Is Westminster School the best school on Earth? STATESMOM returns

[statesmom]

I have a lot to say, don't know if anyone remembers the thread. Let me know if you want to hear from me.

It’s just one long boast isn’t it? The one upmanship is staggering. I don’t think you can get under the skin of a country if you don’t talk to anyone outside your bubble. I’m looking forward to a new wing on the V&A from her donation. Or perhaps a few new state schools? Americans have giving in their culture and like to see their names on a slab of stone saying they do.

There's actually an interesting discussion to be had about the nature of tertiary education in the US – not least the benefits of studying medicine as a post-graduate option and the advantages of a Liberal Arts degree (which some UK universities are now offering).

But this thread, and this OP, are not it.

I suspect your constant references to money throughout this thread are what has caused people to comment, OP! But you know that.

Psychologists reckon by the way that once you have enough money to secure basic needs, for most people it is not an intrinsic motivator.

And charity donations from the richest people in the UK are falling, even though they can help reduce their tax bills. www.probonoeconomics.com/news/charity-donations-from-uks-richest-down-20-despite-higher-earnings

I disagree with this. Westminster has a lot of scholarship places.

I helped my brother through the entrance exams (he also sat for a few others). and Westminster was definitely the most gruelling. and having met his peer group, they are all exceptionally bright and accomplished.
not saying there aren't many bright pupils who don't achieve their potential due to lack of resources. but just being rich definitely doesn't get kids into Westminster

@CalamitiousJoan We are in our infancy when compared to USA for giving. We just don’t have it in our culture. They do because it means they are recognised for it. I’m sure many of us could look at the Times 500 wealthy list and wonder what most of them have ever sponsored. They might have done things quietly but many haven’t done a huge amount. Americans would not get away with that. Are all the ultra rich in London giving here?

This thread is hilarious. Why does the OP keep comparing the UK to Mississippi?
I just googled and the GDP isn't higher, 39102 usd compared to 46 125 usd....
A lot less people get shot here.

Cannot believe any of you are taking this OP seriously - after she has written this:

If you take London out of it, which after all is where most Brits live,

😂😂😂

Absolutely this.

My DDs study completely different subjects at uni. For DD1s subject 4 of the top 5 are in the UK - the US manages one in the top 10 which scrapes in at number 9. The top 10 are 4 UK, 2 Russian, 1 French 2 US and one Chinese.

For DD2s subject 2 of the top 5 are in the UK, 2 in Italy and one in Germany - the US again has one top 10 place - Harvard scraping in at number 9. The top 10 are 3 UK unis, 3 German, 2 Italian, Harvard and Peking at 10

Size of endowment is not an indicator of academic success.

@pandasorous Shame they don’t screen the parents! Obnoxious ones are out! Having said that, private schools do want their money. Plenty of ways to help them out with a generous donation. Private schools often have rich parent donors who belong to a club, eg The Arnold Foundation at Rugby where parents can pay for bursaries and are then given privileges by the school. I doubt these parents would expect their own dc to be rejected when they apply.

agreed.

for sure
and a lot of racists around too
I remember going to the open day in Westminster with my brother and the looks I got being a hijabi brown woman....

not all private schools like this though, but the elite ones yes.

and tbh you can't blame them for wanting the money.. they do need to fund the facilities somehow

"Uh, maybe it's just harder to get in? Maybe use Ockham's razor."

*Occam's razor 😉

Haha I mean that’s fair enough! Although I’m honestly not sure how representative mumsnet is of live in the uk for most people!

It is if you take London out of the equation but obviously you wouldn't take London out of the equation because it is part of the UK. Also, lots of countries are the same in terms of the capital city making a massive contribution to overall GDP. It's not really the gotcha OP thinks it is but they are on a bit of a trip relishing the anonymous limelight.

We live in a more and more selfish society. Young people don’t want even to give blood anymore. Can’t see the point. It’s the same in the U.K.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna133430

Its not just the super rich, saying I’m all right Jack…

At these schools, they have people to walk you home at night if you're at the library too late and you don't feel safe, OK?

We had that at my university in the north of England. It’s hardly something to boast about.

We used to have a culture of philanthropy before the welfare state but it’s fallen by the wayside, hand in hand with the decline in the early 20th century of some of the sense of patronage that came with large estates. Now we seem to be needing charity more and more unfortunately.

On the plus side of course it’s not possible any more to buy your way into a university. Still possible to do that in the States though.

How do Eton boys maintain a relationship with a girlfriend (or boyfriend) if they are living in a dorm in a school. I don’t think it’s possible.

Whatevers presumably you feel the same about any single sex boarding school - girls and boys.
If you mean how do they have sex, all Eton boys have their own rooms, there are no dormitories though they are not allowed girls in their rooms (this rule has been known to have been broken), but same as at co ed boarding schools, the penalties for being caught doing this on the premises are severe.
They will meet their girlfriends at weekends and in the holidays.

Two minutes on Google would have revealed that pupils at Eton do not sleep in ‘dorms’.

I suppose it’s harder to grasp that they spend quite vast amounts of time away from school. So many weekends, long half terms, long vacations. As well as all the freedom / free time they have while at school.

But, as I said, this thread is nonsensical.

Exactly that. My DD boards technically full time but she’s home almost every weekend, has long weekends far more than the average London day school pupil and her school holidays are extremely long indeed. It’s really not hard. She’s 16 and has had a boyfriend at her school for almost a year. They see each other out of school more than in school.

The difference between a dorm and a private room where girls are not allowed is trivial. They don’t go home at weekends. They just don’t have girlfriends in any meaningful way. At that age I think a stable relationship with an extremely bright girl could really help a boy’s confidence and prevent all sorts of issues later in life. So, yes, this is a massive advantage of Westminster over boys boarding schools like Eton. Managing their tendency for ridiculous teen parties is the flip side unfortunately.

Yes and it's quite unfortunate! My oldest, like someone else's child upthread, is at a liberal arts college and adores it. It's a very different experience to both a British university and a larger American one.

Also, if I want to set the cat amongst the pigeons with the OP, I'd say the Ivy League can be quite overrated.

Off the point of the thread, but whatever- I think you’re talking about Eton specifically maybe? IME the kind of boys that go to Eton spend holidays and long weekends in places that us mere mortals can only dream about. DDs first boyfriend was at Eton and even though she was at another school they had no lack of opportunity to spend time together doing incredible things. Just not the daily presence that defines a conventional teen relationship. I’m not sure that was a bad thing TBH.