MMD: Should Donald send Huey, Duey, or Lewy to private school?

grade15

why not do what Emmerdale have done.. Donald should go and do a bare knuckle fight to earn the money for their son's to go to private school!!!

smudgey1

It may be possible to see if there are scholarships for the other boys, based on their abilities, it would be wise to consult the school.
Otherwise look at the schools further afield, there may be schools that are small but relatively unknown to anyone outside their area.

littlesos

sluggy1967 wrote: »

With the right support from their parents the kids will do well at any school. Even if you took the (supposed) "worst" school in the country you will find great success stories. They should put their faith in their local school and get involved in the school (parent governor for example) and their children and others in the community will reap the benefits.

Completely agree with this. A terrible primary school local to me has been turned around and is now the best in the area, after the parents pitched in.

What people fail to see is that the results issued are for last years kids, if there was a particularly disruptive element that wasn't dealt with that can cause bad results. It should also cause new methods of dealing with disruption to be introduced. What really annoys me is people moaning about schools, but not being willing to take part.

I wouldn't split the three children up, they all go, or none go. After school tutoring seems like the best idea.

harryhound

I would want an outward looking school that realises we are in a global economy. What ever we think of the situation, we live in a multi ethnic society.

Check out the value added figures; some schools with good results are actually under-performing, given their selective intake. Rich kids are not synonymous with motivated kids; that said there are some truly dreadful attitudes amongst the pupils, and their parents, in some schools. The sort of environment where "boffins" have to act thick to avoid being beaten-up in the lavatories while being filmed on a mobile 'phone.

I would get the best state education available and spend the money, not just on academic tuition but on survival skills: Ie how to do a manual job, manage money, achieve a self selected goal plus, most importantly, how to get on with other people (scout camp - travel competitions - exchange visits - sports clubs - part time jobs, especially positions of responsibility etc etc.). Schools have your children for a lot less than half the time. You cannot abdicate your responsibilities as parents by waving a cheque book.

Dreaming_2

I was noticed at an early age for being gifted, and teachers in primary school put me forward on several 'highly able student' courses.

Of course, going down the general normal route, I went through a few years of bullying and being ahead of everyone else until they caught up. Got A grade A levels and went off to one of the best universities in the country, so didn't suffer too much. But think I would have been better off in a selective or private school.

My sister meanwhile, went off the rails when she was young, stole, got in trouble with the police (at 12 / 13), got into drink and drugs and parents saw the only way to encourage her would be to give her the best. So they spent £15k a year on one of the best ladies schools in the UK (we had a family income of I guess £50K - dad was a gas engineer).

In the end my sister got excluded for drug abuse and just moped about home. Though a year later she got onto a hair dressing course apprenticeship and it's turned her life round.

I am a bit bitter that although there were much more reasonably priced private schools nearby, and teachers recommended I go to them, my parents just saw me as another boy (5 boys in our family), and put me through the same route without a thought, whilst my sister who played up got one of the best opportunities of her life - rubbing shoulders with women who will go on to be CEOs, MPs etc. but threw it away.

Ah well, I still got where I am now just through the sweat of my own brow, I think not being given extra help actually helped me strive for my goals more myself.

Sorry, little rant

No I wouldn't send any of them if I couldn't send all of them. Not fair to play favorites.

JayD

Well this is very tricky but I can't help wondering why, if they are so damning of the local Comp, they haven't moved into the catchment area of a better one by now.

I am not sue that a private education offers what I would want for my children. I note that you didn't say their child would be boarding at the school - in fact you said that the private school was nearby, so I am assuming day pupil status, which tends to make whoever goes there a bit of an outsider anyway.

I agree that the children should be part of the decision making process and I also agree that they cannot foresee if their finances might not improve as time goes on - allowing the next children to attend the same school - but my money is on moving to an area with a good Comp and using any spare money to enrich and broaden the lives of all of their children. Travel, extra curricular activities, extra tuition, club memberships, sports equipment etc etc etc

Sittingonthefence_2

Is he frightened of having a big bill?

cazrobinson

local comp and pay more for extra activities such as music, drama, sports etc.

get involved in local school.


i want to send my children to the best public school in my area (£20,000 a year for the three of them), but as my wages are £19,000 it aint gonna happen. even if i did send them there, we could never afford the trips to the alps, afetr-school activites, school uniform and i would be worried that the kids would really suffer in that way.

moanymoany

It costs a packet for private schools. It is so unfair to only send one child, so use the cash to move to a good school catchment area - even if it means a longer commute for the parents.

Muffcat

Probably the easiest idea is to move to the catchment area of a really top-class comprehensive provided they can be certain of getting a place there for all three boys - and these days this is by no means certain. "Social engineering" as reported in Brighton has wreaked havoc with the idea of the local school, with children being transported all across the town way out of their own neighbourhood and away from their friends.
In their position, I would make any sacrifice to get my children into private education - re-mortgaging, going without holidays, etc - and does the wife go out to work? Many parents have had to do exactly this. The "extras" such as school trips are often included in the fees, and most schools have a second-hand uniform shop. The rather snide comments about "rich kids" could not be further from the truth. Yes, there are some very well-to-do parents but also many who have modest incomes but see their children as their No 1 priority.