Private schools or FREE education - What do you think?

[scott-ayling]

If i could afford to sent my one to private school would i heck. Being at school all about developing social skills with a mixed personalities and social backgrounds plus i might not be the brightest tool in the shed but there was many very intelligent people i went to school with and have all passed uni now with good jobs

 

[$ingh]

By brother-in-law spent his entire education in private school. In his private school it was frowned upon if you took less than six A-levels. You read that right SIX. In my dodgy old school we struggled with three! He's now a city trader, his friends are a mixture of Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers and City Analysts.

My own friends, those that graduated at least, have done relatively well but certainly haven't reached those heights... think more along the lines of Estate Agents, Mechanics, IT Managers, etc.

Personally, I will most likely send my kids public until secondary school when I will look to send them private.

 

[karym6]

When I was at school, we had to take 6 A-levels also. Basically, you dropped 3 of them after the first year, getting yourself an AS level, and carried on with your three best subjects.

 

[$ingh]

When I was at school, we had to take 6 A-levels also. Basically, you dropped 3 of them after the first year, getting yourself an AS level, and carried on with your three best subjects.

This was six full A-levels... it was before the days of AS.

 

[Munkey]

By brother-in-law spent his entire education in private school. In his private school it was frowned upon if you took less than six A-levels. You read that right SIX. In my dodgy old school we struggled with three! He's now a city trader, his friends are a mixture of Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers and City Analysts.

My own friends, those that graduated at least, have done relatively well but certainly haven't reached those heights... think more along the lines of Estate Agents, Mechanics, IT Managers, etc.

Personally, I will most likely send my kids public until secondary school when I will look to send them private.

Wow six A-Levels! (and that's when they were very hard)

If you can, you may want to try and get your kids into a private school at 7 years of age rather than 11. At 11 it is much more difficult to get your child into a private school as the competition is so much higher at that age.

One problem I have with private schools is the sheltering from the 'real' world that they provide. Privately educated kids do seem out of touch with what is happening on the 'streets' but this can be easily rectified with the type of extra curricular activities that you give to your kids to do. Get them working with 'special needs' children or the homeless to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Another topic of consideration is the school fees. After some discussion with topdog1965 we have noticed that there is a huge discrepancy between school fees with fees outside of London being up to 60% cheaper! Parents in London will pay a premium for their childs education in these parts.

 

[english]

Private schools that I have been looking into do not do SATs. I think they are a waste of space and a very poor indicator of a childs intellect so I'm going to have to disagree with you english. By public you do mean state school right? If your child was only in a class of 9 it would mean that the teacher has more time to spend with that child. Social skills are learnt in the classroom but more in the playground IMHO.

now then.

my little one got ALL 5's in the final sat's, one of only three pupils in the year to do so.

these results got the headmaster of the best public school (world status, the education you gain there means the same across the world) in the area phoning me up and urging me to appeal, as the first time we tried to get the little one into this school we got rejected. the appeal was succesful!

are you saying i wasted my time? ;(

also, isn't it a bit suspicious that private schools don't do sats

 

[Munkey]

now then.

my little one got ALL 5's in the final sat's, one of only three pupils in the year to do so.

these results got the headmaster of the best public school (world status, the education you gain there means the same across the world) in the area phoning me up and urging me to appeal, as the first time we tried to get the little one into this school we got rejected. the appeal was succesful!

are you saying i wasted my time? ;(

also, isn't it a bit suspicious that private schools don't do sats

LOL I cant comment on what you decide to do or not to do for your children's education. I'm happy that your kid did well and won a scholarship and will be going to the school of their choice.

I will say that SATs are a waste of time though. Children are learning to pass an exam that's all. Schools are teaching nothing but what will come up in the SAT exam paper so all the child is doing is learning how to master a particular exam type.

What's the school City of London or Eton? If it is then your kid must have passed the entrance exam plus interview (not to mention the interview with the parents). SAT's alone are not enough to get you into these schools are there are many thousands of kids with excellent SAT results just like GCSE's and A Levels.

 

[english]

What's the school City of London or Eton? If it is then your kid must have passed the entrance exam plus interview (not to mention the interview with the parents)

lmao, it's a local school (not private, it's 'state') but it is very good indeed

 

[Munkey]

lmao, it's a local school (not private, it's 'state') but it is very good indeed

Ah sorry for the misunderstanding, I miss read your post.

 

[mozr]

I would say private school, if it is a good one.

I never thought I would say that, really. Then again, I used to have a nebulous idea of fairness and equality, until I realised that an awful lot of human beings are just ******s, and not necessarily suppressed geniuses waiting to heal the world of its ills.

I digress. My daughter will be attending a local girls grammar school starting September. She has always been top of the class, always liked extra work, very sporty, and just 'loves' school.

