Public school education

[Chris Wilson]

Having started the day with an embittered thread on capital punishment I thought I'd try and give an evening's entertainment on a different topic. When I lived in the suburbs about 10 years back people there seemed far less willing to make life style changes to try and get their children into public school. Here in the sticks I am amazed just how many people seem willing and happy to downsize their house, move away, tutor and pamper their children in the hope of a public school education. In the suburbs, in what I can only guess was a similarly affluent area, people either didn't speak openly about it at all, or were more into a bigger, newer car, a better house, or other expenditures, I can only recall one acquaintance favouring sacrifice to get his son into a public school. I have attempted a poll, but never having tried this I can only hope it works. If you had a chance of financing your child through public school through personal sacrifice, and the child had a hope getting in, IQ wise, would you consider it?

[Dave17]

You FAIL at polling

[Chris Wilson]

Do I..... I should have worked harder and gone to public school..... You sure I failed?

[Pete]

5) Forget having kids and enjoy your life instead.

[Guigsy]

i went to a private boys school. my grandparents decided they would club together and pay for it. which was kind of them.

It was a good school. great teachers. but at the end of the day i believe you are who you are. good schools dont make good students. my school was one of the best in the city (sheffield) and each year had its spectrum of A* cambridge types and totaly fail "i want to work in mcdonnalds when i grow up" types. I was somewhere in the middle.

A bit stupid compared to most. Im just not cut out for schooling in general i think. But anyway. i was not a failiure completely

Im sure it cost a lot of money to send me there (but nothing like eaton or anywhere like that!). but what i think i got out of it more than exams and grade results was how to be a human being. a nice person and an adult. And i can say the same for all the people i went to school with.

As for people making personal sacrifices to send there children there... i dont know. would i? i wouldnt make a big one like having to move house. If it means i wouldnt have to buy a new car. Then thats fine. Im not a fan of new cars anyway

Im also now a fan of kids

[JamieP]

I will try and give my children every chance in life to better themselves but i wont be getting the bus to work.

[Pete]

I passed exams to get a free place into King Edwards grammar school at Lytham St Annes.

My dad then moved jobs to Stockport so I turned out like this instead.

[AndyT]

I have recently found this to be prevalent in our company. It had never crossed my mind before. Public schools were for people above my station when I was a lad.

Nowadays families make all sorts of sacrifices to get their kids into good schools. Can't blame them, it works. The normal education standards these days are woeful.

 

A case in point.

The new man marries into the family, inherits one son of 5 years age. All is good.

Wifey becomes pregnant with his child.

Dad resets his sights. He can make enough to make sure one boy gets all the breaks.

Stepson gets thrown out at 16 to make way for the protege.

Result. Stepson stacks shelves at Morrisons. Blood son is doing his PhD in Geology in Holland. With a handsome pay cheque from Shell.

C'est la vie.

[Westcoaster]

My two children go to the local public primary school, what's the big deal?

 

Oh sorry, do you mean a private school?

 

Discussions about private education, have I inadvertantly wandered into an Aston Martin forum?

[Dragonball]

Of course you will do your best for your kids...

 

I wish that I had been able to send mine to a public school (despite their protestations) and maybe I should have done more...and played with cars less! (thanks Chris !)

 

Lord knows the local secondary school system is not good (and I was a governor of my daughters - at the time one of the top 100 in the country for adding value)

 

Simply put - the public school system will not necessarily improve them academically (cream will always float!) but it will give them the leg-up in terms of contacts and relationships and an 'outlook' that will enable them to be more succesful in today's world...

 

it has never been about 'what you know...'

 

 

 

All IMHO of course

[MARTIN R]

I think its more likely that your children's up bringing will define how they turn out. Our two children will go to a school with less than 50 kids so with a bit of luck the standard of education should be better than average.

 

( Keeps fingers crossed on the turning out ok theory:D)

[Guigsy]

I have recently found this to be prevalent in our company. It had never crossed my mind before. Public schools were for people above my station when I was a lad.

Nowadays families make all sorts of sacrifices to get their kids into good schools. Can't blame them, it works. The normal education standards these days are woeful.

 

A case in point.

The new man marries into the family, inherits one son of 5 years age. All is good.

Wifey becomes pregnant with his child.

Dad resets his sights. He can make enough to make sure one boy gets all the breaks.

Stepson gets thrown out at 16 to make way for the protege.

Result. Stepson stacks shelves at Morrisons. Blood son is doing his PhD in Geology in Holland. With a handsome pay cheque from Shell.

C'est la vie.

but his stepson could have been a duffer anyway.

[AndyT]

but his stepson could have been a duffer anyway.

 

True.

 

He is a lovely guy as it turns out though.

[hogmaw]

If there were no fee-paying schools at all perhaps those wishing for a top-class education for their kids would be able to lobby the government to make the teaching at our schools the quality they desire.

[Chris Wilson]

I imagine that it's as much about who the children meet and socialize with, (or manage to avoid...), at a good school, as the teaching itself that makes people choose to shell out for private education, as the no doubt superior standard of teaching. Who you know counts for a lot in later life. It's a sad fact of life that you are far more likely to meet more people able to help you up the social and economic ladders of life at a public school than Sloptown in the Slush comprehensive. Not having children saves me from having to ponder this too deeply on a personal level, but I would have to very seriously consider if I could afford educating children in the UK these days, should I be younger and wishing to procreate Fees are horrendous! Undoubtedly though, there will always be a market and provision of private education for the the foreseeable future in all civilised countries.