[Misc] How many on here went to a private school
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highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,673
My education was mixed. I experienced both. The quality of education was honestly no better in either (at best, private teachers are trained in the same system as state teachers, with 'taxpayers money'and i believe the regulations on using untrained teachers are/were looser in the private system). For various reasons I personally did better educationally in the state system. I found the 'culture' of private education very unhealthy, fostering entitlement and a skewed view of the world. I wouldn't privately educate my children (even if I could afford it) for many reasons, but the main one being I want them to learn how to live and interact with others in real world, not some entitled bubble.
Acknowledging in all the above that a) this was just my personal experience and b) I am generalising and there will always be exceptions
Tldr: 'education' is about more than just academic achievement
Acknowledging in all the above that a) this was just my personal experience and b) I am generalising and there will always be exceptions
Tldr: 'education' is about more than just academic achievement
deslynhamsmoustache1
Well-known member
I went to Eton, Cambridge....................and various other Tesco express's.
Peacehaven Wild Kids
Well-known member
My vote might have been a bit harsh, as a bus driver I know all the schools. The Roedean girls are incredibly polite to the extent their cards don’t get declined and they don’t call me Bruv, Mush or C***
Taybha
Whalewhine
Does borstal count?
- Oct 17, 2008
- 16,351
Just on this, I dated a girl - international student from Hong Kong - who was at Roedean. I suspect she and her family were very wealthy, but I didn’t ask questions. She was lovely, down to earth and normal, and unfailingly polite.
- Aug 7, 2003
- 8,306
Does Hogwarts count?
maffew
Well-known member
I did, with help. Back then, 90s assisted places was a thing, if you did well enough in the entrance exam and were from a low income family it was means tested and the government would help with the fees!
It still ended up unmanageable for my dad, he worked overtime/nights to pay, so they then put the fees up based on earnings.
We had to put notice in in the second year. Something mad happened after that, an anonymous benefactor sent a letter/spoke to the bursary who covered the difference for my, and my brothers fees for 3 years, like Great Expectations.
We are quite sure it was a classics teacher at the school who was in the choir at the cathedral I was in Legend of a man smoking his pipe in class.
It still ended up unmanageable for my dad, he worked overtime/nights to pay, so they then put the fees up based on earnings.
We had to put notice in in the second year. Something mad happened after that, an anonymous benefactor sent a letter/spoke to the bursary who covered the difference for my, and my brothers fees for 3 years, like Great Expectations.
We are quite sure it was a classics teacher at the school who was in the choir at the cathedral I was in Legend of a man smoking his pipe in class.
Virtually all our senior staff in Hong Kong sent their kids to private school in the UK.
Change at Barnham
Well-known member
Did she have a thirst for knowledge and study sculpture at Saint Martin's College?
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 73,442
My school was so good it was approved
Seagull on the Hill
Well-known member
- Jan 22, 2022
- 840
Tideway?What do you think?
Brian Fantana
Well-known member
Yes and yes.
Some of the stories of the backgrounds of the foreign students we had in our school would fill a book. Amusing and terrifying in equal measure sometimes.
Some of the stories of the backgrounds of the foreign students we had in our school would fill a book. Amusing and terrifying in equal measure sometimes.
I ticked the 'would of if I could of afforded it' option.
The reason being is our teenager has ADHD and is not thriving in state school.
So private school or private home tutoring would have been considered had we the cash.
Mrs T, who is lefter than me, agrees.
Edit: paying the VAT contribution, obviously
- Apr 19, 2018
- 2,311
I didn't, but MinI Exile did. We always said as parents she wouldn't, but her state school experience crushed her for which I 100% blame lack of funding more than anything else, lack of awareness of what turned out to be dyslexia and some other processing challenges, and we could see a trajectory appearing for her that we didn't like. It was the discovery she was being evacuated from her classroom a couple of times a week because of pupil violence that led to us making the decision to explore private school. The one she ended up at recognised that she may not be academically brilliant (she failed the entrance exam but aced the interviews and group selection teamwork activities) but had qualities that could be nurtured and brought out and she was offered a scholarship and bursary on the basis of what she'd bring to the whole dynamic of her year group as much as anything else, both in character and coming from a "normal" family (something the school was trying to encourage applications from at the time).
She got middling GCSE grades, likely no different from had she gone to state school, but the confidence, resilience and readiness to face the world that she gained were all far more important, she got very involved in community work through the school, and it worked all round: some of those incredibly high-flying pupils sent her a lovely note after exam results came out and credited her grounding presence as helping them achieve what they did. I've got no regrets about her going, and only wish the experience could be equal for all children, something she herself recognises is important and is keen to try and support - she's doing A-levels at a state college and starting voluntary work soon that will assist underprivileged children, and rather than going to university wants to find work she can volunteer for a couple of years creating educational and life opportunities for children who might not otherwise get them.
It leaves me conflicted. The experience and benefits she had shouldn't be financially - or in her case good fortune - dependent. I also, sadly, don't think that's going to change any time soon and the most privileged will remain in their position of extreme privilege. But equally, in my (limited) experience some private schools get the balance of social responsibility and academic achievement a bit more balanced than others and take the responsibility of creating good outcomes for the pupils, communities they are in, and the wider world, very seriously, and ensure those pupils recognise their good fortune and in many cases wealth, and I can't argue with that being a good thing in those few(?) examples in the absence of an alternative model coming any time soon.
She got middling GCSE grades, likely no different from had she gone to state school, but the confidence, resilience and readiness to face the world that she gained were all far more important, she got very involved in community work through the school, and it worked all round: some of those incredibly high-flying pupils sent her a lovely note after exam results came out and credited her grounding presence as helping them achieve what they did. I've got no regrets about her going, and only wish the experience could be equal for all children, something she herself recognises is important and is keen to try and support - she's doing A-levels at a state college and starting voluntary work soon that will assist underprivileged children, and rather than going to university wants to find work she can volunteer for a couple of years creating educational and life opportunities for children who might not otherwise get them.
It leaves me conflicted. The experience and benefits she had shouldn't be financially - or in her case good fortune - dependent. I also, sadly, don't think that's going to change any time soon and the most privileged will remain in their position of extreme privilege. But equally, in my (limited) experience some private schools get the balance of social responsibility and academic achievement a bit more balanced than others and take the responsibility of creating good outcomes for the pupils, communities they are in, and the wider world, very seriously, and ensure those pupils recognise their good fortune and in many cases wealth, and I can't argue with that being a good thing in those few(?) examples in the absence of an alternative model coming any time soon.
No I didn’t live in Newhaven when I went to school, I went to Patcham Fawcett which was probably the complete opposite to a private school
cheshunt seagull
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 2,655
My dad was a diplomat so private boarding education was part of the package. I went to Windlesham House near Storrington and Lancing. I have major ethical issues about private education as I think it is a major cause of inequality and I think it's ludicrous that they were taxed as charities but tend to keep quiet as I could rightly be accused of hypocrisy. I never earned enough for it to be an option for my daughter but I would have let her choose had it been.
Going to Lancing was a very effective vaccination for me against falling for the charms of people like Cameron and Johnson as I met too many people like them.
Going to Lancing was a very effective vaccination for me against falling for the charms of people like Cameron and Johnson as I met too many people like them.
- Oct 17, 2008
- 16,351
That’s where I… caught her eye…
But no, we met on a dating site
She was very sweet but a little bit… unworldly. We’d been going out a few months and went for dinner for my birthday. After the meal, she produced a flute and played happy birthday to me in front of a full restaurant. It came from a good place, but I was mortified… I got pretty drunk after that.