Private Schools... is it what it is cracked to be & not just toff?

[Deleted Member 1156]

I went to a public scool and I like to fink I got a reely good educashun.

I was offered a scholarship to a public school after my father died (Bearwood Lakes is built on land that belonged to the school, I used to run cross country over it!). I felt out of place, during the holidays I went back to a council estate in Scotland whilst my classmates went to Mauritius with their rich banker daddies. But it taught me a lot about life and about learning to stand on my own two feet. The other big plus point is it made my CV stand out when I left school and went job hunting. My mother couldn't afford to send me to university but I've done alright for a kid from a rough estate.

For those fortunate enough to be in a position to privately educate their kids, I would say do it!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I too was offered a place at a Glasgow 'private' school - Hutchie (for those who know Glasgow). But I decided that I didn't want to go as I just knew that I'd feel out of place. I'd lived in a posh Glasgow suburb for long enough (after an inner city start to life) to know the sorts who went to Hutchie - and I just knew that it wouldn't feel right. I guess I might well have done very well - but who knows how I would have got on - so no regrets - and I got an excellent Scottish state secondary education.

Private schools might be great until the school decides that it no longer wishes to have your child as a student. Further - if your child has special needs he or she is better off in the state system where schools must make provision and provide focussed support for your child. You might not find the same sort of support at a Private School. And if your child is difficult or is low-performing you mat well find yourself being asked to remove your child. They are businesses and the business model of many is built upon results - with small classes one disruptive or poorly performing outlier child can negatively impact the story the school wishes to tell and sell to parents.

All that said - we have been fortunate that where we live we have some superb primary and secondary schools - providing pretty much as good an education as you might wish for your children. Ours have come out with pretty good A-levels, and both got 2:1 degrees from good universities and are now starting to do pretty well and enjoying their jobs. They have the confidence that Private Schools sell as something their students develop - but of course they do not have quite the same network of friends with rich and influential parents. But you know what? They rather dismiss that 'network' stuff as being very 20th Century. They both know that life, - work, success and happiness - is what they themselves as confident millennials will make it.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Have several customers and a couple of friends who are teachers in various private schools around Bucks, herts and london.

A very common comment is that some parents think that by throwing money around their academically average kids will automatically become total geniuses .

The pressure to perform and achieve is so great that instances of stress and self harm have rocketed in recent years,
This isn’t just confined to private schools, the stress our young people are having to deal with is very different from 35 years ago

 

[Mudball]

<controversial stmt alert> amazing to see many have been thru the public school system. Is this reflected of this being a Golf forum. I am not saying that everyone is privileged or had it easy either (I am neither) but socially not doing too bad.

Again that was an observation rather wanting to be provocative for the sake of it.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

<controversial stmt alert> amazing to see many have been thru the public school system. Is this reflected of this being a Golf forum. I am not saying that everyone is privileged or had it easy either (I am neither) but socially not doing too bad.

Again that was an observation rather wanting to be provocative for the sake of it.

wouldnt say “many” . Some yes, but out of 24 posts on this thread only about 12-15 have attended private school, compare that to the number of active Forum members and the percentage is quite small.
Fully aware that there may well be more who havnt posted on this thread yet.

I went to a secondary Modern school, left at 16 to go to the local college, started work at 18, graduate of the University of Life 👍

 

[KenL]

Private schooling does not provide better teaching, the only reason private schools can publish such good results is that they are selective. Either that or they massage the figures.

It totally disgusts me that people get a leg up in their careers solely because they are an old etonian etc.

 

[SocketRocket]

Have several customers and a couple of friends who are teachers in various private schools around Bucks, herts and london.

A very common comment is that some parents think that by throwing money around their academically average kids will automatically become total geniuses .

The pressure to perform and achieve is so great that instances of stress and self harm have rocketed in recent years,
This isn’t just confined to private schools, the stress our young people are having to deal with is very different from 35 years ago

Really! Do you mean it's easier now, from what I see many are more interested in Social Media than studying.

