Private vs State School

silvercar

zagfles said:

Dolor said:

I come to this discussion late. Due to work commitments, we moved our youngest daughter 8 times during her school life. Shortly after taking her 11+, we had to withdraw her from a very good grammar school because she couldn’t cope with 2 buses to school. She was home schooled for 9 months. She ended up getting an offer of a place at Cambridge but on the advice of her 6th Form tutor she went on to get a 1st Class degree from Warwick in Economics. A career with PwC then ensued which included a secondment to Toronto. She now works as a Vice President/Chief Accountant for a major international Toronto-based insurance firm.

I also worked for 5 years as a non-academic member of a senior management team at one of England’s top independent schools. What were parents getting for their money?  Obviously, a top notch education - primarily IB-based but with ‘A’ levels available to those students who wanted to go on to study subjects such as medicine; physics etc; small class and tutor groups; individual coaching; preparation for university etc. The College  also offered excellent sporting facilities and coaching from staff members who had played at international level. 

What I noticed most was the confidence that the system instilled into the students. They were articulate without being arrogant (in most cases) and they very focussed on their futures. Clearly, the students also made invaluable contacts which would serve them well in their future careers. Work experience was never an issue and parents often mentioned that they were employing a number of ex-College graduates. 

We can debate all day whether it is fair or not? What I would say is that doing away with independent schools is unlikely to raise academic standards as some people would like to think. 

I think there certainly used to a be a big "old school tie" advantage in the private education sector, but these days with virtually all large companies obsessed with "diversity and inclusion" initiatives, is it still the case? Most people seem to make more lifelong friends at uni rather than school, I'm not in touch with any old school friends but am with several old uni friends.

It was interesting with the ex private school friend I mentioned above, at uni he started off quite arrogant and very possessive, and wary of the rest of us, and he just wouldn't get stuff we were talking about, it was sometimes like we were speaking a different language. But after a few months he matured and starting being able to interact with us, trust us, get us (and us him), and it turned out he was actually a nice person not the arrogant snob he initially came across as!

Our child that went to a nurturing caring private school now has a super caring nature. Our other child went to a competitive state grammar school and is extremely competitive. Of course we will never know if it was the schools that influenced character or their characters that influenced our choice of school, but it is interesting.

sheramber

My son works in  a private school but not on the teaching side.

It is a very good school which is always over subscribed with applications.

A lot of the parents attended the school and want their children to also do so.

Applications are made when babies are born to try and ensure a place.

Entry is only from preschool or at the start of  secondary level.

My grandson does not attend the school. He goes to the local state school as his parents felt that having local friends from the same school was important, 
 If he had gone to the private school he would not have had any local friends to hang out with. His classmates would have come from any area of the city.

pollypenny

gorgeousme said:

Zagfles, you seem to have a very strong view ! You are entitled to your views and that is what makes the world interesting…otherwise we would all behave the same like robots. 

You are happy with your life decisions and so am I, we have different views but neither one of us is more right and it’s okay. Similarly, there is no right answer to whether Heinz ketchup is worth the money especially when you can get a Lidl version for 20% of the price. If that satisfies you, then it is the right decision.

As far as I can see around here, it's the naff private schools which resemble the cheap ketchup. 

Spendless

barbarawright said:

25% of children in Edinburgh go to private schools - about 3 times the percentage in the rest of the country. I have no idea what says about the quality of schools in each sector but don't assume that a school is 'better' just because it's private 

That might purely be to do with Edinburgh being an affluent place to live. Daughter did a 6 month drama course in Edinburgh and when we visited her and went to the Charity shops, they had better items in them  that people had donated than I had at home which were saved 'for best''. 

elsien

pollypenny said:

gorgeousme said:

Zagfles, you seem to have a very strong view ! You are entitled to your views and that is what makes the world interesting…otherwise we would all behave the same like robots. 

You are happy with your life decisions and so am I, we have different views but neither one of us is more right and it’s okay. Similarly, there is no right answer to whether Heinz ketchup is worth the money especially when you can get a Lidl version for 20% of the price. If that satisfies you, then it is the right decision.

As far as I can see around here, it's the naff private schools which resemble the cheap ketchup. 

I went to one of those. Army brat so boarding school. For various reasons the options were more limited than they might have been.
Siblings both did well. I didn’t. Rebelled against the system and ended up failing A levels which I could/should have passed.
Whichever the school, you still need to fit in to their ethos, and I didn’t.