State, Private Or Home Schooling?

[leelee]

On a side note, I live in a very affluent area and I take the bus quite a lot. There are a lot of public school boys on the bus and they are the biggest bumch of twits I have ever heard. They are so snobby, have no idea of the reality of life at all (from overhearing converstations) and are so rude.

I am not tarring everyone with the same brush but I have to listen to these boys on a regular basis and when they practically stand on my pram to skip the queue onto the bus it is hard not to laugh and think of all that money going down the drain when they don't even have basic manners!

I'm amazed they catch the bus - thought they would be picked up by mummy or their nanny in their Chelsea tractor or Mercedes! Not cynical at all, eh!

Lol

There is one special bus that comes to pick up some of them in the mornings. That must be the really exclusive school. The bus is the snazziest looking thing I have ever seen. It is all blacked out and is like a tour bus for a band!

 

[louandivy]

I do not want Ivy going to a private school, I would like her to go to a good state school. To me the most important thing is that she does not grow up in a middle-class bubble of privilege! I just don't really agree with private education. That being said, if we cannot get her into a decent state school we may have a very difficult decision to make.

I totally agree with you. I would hate my LO to live in a bubble. We have talked about bringing him to South America when he is 6/7 during his school holidays and doing a voluntary family placement. I want him to grow up with compassion and to realise that not everyone will be as fortunate as him. I also think he would love the experience of learning Spanish and mixing with other cultures.

Thats a great idea, I would love to do a voluntary placement somewhere.I would be so mad at myself if Ivy ended up a snob. I think as long as you put the effort in as a parent then your child should thrive wherever they are. My OH went to a really posh Catholic boarding school but he was still the most rebellious kid ever He absolutely hated it there and feels very strongly about our LO going state too.

 

[leelee]

I do not want Ivy going to a private school, I would like her to go to a good state school. To me the most important thing is that she does not grow up in a middle-class bubble of privilege! I just don't really agree with private education. That being said, if we cannot get her into a decent state school we may have a very difficult decision to make.

I totally agree with you. I would hate my LO to live in a bubble. We have talked about bringing him to South America when he is 6/7 during his school holidays and doing a voluntary family placement. I want him to grow up with compassion and to realise that not everyone will be as fortunate as him. I also think he would love the experience of learning Spanish and mixing with other cultures.

Thats a great idea, I would love to do a voluntary placement somewhere.I would be so mad at myself if Ivy ended up a snob. I think as long as you put the effort in as a parent then your child should thrive wherever they are. My OH went to a really posh Catholic boarding school but he was still the most rebellious kid ever He absolutely hated it there and feels very strongly about our LO going state too.

It was something I wanted to do before having children and then one day I thought - why do it before, why not do it with them so we will do it in a few years and OH is on board too. Hopefully it won't be just a one off either.

My friends OH went to a posh Catholic boarding school and he was very rebellious too. He was expelled from school and uni! He is very against boarding school as he reckons there was no-one to keep an eye on him and I think he missed his family too.

 

[pinkandfluffy]

I think its about more than grades personally....I went to state school and was an A* student, and I think I would have been able to do well wherever I'd gone but my hubby went to private school, and he had extra curricular opportunities that I never did

Also he had the support he needed for dyslexia there that he would not have got at my school - though I appreciate times have changed and there may now be better support than there used to be at state schools..

We are moving as the state schools here are really really bad. I have nothing against any form of good schooling - if our local state school was better than our private schools then I would be happy

For us it is about the opportunities he had that I didn't - funds permitting, private school is a front runner at the moment.

 

[flubdub]

There are some EXCELLENT state schools around, and if you live near one, I dont see why you would want to pay for private schools. We are very lucky around here that every school is fantastic (primary) and we searched on Ofsteds website, and chose the very best for my eldest.
There is only one high school around here - all the rest are about 30 mins away. I went to the one here, and hated it. There were no teachers and the head teacher was sacked a couple of years after I left for running the school so badly. It is meant to be quite good now - but still, I would rather my kids went to grammer or something; especially my eldest - he is very bright
Of course, if we won the lottery, would would probably pay for him to go to a private secondary school - but not one where they have to wear hats

 

[flubdub]

I think its about more than grades personally....I went to state school and was an A* student, and I think I would have been able to do well wherever I'd gone but my hubby went to private school, and he had extra curricular opportunities that I never did

Also he had the support he needed for dyslexia there that he would not have got at my school - though I appreciate times have changed and there may now be better support than there used to be at state schools..

We are moving as the state schools here are really really bad. I have nothing against any form of good schooling - if our local state school was better than our private schools then I would be happy

For us it is about the opportunities he had that I didn't - funds permitting, private school is a front runner at the moment.

Exactly.

