Private schooling

cottonhead

I'm interested to know peoples views on independant schooling. Right now my son is in state school and we are very happy with it. We couldnt afford school fees now anyway ( totally broke and have debts ) but I am considering sending him to a private secondary school in the future as the schools in our area are either really good or very very bad. We should hopefully be able to afford the fees by then!

My questions are if you could afford a private education would you ? If you have been privately educated yourself do you feel it was worth it and if you currently send your children to a private school are you happy with your choice and what was behind your decision to begin with.

We have to register him years in advance and although we can always change our minds, I'm just wondering is private schooling really worth the cost ? Thanks for any opinions.

FBaby

My partner was sent to private school I wasnt. I was a pretty good pupil, he wasn't. He stopped his education after a levels, I have a master. He took on a entry job at 18 and moved up the rank working very hard and showing great dedication. We are now in our 40s and earning exactly the same!!!

It is very difficult to say which is best. Maybe if my partner had gone to a state school, he would have failed and struggled with employment, maybe if I'd been privately educated, I would be earning a vast salary.

My children are both G&T. My DD stated secondary school in September, and I haven't been much impressed with the quality of teaching (failing to challenge her, or so I thought), yet she's just received her report and her results are very high, so somehow, she must have learnt more than what I thought. I am very pleased with the school from a social aspect. We could afford to send one child to the best private school (the one my partner went to), but probably not two, but the end result is that I am not convinced I am prepared to make all the sacrifices that would be required to afford for them to go there when in the end, who knows what they would really get out of it.

Someone said that a good pupil will excel whether they go to private or a good/decent state school. I am now tending to agree as my DD has been showing so far.

Kiboko

I was privately educated (Public School - boarding, my father was a Diplomat and they moved country every 3 years), my children are being educated within the State system, I can't afford private education, I don't know that I got a 'better' education than someone in the State system, teachers at the school I attended then didn't need teaching qualifications!!! I doubt that is true nowadays.

JodyBPM

I was privately educated, my dh wasn't. We've ended up earning fairly similar amounts - we're both doing pretty well, but nothing spectacular.

We have two children, and have considered private secondary. TBH, the fees for two in the SE would amount to approx £20K per annum, and we would have to make massive sacrifices to be able to afford that, and I'm currently inclined to think that its not worth it. I think the children will benefit more from having parents who are interested in them and their education, who encourage them and instill a good work ethos and who go out of their way to broaden their minds than they will having two frazzled parents who are exhausted from working all hours to keep up with the school fees!

I've not yet ruled it out completely - my children are both G&T, bright little buttons, but they are still young yet (primary age). At the moment they are both clearly thriving in the state system, but should that change for any reason I would certainly consider private education. The state schools here are OK, if they were dire, I would probably be more inclined to make the sacrifices to go private.

thatgirlsam

I went to Private School

I hated it. If you came from a small (normal) house and your Mum didn't drive a brand new car then you were not really worth much. Either bullied, or worse, pitied!

All the money in the world wouldn't make me send my children to a private school. There are some truly horrid, pretentious, snobs in this world.

thegirlintheattic

kiboko - private school teachers still don't need any qualifications.

Personally I don't see the point. I know several people, including my OH, who were privately educated and they neither got a 'step up' nor great qualifications.

Kiboko

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

kiboko - private school teachers still don't need any qualifications.

Personally I don't see the point. I know several people, including my OH, who were privately educated and they neither got a 'step up' nor great qualifications.

I did get good some might say great qualifications, but I can't say I wouldn't have done just as well at state school, I know I have been very impressed with the state schools my children attend.

gingin_2

I was educated privately, I went to a very nice school and have fond memories but educationally I am not sure whether it would have made any difference. I was the same as fbaby but in reverse - OH state educated with a Masters and me who dropped out after one year of uni with no degree ( and bitterly regretting it and trying to play catch up!)

Rather than pay for private education we moved to an area with very good state schools and fantastic sixth form colleges, it was our top consideration and I am really happy with it. I also see that whilst we might be able to pay for schooling at a stretch, the money might be better spent on them later in life, such as helping them through university.

Here, the fees are £13.5k a year, I think most private senior schools tend to be £10k plus. Then you have lunches, extra curricular fees, usually a pretty nice foreign school trip most years. If you are in debt now and skint can you really afford it? It's my opinion that if you are going to send them then you have to be certain you can commit to doing so until they are ready to leave. I know one family who have commitments of almost £45,000 a year towards their children's education. He is obviously in a good job but they are not super rich and the stress of having to pay that, in his case for another 10 years ( plus university) puts such huge pressure on him.

If you've got good state schools I would start an action plan on how you stand the best chance of getting him a place.

Looby_-_Lou_2

I think it depends entirely where you live - there are some very good state and private schools and some very poor state and private schools. You'd be unlucky to live in area with poor schools in both sectors.

We have recently moved our primary aged daughter into a private school as she was being failed by the state system. She is a changed child.

Her school has some very wealthy parents and many average parents like us making sacrifices to send our children there. There are also many children on full or partial scholarships but I wouldn't have a clue who they were as it is all very discreet.

A very bright child will do well where ever they are and in my experience the state system excels in educating children with SEN.

However if you are a well behaved, just above average little girl you are going to be left to your own devices in a state school.

Not sure if that is much help with your question but to us it is worth every penny for the happy little girl who comes home every evening ready to do her homework.

FBaby

One other reason for not putting my children in private schooling is that as this would require sacrifices that I wouldn't make with an open heart, I would unconsciously expect some returns from my kids in terms of their choice of further education, leading to a professional career. I don't want to put that pressure on my children. I would be very dissapointed if they didn't commit to their studies because both are very lucky to be naturally academic (and that is their strength, they are not especially good at sport, music or art), but I would accept more easily that at the end, it is their choice, if I hadn't sacrifices nice exotic holidays and the rest for it!!!

angelil

I would have to be VERY sure about the individual school, and absolutely certain my child wasn't receiving an adequate state education.

Some independent schools are excellent. Others are appalling. I have worked in some dreadful ones (not for long though! I left sharpish). I currently work in a "middling" one (working my way up to the "excellent" ones as you can see!).

Tread carefully so that you are very sure it will be money well spent. Look in detail into each school you are considering individually. Consult current/past students, current/past staff and current/past parents if possible. The idea that all private schools are automatically better than state schools is a complete error. The state comprehensive I attended is better than the private school I currently work in.

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

kiboko - private school teachers still don't need any qualifications.

Not *quite* true It's often the case that private school teachers are better educated than state school ones (more have master's degrees or PhDs) but this is often because they are failed academics! Even if this weren't true, you are still going to need at least a bachelor's degree no matter what you teach or where you teach it. It is true, however, that you often don't need teaching qualifications to get a post as a teacher in independent schools.