Britain's Youngest Boarder

[littledawley]

Anyone watching?

chirpy1 my comment was in response to your
"I am not sure there is any point having children if you can't hack the responsibility looking after them."

If you work then at some points others must be responsible for looking after them. If I wanted to be solely responsible for looking after my ds then I would have to give up work. Who then would pay for my house, living expenses etc?

At some points every child is looked after by others. The majority of the time is something else entirely. I admit I have the best of both worlds as decided to take a pay cut (which I understand is not for everybody) so that I can work school hours. Agreed, these jobs are hard to come by, but childcare for some children for an hour or two after school is not as big an issue as childcare day and night all week. My pay cut compensates for the childcare I would pay others. I also agree many parents enjoy working long hours, and that in turn creates a happy child but I cannot understand personally (it is only my opinion) the point of having them if you see them weekends only. My children still have a nice life. They may get slightly less materials, but they get so many more cuddles. As for me, I am more than happy to go without.

I personally would choose time over money any day, but that's just my opinion. We don't have the best cars/clothes/holidays, but we do all right.

Sounds as if you are a two income household. That makes the difference. If I didn't work we wouldn't eat!

My dad went to the school featured in this prog. He said he went from age 7 and loved it. He then went on to Eton and loved it there too.

With all due respect though, to my wonderful, lovely dad, he came away without any qualifications to speak of .

He said he found it really emotional watching the programme last night.

DH was also a boarder from age 9 (not this school). He loved it. He went as his dad was in Foreign Office and often living in different countries. He and his three brothers have nothing but positive things to say about their schooling.

I went to a shite state school... but I quite enjoyed it.

My favourite line in the whole programme was "In state schools you have to sit on the floor, there aren't enough chairs." WTF? Where do they get this from?

I agree with so many of Midfieldgeneral's eloquent arguments.
What really worried me about this show was that the children on this show will be the politicians and judges of the future and how much do they really understand about the world that does not include the wealth and privilege that they have grown up with? They may have an incredible education being indoctrinated into the world of the powerful and privileged but it does not seem like a terribly broad education in a social context. And these boys will be making decisions for the many in about 20 years time a la Dave Cameron and George Osborne. Scary thought.

Oooh I think often public school pupils are fed a load of crap about state schools in an effort to justify the vast outlay required to avoid them. All my friends at university were publicly educated for some reason and they came out with some corkers. I was told earnestly "they dont do sport at state schools". Snort - so I must have imagined my years of netball, hockey, sailing, tennis, badminton etc etc.

I would love to know which state school Louis went to where he had to sit on the floor for a lot of the time (according to him)!

It's quite sad tho looking at their sweet little faces and then thinking of the public school tw*ts I knew at uni...

Actually Louis ended up saying he sat on the carpet at state school for about a third of each lesson - at primary they do seem to sit on the carpet a lot!!!!!!

Mollie, nobody has said anything about "not working". I am a single parent and I also work. This is not about working parents, but about boarding school. Many mums have to work now, and not working is a privilege that I would love. As I said earlier, having childcare for an hour or so after school everyday is different to the children waking, eating and sleeping in school everyday and night. Tucking them into bed at night, with a story, a kiss and a cuddle is what I personally think a child needs. You can be a working parent without resorting to boarding school.

Chirpy1 it is not the majority of the time

Lets say your child gets up at 7am and goes to bed at 9pm and has a school day 9am-3pm and does no out of school activities.

You would see them 1560 hours a year during term time weekday hours. 1456 hours a year at weekends and 780 hours a year at school holidays.

Equalling 3,796 hours a year that they are awake, but including travelling to and from school, and like I say NO after school activities.

Let's say your child is a weekly boarder you see them

Wednesdays for sports (remember the parents came to watch football?) 96 hours a year

Weekends after saturday morning school until Sunday night (bed time of 9pm on Saturday) 736 plus 560 hours of weekends during the holiday a year. You see them on 6 exeats a year (which is long weekends) 168 hours. Plus during school holidays which is an incredible 1400 (almost twice the state of 780 hours).

This is 2,960 hours and there is no additional time of activities to add on as they have all those included.

20 weeks at home compared to 13 weeks at home with state is good quality time, rather than the tired ratty time in the evening, after activities/homework etc.

Mollie O

In 'state' schools children sometimes sit on the floor for assembly or eric time or in the morning. For a short while.

Sometimes younger ones may have a story 'on the mat'

I don't doubt Louis state school was lovely. I don't recall him saying it made him cry.....

How many parents come on to MN, and say there's problems with 'carpet' time, as there child is unable for either SN, or not to be able to sit still on the floor.

That to me says there is an awful lot of carpet time, if not the I would not BU to say to the next posting, its only for a very short period of time, get over it. But no because it is a long period of time, I sympathise with a child having to sit on the floor.

none of mine have ever muttered a syllable about sitting on a carpet...

I think it's lovely and homely....they sit on one at home

( were you being ironic whocantakesunrise?)

No I'm saying that for a child - which this was making this comment - it can appear that a vast majority of your day is spent sitting on the floor at state school.

Time is a difficult concept for a child to measure.

And there are an awful lot of posts on MN about whether its appropriate that children are disciplined for not being able to sit still at carpet time.

Why can't they sit on chairs? Why do they sit on the floor?

I find this conversation too odd
been on MN since 2004 never noticed any threads...

I don't want to link to other threads, as I feel that's rude, and I am most certainly not saying that the posters in those, are not right to be concerned that the school is being harsh that they don't sit still on the floor.

But I know of 2 that are currently in primary education section, and it certainly wouldn't take much to find more.

If you were to ask 5 yr olds to bring a chair and gather round it would take half the lesson , especially as they would have to put them back. It is so much simpler to gather around on the carpet and then go back to their seat. It is very difficult to get proper attention if they are sitting at a desk when they are so young.
As they get older they spend less time sitting on the carpet.
The school on the programme had very small classes-I dare say that 8 five year olds could gather around on chairs whereas 20 five year olds moving chairs is a nightmare of crushed fingers etc!

Sorry chirpy. I thought you were one of those posters I see on MN who go on about WOHMs as some sort of evil .

The point about carpet time is someone here (cba to find who) made a comment as if private school children thought sitting on the carpet was dreadful. Which of course it isn't and it also happens in private schools (just not Sunningdale it seems).

Fair point but this is why due to a child (remember it was a child who commented on this) that a third of the time is spent sat on the floor.

Say your the good kid/competitive kid who does things first - teacher says come and sit on the floor, you instantly do it, but child no 30 in the class, takes his time, stands up, sits down, runs off, comes back, child no 1 has spent a hell of a lot of time sat waiting 'patiently' on the floor. I can easily see how it can feel that you are spending a 3rd of the lesson sat on the floor.

My mum was sent away at 8. She loved it. My dd is 8 and there's no way I would ever send her away. My mum is quite closed emotionally and I've always wondered about the reasons.

Hit post too soon.

Where as in a class of 10, teacher says right boys .....

No moving, no nothing, you are there, and not getting sore legs.

Although at my primary school you had to sit in the kneeling position, rather than cross legged and the pain was unbearable.

whocantakeasunrise - fish oils are good for bad joints

I did my carpet time and it left me totally emotionally UN scarred

being sent to boarding school at 8 years young however....