 

[Mummy2Asher]

Private school, I went to private school and I think the things like smaller class sizes and the extra activities.
I did try state school for 2 years in secondary and found that class was disrupted through students, teachers not turning up, kids were smoking drinking doings drugs and having sex at school!
I feel it's not as bad at private school.
However hubby went to state school and he did really well and became a doctor! He thinks it completely depends on the school.
I would consider home schooling as I want my children to be social and have friends/best friends, go to parties etc

 

[Natasha2605]

Summer will be going to state schools. We're in the catchment area of both the primary and secondary schools I went to so hopefully she'll get into those. Part of the reason we moved 8 months after originally moving was because of the schooling. Where we lived before, because of the side of the road we lived on (wtf) she would have a place at the worst school (imho) I've heard about in a long time.

I believe educational acheivments is a lot down to the child and encouragement from the parents as opposed to the ''quality'' of the school. I don't really like private schooling. I don't see why you should have to pay for a ''higher'' quality of education, I just don't think it's right.

By the time Summer is going to school we could possibly be in a position to send her to private school, but unless something drastically changes in terms of the state schools available I wouldn't waste my money xx

 

[Kimmer]

There's no way I'd consider sending my daughter to a private school. We have one private school in my town, and to be honest I hate seeing the stuck up, mini David Camerons walking around. Looking down on ME because they don't like the way I look, laughing at the people standing outside the job centre etc..

In my opinion, kids in private schools have a warped perception on reality. They seem to be in an upper class bubble and think they're better than everyone else because mummy and daddy love them enough to pay for their education.
I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of education.

 

[Kimmer]

There's no way I'd consider sending my daughter to a private school. We have one private school in my town, and to be honest I hate seeing the stuck up, mini David Camerons walking around. Looking down on ME because they don't like the way I look, laughing at the people standing outside the job centre etc..

In my opinion, kids in private schools have a warped perception on reality. They seem to be in an upper class bubble and think they're better than everyone else because mummy and daddy love them enough to pay for their education.
I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of education.

 

[sjminimac]

Does anyone know if Catholic schools take children from other religions?

They shouldn't do! I went to 4 catholic primary schools (we moved from Australia back to England and back a few times when I was younger, and everytime we came back the previous school was full up so had to change) and all of them required proof (baptism certificate, holy communion etc and a letter from your priest/parish).

I think they actually do, as far as i know each intake they accept a small percentage of non/other faith applications but competition is fierce x

 

[pixydust]

Jake will go to a regular primary school followed by an all boys grammar school, providing he passes the acceptance exams

 

[clarsair]

State education. Even if we could afford it, DH has very strong views about the principle of private education. We also want LO to have a Welsh-medium education and I don't think there are any private schools that provide that anyway.

 

[LPF]

Dh went to private school and in some ways he did have a warped sense of reality when he came out! There are alot of things he's told me that I don't agree with either.
I got better grades throughout at a good state school so I think it's the child not the school that makes the experience.
Having said that if Evan is bright enough I would be happy with a grammer school - pitched at a high academic level, Lots of activites and with people from all walks of life as entrance is based on aptitude not money.

 

[shamrockerjo]

Maya will be going to a private school if we're still living in England at that point.

 

[CocoaOne]

Out local private school is pretty rubbish - my mum did some of her teacher training there and said that there was no way she'd pay £10k upwards a year to be taught there. Yes, the classes are smaller - but some of the teachers haven't even got a teaching qualification! Obviously it depends which private school you pick though...

We've got quite a few good primary's by us, but I'm more worried about secondary. I think that Grammar schools will be abolished by the time my LO reaches that age, and the high schools around here are pretty grim. Hopefully that will change in the next 10 years.

 

[Feltzy]

Our children will be going to state schools. I read all of the ofsted reports for schools in our area to make sure I get Evie into a good state school. I've filled out her application so I'm just waiting for the results! Me and OH both went to state schools and did well for ourselves so we believe that if the drive is there and with the right guidance they can do just as well in a state school.

 

[sjminimac]

Our children will be going to state schools. I read all of the ofsted reports for schools in our area to make sure I get Evie into a good state school. I've filled out her application so I'm just waiting for the results! Me and OH both went to state schools and did well for ourselves so we believe that if the drive is there and with the right guidance they can do just as well in a state school.

Exactly this x

 

[Broodypants]

If we were in the catchment area for a good state school I wouldn't hesitate to send Erin there, unfortunately unless we move we only have one option for both primary and secondary schools in our area and neither get good ofsted reports so we will be sending Erin to a private school. The one I have my eye on takes them through from 3 up to 18 and seems like lovely little school.

I have nothing against home schooling for those that decide it's right for them but it wouldn't be for us.

 

[greenlady]

We'll be in Australia by the time Flora goes to school, and I definitely will put her in public (state) school. There are a LOT of really expensive private schools in sydney but even if we could afford it I wouldn't send her to one, the kids in my area who went to private school when I grew up tended to be... let's just say not my cup of tea. But also the private schools there are not very diverse either, something which is important to me.

However I wouldn't claim to know anything about private schools over here, and obviously not ALL private schools in oz are like that, just in my area of Sydney. There are plenty of very good state schools in Sydney, I went to one, and I want Flora going to one.

Homeschooling is not something that I would want to do but respect to those who do. I'd just prefer Flora to spend time with other children and I have no fundamental objections to the schooling system.