 

[SocketRocket]

Full disclosure in that my daughter goes to a private all girls school. Yes they are not cheap but we started saving when she was born to give her the opportunity if she wanted to go and passed the entrance tests. And you could argue that if we wanted a house like ours in an area near a sought after comp, then over the length of a mortgage, we would have probably paid more than the school fees to have it. Whilst we do OK, we are not hugely well paid, but as we started saving 11 years ago we have just cut our cloth accordingly when it comes to how we spend our money over the years. But there is no way we could have suddenly found the money to send her if we hadn't of saved up.

There are many types of private schools and there is a big difference between say Eton which probably gives the impression that all private school are full of toffs, and other ones. Yes at my daughters school there are a few posh kids from massive houses, but there are also many whose parents just do normal jobs and who live in normal houses and have saved up.

I did not want her to go just to get A star grades as you can mostly do that by hiring tutors if you are that way inclined. For me it was to build her the confidence as a girl, for the pastoral care, for the small class sizes, to get her in a classroom where the vast majority of the kids want to be there, the facilities and just to give her the opportunity to do the best she can. The new head is brilliant as she researches loads about what makes girls happy at school, how girls learn and what they need to succeed at school, and she really focuses on this. In fact in the speech she gave to prospective parents the GCSE/A level grades made up about 1% of her presentation.

I am a chair of governors at a state school (which my daughter did go to) and whilst I know that teachers in state schools work damn hard and there are some great schools out there, I also know the financial pressures they are under, the challenges they face and the tough choices they have to make. And also how kids, especially girls in big comps, can kind of fall between the cracks a bit, especially the ones in the middle who are not high flyers or the ones with extra challenges who rightly get extra attention. But I know that at her school now she will at least have the opportunity to flourish in whatever she wants to do and she will be taken care of. And it's up to her really if she takes that opportunity.

Whilst I believe it's completely up to you how you spend your money and how you support your child's education but you do come over as a supporter of the left and Corbyn so how do you justify what appears to be a paradox?

 

[HowlingGale]

Private schooling does not provide better teaching, the only reason private schools can publish such good results is that they are selective. Either that or they massage the figures.

It totally disgusts me that people get a leg up in their careers solely because they are an old etonian etc.

Just on that. We're in the catchment for one of the 'best' non fee-paying schools in Scotland. The reason they have such 'good' exam results is that they ship out the less academically endowed to the local college to sit their exams there. Massaging the figures? Yep you betcha. It's not a state funded school and looks after it's own budget so it's effectively private.

Also it's one of the schools that everyone wants to get into so it amazed me when one it's alumni (a pal of mine) moaned that he wasn't progressing in his career because he didn't go to the right school. Yes mate, you've really had it hard.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Whilst I believe it's completely up to you how you spend your money and how you support your child's education but you do come over as a supporter of the left and Corbyn so how do you justify what appears to be a paradox?

For the umpteenth time I have voted Labour once in my life. Just because I disagree with a fair amount of conservative policy does not mean I vote Labour. I do agree with some of Corbyn's policies and ideas, and whisper it, also the occasional Conservative ones as well. But I also disagree with some Labour policies, and Lib Dem ones. Justine Greening was a half decent education secretary, but she got shifted as she did not believe in grammar schools enough which the conservatives seem obsessed with. The politics of blindly agreeing with everything one party says and disagreeing with everything the other one says is just poisonous and is causing a huge amount of problems at the moment.

And even if I was a member of the Labour party, wanting the best for your children is not the exclusive to one political party and is certainly not something I'd expect anyone to prioritise their political leanings over. I am a chair of governors at a state school, so apart from those actually in schools, I imagine I have given more than most to the state education sector. For free. And if my daughter did not want to go to the private school or did not pass the entrance tests then she would have gone to the local comp.

Private schools are not the enemy of state sector schools, there is no money being diverted from state sector schools into private schools. In fact if you shut down every private school now there would be even more strain on the state school sector. And even though I do not use the system now I will happily pay my taxes to support the state education sector for the good of the country. And there is no political dogma that will potentially harm the state school sector around private schools, unlike grammar schools, but that's a different argument.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Private schooling does not provide better teaching, the only reason private schools can publish such good results is that they are selective. Either that or they massage the figures.

It totally disgusts me that people get a leg up in their careers solely because they are an old etonian etc.

Not quote sure how a school can massage GCSE and A level results as they kind of are what they are. But please enlighten me with your conspiracy theory.....

