on) while result is mainly determined by how selective the school intake is.

A specialist non-selective (or less selective) private school may have high cost (say, due to high teacher to student ratio and/or specialist sports facilities), and not so stellar result. That doesn't mean it performs poorly, it clearly meets enough parents' needs to make it a viable.

"QE boys or Henrietta Barnet results are far better than Eton or most other independent schools in the country with 0 fees."

A lot of parents with this grade value for money as ultimate education goal will try very very hard to get this bargain.

Of course they do and these schools are highly selective. BUT you cannot compare them to Eton! Eton and other top boarding schools are completely different. Their usp is not comparable and many of their Dc could get into high performing state schools but the parents don’t want this. They went the ethos of where they choose. It’s not purely exem driven. It’s lots of elements but mainly what suits your family and probably has for generations!

The problem with all school rankings is the only data available is grades. Nothing else. So it's simply a lazy journo job of plotting grades against fees.

I have the Telegraph subs but could not be bothered to read the first few lines.

Comically they sent the article to subcribers email with the subject "Why private schools are still worth every penny".

Is it like a membership fee for exclusivity for non academic prospect? Probably want to read a value for money ranking for thsg too..

Why do you think Eton boys are not academic? Of course many are. But you are paying for a different style of school and far more than exam results. Ditto at many top private schools. I don’t see anything wrong with that: people are members of all sorts of clubs that will have them!

I didn't say non academic (of course there are a few famous non academic old Etonian)
I just say the extra money is for the non academic part of prospects - such as exclusivity and elite status.

this reminds me of the letter a former master of Eton College wrote to Times recently

"Whatever wider strategy Eton adopts, the school itself will continue to educate the global elite or those who will become the global elite ("If we had stayed the same since 1440, Eton would have closed years ago", Jun 10). Perhaps, its most important mission will be to ensure that its pupils are saved from the sense of privilege, entitlement and omniscience that can produce alumni such as Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kwasi Kwarteng and Ben Elliot and thereby damage a country's very fabric. Sadly,I failed in that purpose"
~

@PreplexJ But you cannot really pay for that. You pay for buildings, facilities, a vast number of staff, specialist teachers, huge array of clubs and board and lodging. What you do with it is down to you. You cannot buy a status just by being at school. It’s not transferable to all boys. DD has several friends who went to another top name school. What they have done post uni has been very different. All lovely young men and they have varied careers from doctor to musician. Not exclusive or elite.

I think it is the ethos mismatch between the customer and service provider.

I'm sure a lot of them are nice boys. On the other hand, I'm sure a lot of parents (generations) send their son to Eton with the intention for the elite status - no matter they get it or not eventually, rightly or badly

@PreplexJ I'm sure that is absolutely the motivation: to get your child in among the contacts and the elite. Probably worth more than any extra A level grade!

Perhaps an idea for TATLER good value for money ranking table for elite outcomes. Too posh for telegraph to compile such table.

@PreplexJ

>(of course there are a few famous non academic old Etonian)

Who?

We may not agree with politically with some of them but I cannot think of any that I would not call academic...

Unless you identify it with sciences only

@TizerorFizz

cannot buy a status just by being at school.

^^

And suddenly I remember one student at Yale...

<Spare>

Shame
That could be entertaining for both of us.:/ But well your choice

This school only start its admission process with some strong academic focus since 2002. So yep, you should expect a lot of old Etonians are not academic.

Okk... Author of "Spare" is the academic...ok..ok...

He joined from 1998 so.. unsurprisingly

Could they have said No to Harry’s parents? Probably not. His book should really have been called “Th-ck”.

This school historically should have said no to a lot of parents. Let's wait and see if the new generation sits the ISEB and common entrance...