We have visited the school on many occasions, and she loves it. It is a holistic approach to education, instead of the number crunching forced upon comprehensive schools. All the girls there are polite, confident, and seemingly happy individuals. We want our daughter to be happy, and we see this as the best chance we can give her.

The 'you're only as clever as you are' brigade really are missing the point. To illustrate: firstly, what if an average 5 year old, who did well at school, was locked in a room for 11 years and only being fed and watered. Would this child still develop the same as he/she would in a comprehensive school, or a grammar school?

The answer of course is no. The reason being (and the reason why developmental psychology exists) is that people are affected by their environment. My daughter will be given the chance to reach her full potential in a school that has the resources to offer her that environment.

Second, a simple comparison of the numbers showed me that 99% recurring of pupils at the school achieve 5 A-C at GCSE means that my child has the best chance of succeeding.

All in all, if you can afford it, do so.

 

[scott-ayling]

what are sats? Dont think we done them up here in Scotland also our standard grades(GCSE) are marked 1 the best to 7 the worst.with 1 and 2s being credit 3 and 4 general and 5 and 6 foundation and 7 fail. i got three 2s three 3s and a 4 and there was a few in my year that got seven 1s and went on and got 5 As in Highers.

 

[Diddy]

Think i must be a good mixer lol. I went to state school but have found myself with a fairly broad range of friends throughout my life. I have many friends who went to state school and "did well" they tend to be in "trades" (Nowt wrong with that, im a sparky myself) then the "smarter" ones went on to uni and ended up as Est Agents *2 one solicitor, and one a bank manager (and he wont do me a loan lol). Now i also know of a fair few who went to private school, One runs his dad's "empire" (local bus company) about 4 are "City" boys....working in the trading floors ect and also last but most certainly not least 1 of my best friends in the whole world went to one of the oldest and most respected private schools in england (King's Canterbury).....Then onto Cambridge....Then Law School.......Now that lad HAS done very well for himself - He worked for some time in the city (Cant remember the name of the law firm but it was one of the top 5)...Then moved on to Paris for a few years (again he was practicing copyright law ffs lol).....Now he is very happy with life in the Kyamin Islands where he works part time from home and only handles a "few" clients but does v well thankyou ect ect. Totally top bloke IMHO........
All of these guys i consider friends. The last bloke i mentioned i met through playing snooker, and he's as down to earth as any of my friends who went to state school. He has partied with the "best of us" know's what a good time is and is V fooking cleaver. He basically has enough to stop right now at what 37yo ? To me he has profited from the education he recieved......albeit he was/is a very clever kid. Sure private education produces some "outcasts" but i think the majority are "normal" human beings who eat drink and sh!t just the same as we do. All stated the private school bunch have "better" jobs and certainly have more wealth.

Just for the record (and to point out my diverse range of friends) 1 private school kid i know has done prison time, and half the lads in my class(Say 7 out of 15) at state school have done prison time.......Go figure lol.

The above is just a reflection from me on "people i am friends with". I dont take these figures from some survey ect. Personaly i have always bben a good "mixer" where as some of my state school friends tend to look down their knose at my private school friends.....to the extent that some even refuse to go out and socialise with the group when they know that X,Y or Z are going out. Sadly even to this day some people dont try to even get to know the "other side" of the invisible social divide.......Some people if they gave them a chance could/would broaden their horizons
PS I do know some strange people lmao.

 

[lagigolo]

Would have no hesitation in sending kids to private boarding school if funds were available. Children become more independant and can easily settle anywhere later in life to get the career they really want.

 

[Munkey]

Thanks for the opinion guys. I am surprised that aside from forum member english everyone on this board is advocating a private education.

I guess the only factor in deciding whether or not to send your child should be a financial one. I'd much rather be living tight for the next 10-15 years with the comfort in knowing that I have tried to give my children the best education possible. Hopefully the kids will have superior social skills too if I really go to work on them.

For me I'm going to try and fill up their time with as much extra curricular activities as possible. I really want my kids to see as much as possible in their youth so they are familiar with all things different when they are older.

The only thing I am struggling with at the moment is how to keep their feet on the ground. I don't want them to think that they are privileged for having a private education. I guess some time doing community work will help in the short run.

A lot of people have also mentioned the importance of good GCSE and SAT results. To me these mean nothing and I personally will only be using them as a benchmarking tool as they are forced upon us (luckily no SATs for us in private education, the same in Scotland from my understanding scott-ayling. These are test done at age 7 and 11 to evaluate how smart your kid is). GCSE's are so easy and have become dumbed down that we need to try and find newer ways of benchmarking how well our kids are doing.

All this flicking through school brochures is making me excited for next year, I can only begin to wish that I had access to some of the facilities that our kids will have during their time at school.