 

[Hacker Khan]

Really! Do you mean it's easier now, from what I see many are more interested in Social Media than studying.

No, kids are under a whole lot more stress today to conform, to pass that test at 11 years old, to wear that brand, to buy that game, to have lots of likes and Instagram followers. Some of this comes from social media, some of it from wider societal changes. There are many more instances of mental health problems and blaming it on the kids, as some seem to want to do, is wrong. As all they are doing is trying to fit into a society that we as adults have created for them.

 

[Hacker Khan]

<controversial stmt alert> amazing to see many have been thru the public school system. Is this reflected of this being a Golf forum. I am not saying that everyone is privileged or had it easy either (I am neither) but socially not doing too bad.

Again that was an observation rather wanting to be provocative for the sake of it.

Not that unexpected as golf is mostly a upper middle class sport for people with a decent amount of disposable income, and statistically that class are more likely to have gone to private school, so statistically more golfers would have gone to private school than some other sports.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Not that unexpected as golf is mostly a upper middle class sport for people with a decent amount of disposable income, and statistically that class are more likely to have gone to private school, so statistically more golfers would have gone to private school than some other sports.

Sorry but that just isn't true. Golf is more affordable now than it has ever been and in places like Scotland and Ireland it has always been very much a game for the people. You can play every week at a municipal course or via cheap booking websites for less money than a season ticket for a Premier league football club.

 

[KenL]

Not quote sure how a school can massage GCSE and A level results as they kind of are what they are. But please enlighten me with your conspiracy theory.....

Perhaps they don't present pupils for an exam if they do not feel that they will pass with a high grade. Most state funded schools (in Scotland at least) will allow candidates to sit exams and let them "have a go".

 

[Hacker Khan]

Perhaps they don't present pupils for an exam if they do not feel that they will pass with a high grade. Most state funded schools (in Scotland at least) will allow candidates to sit exams and let them "have a go".

Do you really think a private school will not allow a pupil to sit an exam if they may not get a high grade after after their parents have paid 10s of thousands of pounds over the years to send their child there?

Most private schools provide a high level of education (and education is not just about final attainment grades) as they have kids who mostly come from a background where learning is encouraged and there are good teachers who have the resources and environment they need to do their job to the best of their ability.

 

[Mudball]

Do you really think a private school will not allow a pupil to sit an exam if they may not get a high grade after after their parents have paid 10s of thousands of pounds over the years to send their child there?

Most private schools provide a high level of education (and education is not just about final attainment grades) as they have good teachers who have the resources and environment they need to do their job to the best of their ability.

It did happen at a grammer school in Kent last year.. all kicked off very badly

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...chool-unlawfully-excludes-pupils-failing-get/

 

[Deleted member 18588]

Not quote sure how a school can massage GCSE and A level results as they kind of are what they are. But please enlighten me with your conspiracy theory.....

I can assure you that it is the case that unlike the State sector where all pupils are likely to be entered for GCSE exams certain independent schools will not.

As for A levels those unlikely to succeed may find that it is "suggested " that they may not wish to continue their studies.

These practices are pretty regularly applied by two schools local to me.

 

[Sharktooth]

Not that unexpected as golf is mostly a upper middle class sport for people with a decent amount of disposable income, and statistically that class are more likely to have gone to private school, so statistically more golfers would have gone to private school than some other sports.

Complete guff

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Perhaps they don't present pupils for an exam if they do not feel that they will pass with a high grade. Most state funded schools (in Scotland at least) will allow candidates to sit exams and let them "have a go".

Completely agree with your thoughts.

At A levels the state six form college that my daughter went to, did not allow you to progress to exams unless they thought you were going to pass.

The same college, No different to requiring an A grade at GSCE in say Maths to take Maths A level at the same college (if I had my time again, I would not have been allowed to have take Maths for instance, which I got an A grade at A level but lower at O level, according to the teachers that we spoke to, someone like me does not exist..ie you can not pass A level if you didn't get an A grade at GSCE or equivalent. Just fails to recognise some people come on academically at different times in life)

All completely wrong IMHO, as it is just massaging the colleges figures for good exam passes in the subjects, a joke.....