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@JB
I didn’t go to private school and nor did my sister, but my younger half sister does. Her mum had a terrible upbringing and a miserable time in South London’s schools in the ‘80s. She has only one child and didn’t want her to suffer the same consequences.
I might add that I was bullied a lot at state school in a decent part of Surrey. I was not pushed, we played boring sports and just generally didn’t get much out of it. My classes were awful, with awful kids and they were overpopulated. There were 300 kids in my year alone, with ten form classes of 30.
I have done okay in life, but I reckon I could’ve done more had I had a better education.
My younger sister is somewhat of a genius - literally - hence her mum decided she wanted the absolute best education out there. And fortunately she makes a good living and can just about afford it. This makes my little sister the first person on either parents side to go to private school, so I don’t think it’s fair for some in this thread to say that everyone attending private school is part of the elite, inherited wealth classes. Both of her parents came from actual poverty with emotionally and physically abusive relationships at home as a kid by - like - really abusive.
They considered grammar schools and state schools, but unfortunately state schools in and around the Guildford area just aren’t great. They weren’t in the catchment area for Royal Grammar School in Guildford, otherwise they’d have tried that.
She is thriving at Guildford High, she has played more sports than I ever have and I’m over twice her age, she is in a class of 12, is truly mentored by her teachers and is just generally very well looked after at school. She absolutely loves going to school. And I think that says a lot.
If I had the money to send my children to private school, I would.