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.

Yes, that was me. Having gone to an ivy and had a child at an ivy, I agree about them being somewhat overrated.

They don’t go home at weekends.

They are at home for so, so many weekends … Trust me on this.

Although certainly meaningful weekends at school are part of the reason one chooses a full as opposed to weekly boarding school.

And lack of confidence isn’t a major issue amongst the Eton cohorts I know. In fact limitations on romantic relationships through the school years is a really odd objection to raise regarding the school. (I can think of other things that are less than perfect but that just doesn’t register.)

My DDs boarded. No issues finding male friends. As others say, brothers of school friends, parties, weekends visiting at school (they are allowed out), festivals, etc.

Oh don't worry, I am sure she will be along shortly to announce how HILARIOUS it is that you think the Ivy League can be overrated and it must be symptomatic of your own insecurities 🤗

The OP raised Eton and Winchester as preferred because of awards and div and then about the wild parties Westminster boys have so I was just responding to that. I know parents with kids at Eton so it is not my imagination. London day school boys do have parties and Eton boys are frustrated about not meeting girls. Some suffer as a consequence. Unfortunately, I’ve seen first hand the long term impact of that too. It’s anecdotal of course but so are OPs statements.

Ha! The OP believes ‘most Brits live in London’ so I’m not sure I’d rely on her for accuracy …

@BetsyRegards yes indeed 😂 - population of the UK is almost 67 million.
Population of London is almost 10 million.
(figures from Google)
@statesmom your math doesn't math 🤔

My gosh. I have read a lot of posts on Mumsnet. I have never read a thread by someone so unbelievably arrogant as this!
I cannot tell if OP is drunk?! Every post if laughing at everyone else, as though only her and her son know how to live life….
Thats great that you are so happy. Why be so rude to everyone else? Other people are allowed to have different opinions, to value different goals in life. Some people value art/music/science etc.

I do hope your son lives to be old and happy. But don’t fooled that being a Wall Street millionaire is the path to happiness… haven’t you seen the movie..?! Alcoholism/drugs/affairs etc etc . So being rich is not the best thing to aim for you know.
I await an incredulous, laughing-down-your-nose response.

Whatevers
They just don’t have girlfriends in any meaningful way.
You know some people with boys at Eton so no Etonians have girlfriends. Really?

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.

Why does a relationship with an ‘extremely bright girl’ help a boy’s confidence more than a not bright girl?
If a boy or girl isn’t in a relationship while they are at school this will lead to all sorts of issues later in life?

@Barbadossunset I think many dc at day schools are in relationships at 17/18 either. They are more into friendship groups. My DD1 did have a boyfriend at another boarding school and obviously they didn’t see each other every day. I don’t agree that anything much is affected by having or not having a relationship. It’s nice if it happens. Many split up when they go to different unis of course. I don’t see it’s the role of one sex to give the other confidence.

In the world of the OP, confidence would be purchased!

This thread has given me the lols this morning.

OP is clearly completely batshit crazy.

Let's sincerely hope she remains in the good ol' US of letsallfuckingshooteachotherwithourbigshinyguns A.

Yeah, the OP is certainly unpleasant and possibly crazy, but this reply doesn't exactly cover you in glory either.

I know the world OP moves in, a bit. Your point though about the life of a banker is spot on. Family member works in investment banking and the environment is very toxic. Unbelievably so. Family member is richly rewarded for their work and hours but has no outside life at all. Relationships are all dysfunctional as a result. At work, people steal ideas, try to undercut, the boss hires others to directly create more competition so family member must work even harder. Budgets go up every year and if you slip behind one quarter to the next, boss and senior team constantly phoning about risk and limits. It’s an awful way to live. Family member is always stressed. Very sad. Not the life I’d want for my DS. OP you were right about tech, it’s a much better lifestyle. Family member wishes they’d chosen that.

@nojudge couldn't care less. OP is behaving like the stereotypical brash American. And slagging off the UK as much as she can. I'm not here for glory, I'm here to judge

I suspect it's a Freudian slip... most Brits whom she might give a toss about live in London.

‘most Brits of any importance …’?

Either way, with generations of public school (UK version) and Oxbridge in our lives we wouldn’t be sending our not-White young to be shot up by what pass for police in her racist country.

OP is on glue, think we should all step away.

"I have not been very successful in life, nor do I expect my children to be. In order to protect my fragile ego from this fact, I will say that others who are successful are evil narcissists, whose better station in life does not give them happiness. The result of my life, while disappointing to me, is yet a signal to how virtuous I am, and how all the others are selfish posers.

Although I do live a life of quite desperation in a dilapidated country, nevertheless I will never let on that the greatest civilisation that man has ever known has no appeal to me. In fact they are gun toting, religious fanatics. Thank heavens I am who I am."

the greatest civilisation that man has ever known

Oh, cool, you’ve invented time travel!

Yes, most people in the UK live "out of London".

Keep up at the back, people.

There is so much personal invective on this thread, and yet I can't recall anyone intelligently correcting a single one of my facts.

I always love being corrected on facts and look forward to a clearer view of the world if someone here can give it to me.

International economic comparisons are always tricky.

From Wikipedia we Mississippi's 2023 per capita GDP at $49,911 (the lowest in the greatest country on Earth):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP

While statista has the UK's 2023 per capita GDP at £33,271:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/970672/gdp-per-capita-in-the-uk/

I mean, is it slightly above, or slightly below the poorest part of the US? I can give it to you either way.

This is just making a stark point: the overall GDP per capita of the US is far, far above the UK. This is a fact.

It isn’t a fact that the US is the greatest country in the world - that is just your opinion.

I can think of many countries I would prefer to live in, including the UK, several European countries, Australia, and Canada. I have absolutely no desire to live in the US and certainly don’t consider it the greatest country in the world. I don’t think any specific country is the greatest.

Regarding international economic comparisons, I do recall from my comparative economic systems class that Argentina and the US were basically the same in terms of per capita GDP in 1900.

And now Argentina is a basket case, to use a common metaphor, and the US is the richest large economy in the history of the world.

Nations make choices, they have elections and these two things have consequences.

We here in the UK are in the midst of the evolution of these choices, and it is not looking good.

The US is hardly the greatest nation in the world - the threat of Trump again, out of control gun crime and diminishing women’s rights. All reasons why we didn’t move there.

Lets face it: the grandiose "STATESMOM returns" tells us everything...

The only sequel that wasn't a disappointment was Return of the Jedi.