All Private School Parents Should Get State School Places to Fight Back VAT

[LondonSam]

All Private School Parents Should Get State School Places to Fight Back VAT

postcode premium is a massive thing where we live (North London), we have been looking at the houses for some time now and since the labor vat thing made it to the news, house prices next to sought-after comprehensive schools hit the roof, as some middle-class families pay significantly above the asking price for the houses in the good school catchment. so they reinvest the money they could potentially spend on education in brick& mortar in the right catchment. Both rentals and sale prices simply are unaffordable unless you have a lot of money.

Completely agree OP. I also want to see the entire private school system collapse - the idea that some parents can buy such an unfair advantage for their children, and so inherently disadvantage other children, should have no place in our society.

Glad to know we’re on the same page 😀

The tantrums over this have been properly amusing. Such entitled people. Need a dose of reality I think, do them good

Something should be done about it e.g. broaden the catchment to the entire borough or wider and then do a lottery who they accept. Or maybe no catchment at all and lottery among applicants.

I am afraid here in Richmond Borough the situation with the properties is very same as in your borough

Bear in mind that private boarding schools are a very lucrative business for the UK in terms of tax and influx of money. 31 k of international kids whose parents live abroad

@Kneidlach do you want to see the whole tutoring system collapse too? Should parents be banned from doing extra work at home with their kids? How about no ability to choose faith schools or buy a house for a good catchment area? Ban grammars while we're at it to level down all children?

Oh give it a bloody rest.

I'd love to ban grammars too. Here there are 2 superselectives. 170 places for whole borough per school.

The kids who attend have been tutored to within an inch of their life throughout primary OR have attended private prep school. The state primary schools are not permitted to do 11plus prep, as such, only those who pay have access to tuition.

So that's not exactly fair is it? And it's not offering places truly based on aptitude. It's all a money making wheeze.

I would ban state grammars and faith schools, definitely. And if I could find a viable way of changing the admissions systems so that school places weren't dependent on postcode, I would do that too.

Should everyone who owns a Porsche downsize to something cheaper because we can't all afford the Porsche?

Everyone who owns a million pound house downgrade to a terrace because we can't all afford the £1000,000 house?

What about banning private health care?

People who have the cash are always going to get better services, it's the way our society works.

The government will not ban Grammars because they exist on the principle that the schools are paid less money per pupil in grammar than in any other state secondary school. Gov finds it cheap deal

But I agree. Especially now with the new Ofsted reviews many schools have been downgraded from Outstanding, most often for not Outstanding teaching.

I find parents who send their kids to downgraded grammar schools unbelievably naive and snobbish. Otherwise, why would they send their kids to a school with less money per pupil, poor pastoral care, and mediocre teachers?

@Kneidlach

"the idea that some parents can buy such an unfair advantage for their children, and so inherently disadvantage other children, should have no place in our society. "

Parents have and will always try and give an advantage for their children.

Whether this is staying in a stable two parent married family unit, owning your own home, ensuring and helping your children with home work, reinforcing that education is the best way out of poverty, ensuring that children attend school regularly, not taking them out of school for cheaper holidays.

Where personal finances allow it private tutoring and yes private school education.

There is a worrying lack of agency amongst parents regarding their children ambitions and futures. The whole "my child is unfairly and institutionally disadvantaged against private school children" whilst failing to provide the above points. - It's always someone else's fault and not the parents.

@Dibblydoodahdah I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. @Janedoe82 private schools care about their reputations - if they don't deal with bullies and bullying parents withdraw/don't send their kids. reputation is paramount. In state schools it's so hard to exclude/expel that victims just suffer.

@PeachSalad

"I find parents who send their kids to downgraded grammar schools unbelievably naive and snobbish. Otherwise, why would they send their kids to a school with less money per pupil, poor pastoral care, and mediocre teachers?"

Because the parents and children (often of a migrant background) believe in the value of education as a means of escaping poverty and want their children to be amongst others that share this view.

strawman argument

I agree DDs bully was swiftly expelled (Private) while 2 of my friends have had to withdraw their DC from the local well regarded Comp due to bullying not being addressed. One of DS's friends was expelled as well for behaviour that might not have raised an eyebrow at the local Comp - I am a Governor there so I have a good idea what goes on
Varies from school to school I am sure but Private schools do seem to have the ability to get rid of badly behaved kids more easily.

let's try to to entrench inequality with a two tier educational system.

I think you're right that it varies from school to school. Getting rid of challenging pupils isn't necessarily straightforward for private schools if there are a lot of kids involved and the school can't afford to lose the numbers. A private boys school near us was well known to have permitted horrible racist bullying over a period of many years...it was one of those open secrets that everyone knew about.

The argument that as there is always going to be some inequality in society we shouldn’t try to mitigate or alleviate any inequality simply doesn’t make sense.

We as a society will always have some inequalities we deem acceptable. For example I think it’s acceptable that some people earn £30k and can’t afford a Porsche and that some people earn £80k and can afford one. But I personally don’t think something as fundamental as core education should be unequal and dependent on a child’s parents income.

agreed! this thread is full of straw men

That's an argument for improving state education, not an argument for restricting access to private education by increasing the cost. Can you see the difference?

These threads get bogged down in everyone arguing both ends against the middle.

For me, it’s about liberalism. Letting people choose how to spend their own money and raise their own children. It’s about freedom of association.

Tax is not a state of nature. We apply it. We don’t apply it to food, healthcare, medicine or education. Until now, when it is being applied, selectively, to a particular group.

It’s the thin end of the wedge. Just wait for it to hit university fees.

And no, I don’t think that it is poss To draw the line between education and luxury education. And, yes, I’d like to see subsidies that make true educational choice an option for more families.

They should be VAT free in the same way that university, after schools clubs, external clubs, tutors and nurseries are VAT free! They should not pay VAT just because of a government with a huge chip on their shoulder.

Are you suggesting that migrant parents are particulary gullible and follow wild grammar goose chase without researching how good is the teaching and pastoral care at a school?

Hardly the case! Also, if private schools were to be abolished, the moaners would start complaining about those who pay for private tuition and the advantage being given to other children over their own… god forbid of course that they actually knuckle down and support their own children themselves and actually take the time to revise with them at home etc!