@Diddy I hope that this social divide gets smaller but in reality I think that gap widens every year.

 

[IANB]

Thanks for the opinion guys. I am surprised that aside from forum member english everyone on this board is advocating a private education.

I guess the only factor in deciding whether or not to send your child should be a financial one. I'd much rather be living tight for the next 10-15 years with the comfort in knowing that I have tried to give my children the best education possible. Hopefully the kids will have superior social skills too if I really go to work on them.

For me I'm going to try and fill up their time with as much extra curricular activities as possible. I really want my kids to see as much as possible in their youth so they are familiar with all things different when they are older.

The only thing I am struggling with at the moment is how to keep their feet on the ground. I don't want them to think that they are privileged for having a private education. I guess some time doing community work will help in the short run.

A lot of people have also mentioned the importance of good GCSE and SAT results. To me these mean nothing and I personally will only be using them as a benchmarking tool as they are forced upon us (luckily no SATs for us in private education, the same in Scotland from my understanding scott-ayling. These are test done at age 7 and 11 to evaluate how smart your kid is). GCSE's are so easy and have become dumbed down that we need to try and find newer ways of benchmarking how well our kids are doing.

All this flicking through school brochures is making me excited for next year, I can only begin to wish that I had access to some of the facilities that our kids will have during their time at school.

@Diddy I hope that this social divide gets smaller but in reality I think that gap widens every year.

All my 3 went to state school and all done very well. I v=cant say they would have done any better at a private school. Maybe my eldest would have but the other 2 i feel have reached their full potential. My daughter has a honers degree in mathematics and my youngest is ready to do his part 1 in architecture. My eldest has done well in the R.A.F. so state school is ok if you get a good one and most importantly your kids want to do well and dont get in with the wrong crowd. Suppose there is less of a risk of that in a private school. If you can afford it go for it m8

 

[Curious123]

My two kids both go to grammar schools and we coached them to get them into grammar schools because the local that they would have to go once got burned down and they were down to three day week because they couldn't keep their teachers.I think it is as much as the repsonsibility as much as the kids to give/get a good education and unless the parents have an interest in the kids education it makes no difference whether it is private or state. We always felt that if we got them into the grammar school than they woluld automatically carry onto further education because that is what the school encourages. Some of the girls at my daughters have been done for drugs , shoplifting etc and yet they are some of the brightest minds in the country. I would look at the grammar schools in your area that way they still have their feet on the ground and failing that I would consider sending them to private.

 

[Munkey]

My two kids both go to grammar schools and we coached them to get them into grammar schools because the local that they would have to go once got burned down and they were down to three day week because they couldn't keep their teachers.I think it is as much as the repsonsibility as much as the kids to give/get a good education and unless the parents have an interest in the kids education it makes no difference whether it is private or state. We always felt that if we got them into the grammar school than they woluld automatically carry onto further education because that is what the school encourages. Some of the girls at my daughters have been done for drugs , shoplifting etc and yet they are some of the brightest minds in the country. I would look at the grammar schools in your area that way they still have their feet on the ground and failing that I would consider sending them to private.

There are two excellent grammar schools close to where I live but the truth is I don't want to take the chance of not getting in there at 11 years of age. It is a good alternative but for me a risky one with my eldest. My second who I think is smarter who be suited to grammar school but if her older sister goes to private school I will have to do the same for them both.

 

[mozr]

The best preparation for Grammar school entrance exams is private tuition.

We decided a different route, and it worked fortunately.

We sent her to Kumon which she loves to bits, for maths and English tuition.

We also did a lot of past exam papers, and verbal reasoning papers.

I could not stress more the verbal reasoning. It was a component of the entrance exam, and believe me comprehensive primary schools do not teach verbal reasoning skills explicitly.

 

[spiky]

As a teacher in a state school I just want to say this:
state schools are on the whole great places and do a fantastic job despite the constant criticism from the media. Standards are higher and improving, behaviour is good teachers are decent hardworking people. OF COURSE there are exceptions that isthe nature of being human, but the exception also applies to public schools.
I just wish that there was more acknowledgement of the good work that goes on in our schools

 

[karym6]

oh, I think there are some great schools out there, and some fantastic state teachers. Unfortunately, when the service is provided for free only the negatives will ever be promoted.

On the news last night I saw a plan from the government that means bad schools will be closed down within three years of failing and a new academy will be created instead.

Two of my friends are teachers, one in england one in scotland. The one who teaches in england doesnt care a hoot about the kids, only about the money and promotions. The one who teaches in scotland only became a teacher as there wasnt anything else to do, but loves it and the kids. Go figure.

When I was at school, I had a mix of crap teachers and good ones. So I guess the mix will always be there regardless of stat or public/private school.