Private school vs state school

pinkclouds

I'll throw a third option into the mix: home schooling. It's private education, after all, and tailored to each child. And it doesn't have to be *the* education option for *all* of your kids. I know families who have/had kids in a mix of private/home or home/state or private/state. Make the choice that you feel is right for your child(ren) at the time - and maybe review it every year or so.

Gillyx

Another who thinks it's a lot to do with parental contribution. Both my partner and I went to state schools and we both have very good exam results, we had to work hard to gain these. I will also point out the school I went to was in the most deprived local authority in the whole of the country and probably was the worst school in the area (in most peoples opinions). The resources we had were fantastic, we had one computer for every 2/3 pupils, excellent sporting facilities and the teachers (well the ones I had anyway) were outstanding. Always willing to help and always there at lunchtime/after school for any problems you were having with the work.

Even if I won the lottery now if I could find a school with that sort of standard there is not a chance I'd pay for education, also aswell I think a lot of the time within the private schools I've seen it's a "keeping up with the jones'" mentality which you need lots of money to compete with.

kendun

Thank you all for your input,

I have done some calculations about the money required and thought about various options etc.

1.I could potentially move to an area near a relatively good state school by going for a bigger mortgage. Benefits would be probably a bigger house which will appreciate in value over the years.

2.Go for a private school by saving sensibly and sacrificing some of my indulgences etc (will have to trial it for 6 months or so to see how realistic this is)

3. Stay where we are but ensure that we play a very active part in our kids' education.

Ideal preference is for option two if I can persevere with saving from now and cutting unnecessary expenses.

Option 2 is reliant on the school maintaining the same status etc and personally I believe that good schooling/ education will help our kids with the future rather than money per se/a bigger house etc in the long term

Option 3 seems ideal on paper but is dependent on other factors like the quality of the school + peers interests etc so is the least preferred option

The worry about private school is the 'keepin up with the jones' mentality and whether we could cope with this. Probably need to read up about how this could be addressed maybe.

kendun

Blue_Elephant wrote: »

Hi,

What part of Bolton are you in? Which schools are you local to?

Farnworth - near the hospital, probably closer to Great Lever rather than actual Farnworth. Think it's Harper Green school.

Rikki

kendun wrote: »

Thank you Debbie,Naf and Sammy,
I think I'll start saving for private schooling

You need to look at the costs of the seniors aged 13 to 18 to give you an idea of the amount you need to save. Private fees rise by about 7% a year, they did when mine were at school. Also you pay for all exams GCSE's and A levels.

A private education is an all round education not just passing exams and getting into university. It's about giving a child confidence and the ability to conduct themselves in any situation well.


EDIT:
Just checked the fees for my son's school. It would cost me £23,500 a year now. :eek::eek:

shirlgirl2004

pinkclouds wrote: »

I'll throw a third option into the mix: home schooling. It's private education, after all, and tailored to each child. And it doesn't have to be *the* education option for *all* of your kids. I know families who have/had kids in a mix of private/home or home/state or private/state. Make the choice that you feel is right for your child(ren) at the time - and maybe review it every year or so.

I couldn't agree more. My children have been in both state and private schools. Neither were any good IMO despite having great exam results etc (results aren't everything). We now home school. It means we,as a family, get to choose what is taught and some of what is learnt. It is a truly individual education with so many benefits for the whole family. Unfortunately it can work out more expensive than private education if you give up work to commit to it full time but it is worth all the time, energy and money.

kendun

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

I couldn't agree more. My children have been in both state and private schools. Neither were any good IMO despite having great exam results etc (results aren't everything). We now home school. It means we,as a family, get to choose what is taught and some of what is learnt. It is a truly individual education with so many benefits for the whole family. Unfortunately it can work out more expensive than private education if you give up work to commit to it full time but it is worth all the time, energy and money.

Home schooling is a definite no as it would not be financially viable for us. Maybe an option if I win the lottery

claire16c

It totally depends on where you live. Where I live now the state schools are fantastic and going to a private school would be an absolute waste of money. However if I lived in an inner city I might think differently! I think I would prefer to move house if there are good schools nearby. Thats what my parents did. And then you tend to live in a nicer area too so you win on both counts.

If they had used the money to send me to a private school, we would have been living further away from our school, and therefore our friends. Also children I know who go to private schools, do tend to go on a lot of trips and extra curricular activities and I would not want to send my child to a school like that if I could not afford that too. I would rather send them to a state school and make sure they could go on the 1 trip each year!

The secondary school I went to, sometimes actually gets better exam results than the private school 2 miles away. So they are not all they are always cracked up to be.

A grammar school can be a good alternative. But of course only if your child can get into one.

kendun

No free grammar schools nearby and state schools results are not that good. I'll try to find out about the average costs of extra curricular activities and school trips as well to look at a realistic amount for saving.

claire16c

How much would it cost you to move house compared to the fees?