Would you send your child to a private school?

Emmzi

I went to a private school.

a) bit cliquey
b) however there was an expectation that you would go on to higher education, would not settle for a minimum wage job etc
c) also depends on the town/ city - sometimes the school alumni run a real old boys club so it can be the best way to access the best jobs

Tricky one tho. if you spent *some* of the fee money on supplementing education with good tutors in subjects where the school is weaker it may achieve most of the same effect.

How are your local state schools?

maman

Accountant_Kerry wrote: »

some very interesting replies, thanks for taking the time. :-)

I currently live in a catchment area of 1 good secondary school, however competition is fierce. Infant and junios school isnt a problem but my worry is that if she goes to a state infant and junior school and then doesn't get into the good state school she may be too late to get into the good fee paying school (entrance exams etc)?

I could afford this, my line of work in the area i live is secure and I am the main earner so even if my relationship broke down it wouldn;t be a problem. If i want her to go to the state school i will need to pay £100k more for a house to be in the catchment area, where as i could get a nicer house but not in a good catchment area (but an area I would rather live) and her go to a fee paying school....hmm

Some state schools are prepared to 'coach' children for entrance exams if they are used to feeding Independent schools. Also, I think it is becoming easier and easier to get children into all but the very best Independent schools becasue they are getting desperate for pupils. Recession, redundancy and Armed Services subsidy changes are really taking their toll.

In answer to your question I wouldn't want to send my child to a private school because I don't believe in them philosophically and politically. However, I wouldn't play politics with my child's future and might need to depending on quality of local state schools.

Mrs_Imp

sassyblue wrote: »

Not unless the local catchment area schools were absolutely rubbish and even then l'd try to move into an area where they were good first.

Oddly, it can be cheaper to send a child to a fee-paying school rather than to move into the catchment area of a good school. Houses in the catchment areas of good schools can be a lot more expensive, and if that gets put on your mortgage, it'll soon add up.

All depends on the house prices, and the cost of the fee paying school.

I went to a comp in a rough area. They did their best for me, as I was quite bright (good for statistics) but really all they could aim for was mediocre. How can you teach an A* pupil and someone who struggles with basic spelling in the same class and not expect one to be bored and one not to grasp anything? I (mostly) enjoyed secondary school, but often wonder where I could've ended up had I been pushed to my abilities. Similarly, where would my friend have ended up had she had the extra support she needed with her maths and spelling?

Accountant_Kerry

all good points, what about sending them to a fee paying infant / junior school, where they will learn languages etc from a young age and then moving then to a top state school for senior if you get in?

Spendless

Accountant_Kerry wrote: »

some very interesting replies, thanks for taking the time. :-)

I currently live in a catchment area of 1 good secondary school, however competition is fierce. Infant and junios school isnt a problem but my worry is that if she goes to a state infant and junior school and then doesn't get into the good state school she may be too late to get into the good fee paying school (entrance exams etc)?

I could afford this, my line of work in the area i live is secure and I am the main earner so even if my relationship broke down it wouldn;t be a problem. If i want her to go to the state school i will need to pay £100k more for a house to be in the catchment area, where as i could get a nicer house but not in a good catchment area (but an area I would rather live) and her go to a fee paying school....hmm

Sorry, I'm lost. Do you currently live in the catchment area to a good secondary school or not? Assumming you do, what is the top criteria (after children is LA care) for admissions. If it's catchment - does the school usually have enough spaces for those in catchment or not? If it's siblings I can see it's more hit and miss the liklihood of getting in if this is your first-born but again can you find out averages.

sneezyboots

Accountant_Kerry wrote: »

Hi All,

I wanted to get some opinions, if you could afford it even though you would need to live a fairly frugal lifestyle would you send your child to a private / fee paying school?

Thanks

YES.

I went to a private secondary (admittedly for free) and state primary. It takes 2 mins of looking at my facebook friends from primary and secondary and seeing how many children they have (with how many different partners!), and what jobs they are/are not doing to make the decision. That said- when I do have children myself I would only send them if i could afford it and would not go hungry in order to do so.

Hermia

Accountant_Kerry wrote: »

all good points, what about sending them to a fee paying infant / junior school, where they will learn languages etc from a young age and then moving then to a top state school for senior if you get in?

If the schools in your area are okay you could send them there & then get tutors for additional subjects/subjects they are not as strong in. We have quite a lot of foreign languages classes/tutors for children where I live.

ailuro2

I likely would if we didn't already live in the catchment area of the no.2 school in our city... the no. 1 school is the only private one in the city. ( we are in Scotland, so it's a whole different ball game) We moved when DD was just a bump in my tum, and house prices were more sensible though.

My s-i-l is in the same position as you, it will be cheaper for them to send their child to a private school than it would be to pay the extra for a house in the catchment area of the good school closest to where they are.
that's assuming they only have one child though... if they go on and have another one or two, then the balance would change and they'd have a whole different set of facts and figures to look at.

Remember it's more than just the fees, it's the school uniform, PE kit, books etc...

amandada

I wouldn't be against it IF we could afford it etc.

We're lucky that we live in an area with excellent state schools, both primary and secondary,BUT I know that the local fee paying school would give the children much wider experiences and opportunities.
I don't beat myself up over it, I know that we do the best we can and the children are happy

Accountant_Kerry

sorry spendless i live in the catchment area but currently rent and will be wanting to buy. First born child and the school is always over subscribed.