State school or Public school?

[Seagull27]

I was having this discussion with my girlfriend earlier. I went to a state school and would more than happily send my kids to one. But she went to a public school and insists that she want hers to go to public school if she could afford it.

So I thought I'd open up the debate to NSC. What type of school did you go to, which would you send/have you sent your kids to, and why?

 

[cloud]

I went to both, and I did get a better and more rounded education at the private school.

Having said that, I am now sending my son privately, and I literally have to scrimp and save and have several jobs just to save up the money to pay for it. Some days I think of all the things we have to go without such as holidays, or a decent car, or a pair of season tickets, and how much easier it would be not to have to worry about all that. I have no idea how people manage it with more than one child.

 

[Kazenga <3]

I think it's wrong that somebody should be afforded a better education just because their parents are wealthy.

 

[cloud]

I'm not wealthy - I am a single parent, basic rate tax-payer, getting no support or maintenance. I just work 50-60 hours a week!

 

[beorhthelm]

i'd love for there not to be an issue as the schools should be good enough in the first place. but thats fanciful. in reality, the option should include grammer schools for those who are brighter, but a generation of grammer school educated politicians and policy thinkers have decided thats not "fair".

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

i know someone who went to stringer......got straight a's at a-level (including over 95% in politics) and has degree's from oxford and harvard

if you're clever and applied enough you don't need private school

 

[Kazenga <3]

i know someone who went to stringer......got straight a's at a-level (including over 95% in politics) and has degree's from oxford and harvard

if you're clever and applied enough you don't need private school

True. However there is so much self-motivation required for that. In private schools kids would be forced to put in the hours or be kicked out, whereas in state schools it is much easier to lapse.

The flip side to my argument I suppose is that state schools should be up to the same standard of private schools which would negate the point of said schools in the first place. However funding is not sufficient for this so as such the best education is reserved purely for those able/willing to pay for it.

 

[BensGrandad]

As Danny Baker said on TV a few nights ago with Frank Skinner there isnt much difference because if public schools produced more intelligent people parliament would be full of geniuses........................................... we know the answer to that.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

however, saying that i know some thick as shit people who went to private school who did quite well..........they'd have got nowhere if they were in the state system

 

[Seagull27]

One of the arguments that was brought up was that state schools are less safe and that she wouldnt feel so comfortable sending her child to a school where they could get in serious trouble with some pupils.

While I do think that that very much depends on the school and that is a bit of an exaggeration, when you look at some of the schools in London for example, where students are scanned each morning for knives, you can see that point of view. Not that I fully agree.

 

[LadySeagull]

i know someone who went to stringer......got straight a's at a-level (including over 95% in politics) and has degree's from oxford and harvard

if you're clever and applied enough you don't need private school

Yep, my DS is at Oxford at the moment and got 100% in some of his maths A level modules. He never went to a private school and didn't always have great teachers, but he applied himself, was clever enough to go for Oxford and got accepted. He wasn't the only one at his school either, and NONE of them are arrogant types either, all friendly, grounded people.

We have other younger children and would never have been able to afford private school for them. But we have high hopes for them at Uni as well, and have been able to afford 4 season tickets for us and the kids, and a foreign holiday for the family each year which I think is more important than paying for an education.

And I am sure it's possible to bring drugs, knives or whatever into any school, even Brighton/Shoreham College or St Christophers, et al. Posh school doesn't mean safe.

 

[aolstudios]

i know someone who went to stringer......got straight a's at a-level (including over 95% in politics) and has degree's from oxford and harvard

if you're clever and applied enough you don't need private school

this. And you're less likely to be an emotionally crippled, stiff upper lipped, overly polite, although conventionally successful automaton too

 

[aolstudios]

Yep, my DS is at Oxford at the moment and got 100% in some of his maths A level modules. He never went to a private school and didn't always have great teachers, but he applied himself, was clever enough to go for Oxford and got accepted. He wasn't the only one at his school either, and NONE of them are arrogant types either, all friendly, grounded people.

We have other younger children and would never have been able to afford private school for them. But we have high hopes for them at Uni as well, and have been able to afford 4 season tickets for us and the kids, and a foreign holiday for the family each year which I think is more important than paying for an education.

And I am sure it's possible to bring drugs, knives or whatever into any school, even Brighton/Shoreham College or St Christophers, et al. Posh school doesn't mean safe.

Good for you. Through your decision they're learning about different people and cultures first hand as well. Hard to achieve in a classroom - however expensive

 

[Dunk]

There is some evidence that overall education standards are better in countries where there are no private schools. Finland, slightly strangely, is currently considered the best place to get an education in Europe and they have no private schools.

That said, private schools do provide a better chance in the UK because (in part at least) of smaller class sizes and the ability to turn away pupils who are disruptive or thick. This almost has to be true as if they were not better then people wouldn't pay for them and they would disappear.

If I had kids I would use state education. Supportive parents can overcome any disadvantage from even the worst state schools and it just seems right.

 

[TKC]

I work with alot of private schools. The opportunities that the pupils get are increadable, it's not just about education. IF you can afford it, there's only one answer for me.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

however, saying that i know some thick as shit people who went to private school who did quite well..........they'd have got nowhere if they were in the state system

True, and Tim Nice But Dim is supposedly based on an Old Ardinian (ex-Ardingly, my old school), even though Harry Enfield went to Worth. I've got a foot in both camps, being privately educated, but I am also a Governor at my local C of E Primary School. It is an excellent school, in that we have a brilliant Head, and the atmosphere is wonderfully happy there, though we do struggle in particular areas (obviously I won't go into details here). The thing is that there often just isn't the sheer emphasis on educational standards in the State sector, though the example of Stringer shows that's not always the case, and the rush to equalise everything with comprehensivisation equalised standards downwards in many cases. TL - yes, Stringer is an excellent school, from what I know - obviously I don't know it well as I don't live in Brighton, but I don't buy the idea that it's just funding that counts. If that were the case, why did COMART or whatever it was called, have to close? Where I went to university, Buckingham, the Royal Latin Grammar School (State but selective) got 98% with 5 or more GCSEs, whereas Stowe (Public) got only 72%. I think excellent teachers are more important; look at Dizzee Rascal for example. It is crucial to identify children who are clever, but have special needs and help them to go as far as they can. I am dyslexic and did very badly at A Level (Ardingly didn't give me any help), but then had the help I needed at Buckingham and got a First, though to put it bluntly I was a swot at university rather than your typical student.

As for myself, I don't have kids, and am extremely unlikely ever to, as I'm 42, but if I did, I'd like to send them to the school I'm a Governor at. Would I? Probably, though I would worry whether they were being stretched enough. If I had kids and sent them to school in London, it is very unlikely I would use the State sector. It's fine at Primary level, but not at Secondary.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

I'm not wealthy - I am a single parent, basic rate tax-payer, getting no support or maintenance. I just work 50-60 hours a week!

To be honest (and I know this isn't your intention!), as someone who works (bloody hard) in a state school, I am slightly offended by your post! You are making out that you basically can't really afford it, and yet are sending your child to private school at the expense of any sort of spare time and what I would consider fairly standard luxuries (football tickets, holiday). Do you really think state schools are that bad/to be avoided at all cost?

 

[Muhammed - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

eye went to a stayt skool, neva dun me know 'arm

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I think it's wrong that somebody should be afforded a better education just because their parents are wealthy.

Are you against coaching for kids that need help with Maths for example?

 

[loco61]

i think i would have hated school whatever ...i have however voted state!