Overheard at the LFGSS golf club bar

Yes but they don't have to follow National Curriculum and can be more selective in what they teach, it adds extra nuance to the state school system for those not familiar with the UK system, along with City Technology Colleges

no grammar schools or academies in scotland iirc

its something that private school taught me....how to blag.

I learnt this at Pimlico Comprehensive School...

I went to a state primary, which was alright I suppose, but after that it all went pear shaped.

I had one year of state comprehensive who were seemingly constantly on strike instead of teaching, so my parents put me in the local catholic private school across the road. My dad took out loans to pay for the fees. The school joined some body by the now-unfortunate name of ISIS and that made them into a (very minor) public school. I think that's all the difference is: public schools are members of an association - usually Headmasters' Conference.

The public school had very good sports facilities and lots of pitches and fields but in 1983 so did the state school across the road that I had just left. The quality of teaching was absolutely shit apart from about 2 or 3 really dedicated teachers, but as joining a union was banned they at least turned up every day. Academically and sportingly they were nowhere. It was full of privileged rugby-bro sons of self-made men, who had no interest in learning or working hard because they were just going to go into their dad's construction business after leaving.

At state school I was bullied for being 'posh' because we didn't live on the council estate, and at public school I was bullied for being scum from the state school. Ironically there was only one actual posh kid there and he got bullied for being posh. You couldn't win. If you weren't a rugby-bro, or academically gifted, you were screwed. Quite a few of the teachers were bullies too. Quite a few of them should really be seeing out their retirement in prison, from some of the stories on Friends Reunited. (Remember that?)

After leaving I went to a state 6th form and dropped out after 18 months because I was never going to get any A levels there, so crap had my education been.

I hated every fucking day of every single school, and honestly my education happened despite my schooling, and I had to work extremely hard in the years afterwards on my own initiative to get to where I should have been after school. I eventually went to university at 23.

TLDR - All schools are crap, you should avoid all that nonsense by simply not having children.

All schools are crap, you should avoid all that nonsense by simply not having children.

I was waiting for the conclusion that the act of having children itself perpetuates class inequality.

Well I suppose it does, but I'm not clever enough to think like that.
Im just very child-phobic, and have been since I was one.

I learnt this at Pimlico Comprehensive School...

Your Alma Mater has been in the news a little bit recently, hasn't it?

So from mockery to interesting friendly chats.

Hope you guys are all having a good day.

Pity state schools can't be charities.

Most state schools have a PTA which is a charity. The PTA raises money and buy things for the school to lighten the load on the school. The PTA can't pay salaries but if the PTA funds, for example, the resurfacing of the playground, then the school doesn't have to pay that out from its own money. In reality, and given the swingeing cuts to school funding, I expect some schools are using PTA money to buy essentials such as books/paper/etc.

It varies hugely around the country though (unsurprisingly). The PTA at my daughter's old primary school (single form entry, so ~210 children) used to raise close to £50k a year. Most of it was from donations (including gift aid) and employer matching, secondary were general fundraising events.

[EDIT] And it's not just because it's an affluent area (but it obviously helps). One of the other primaries in the same area, with a very similar profile of parents, raises about £2k a year as they don't put much effort into fundraising at all. Having seen the PTA side of things it takes a metric fuckload of effort to raise big chunks of money, but it does pay off.

It wasn't an academy when I was there... We had a murder in my first year, there were security guards at all the entrances... Didn't bat an eyelid at the time, felt completely normal...

One of my best friends taught there before it was an Academy. I heard the stories.

Poor fucker...

If you weren't a rugby-bro, or academically gifted, you were screwed.

Pretty much sums up my secondary state school experience.

Doesn't really tie in with

Selective state schools often have a private school vibe with trad. values, more sport, more able pupils.

I'm treasurer of our PTA, its a nightmare thing to do, constant battle to get anyone to help, and fundraise. We get about £10k a year, and I reckon half of it is spent on essentials like books.

As a parent, I have experience of, in order, top of the league table state school, private school, and a mediocre to poor state school (all Scotland).

The first top of the league table state school was less diverse in income terms than the private one! Seemed to be a lot more pushy parents too.
The Scottish catchment area system has created state schools which have nobody on free school dinners or classed as deprived.

I think independent schools have a slightly different administration model, like they’re a charity or something? Otherwise they’re a ‘public’ school, eg Eton.

Would be glad to be corrected if someone knows the differenceZ

All schools not funded by the state are independent schools. Schools which were member of the Headmasters' Conference were also public schools. HMC is probably something welse now and may well include girls' schools.

Are there state vs. private school studies that look at 10 years post graduation?

There’s a civil service study that show that privately educated graduates progress far more easily within the civil service because they don’t buy into the “official channels” for promotion i.e. be good at your job, work hard fulfill the right KPIs. The private school graduates tend to rely on social bonds over common interests/experience (old school tie) and this is why there’s less social mobility in the Civil Service than in the 1960s

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987600/SMC-NavigatingtheLabyrinth.pdf

I think it’s the same in a lot of institutions

I would imagine that it's hard to disentangle the effect of a wealthy family from the specific element of that wealth expressed in the schooling. i.e. would they have known Hugo-who-now-runs-Capita from smoking buckets with him after college in his mums potting shed anyway, or was that part of their network formed exclusively through meeting at school?

I thought it was 'how do you know if a friend is sending their little darling to a private school?'

Oh don't worry, they will tell you.

I thought that applied to vegans, triathletes, sourdough bread makers…

It’s just a function of what people put their time and focus into becomes a topic of conversation for them.

if you’re some middle manager IT goon struggling to send your kid private, you’re never going to be invited down the local conservative meeting for crackers or some shit

Lol

oh yes, I'm well aware its an overused phrase. Still amusing though.

Especially if its a good school.

FWIW I passed my 11+ in 1976 and went to a state school which had been a grammar school in Tory times but under the then Labour govt was a simple High School although it was boys only (circa 600 boys) and very much run on grammar school lines.

It is actually a very good school that is now a grammar again and I would not get in now as the competition for places is massive and I was only reasonably intelligent rather than very clever (yes, very subjective but measured against my peers).

I didn't particularly enjoy it but didn't hate it and came out with 3 very ordinary A-levels & joined the banking profession and am still there.

My two sons now 30 & 28 went to the local monster comprehensive (1800+ boys only) and also came out with decent A-levels. The eldest went to uni and got a Geography degree and the second has just finished his accountancy exams. Both has what I would describe as decent jobs and are happy.

I suppose I'm only trying to illustrate that a lot is down to you and your own personality/wants/needs rather than the school you go to.