Do you think we should abolish private schools?

stereotypical snobbery associated with private schools isn't far from the truth, (have you ever been to a Russell Group university?)

wouldn't you feel even a little bad for the 93% of people who don't have access to such a cushy privilege?

'genuine' and well-mannered the way their parents have brought them up; the school itself is irrelevent) is completely shallow. You sound like someone who just wants to show off your well-behaved 'cultured' little brats to your fellow tea-drinking middle-class fruitcakes at dinner parties. Oh, and intelligence is not related to class. There's a difference between intelligence and knowledge; private schooled kids appear more 'intelligent' than the rest of us because they've been spoon-fed with knowledge (usually too much for their own good). In fact, statistically you're more likely to find a greater portion of kids with higher raw intelligence in state schools simply because a much bigger sample of people (93% of kids in the country) go to them.

education is very important and a decent education should be open to all. But giving kids a far superior education than the rest of us purely on the basis that their parents are well-off is the height of elitism. You're allowing people with a totally unearned privilege to get far in life through little merit, innovation or originality of their own. I'd only send my kids to private school in the exceptional circumstance that the local state schools were terrible and I could afford it - but even then I'd feel bad and even guilty for the millions of unfortunate people in a similar situation who can't afford to do that, and I'd become a self-loathing hypocrite in the cold truth that the centre of human existence is selfishness and that, let's face it, all we really care about is ourselves.

The way to seek equality without becoming a tyrant is to attempt to improve opportunity, not diminish privilege.

ok fair enough I've never been to a Russell group university, and yea I do often think that private schools does give kids an air of superiority and I hate people looking down their nose at me, but I'd prefer to spend time with snobs than disruptive kids that are found in some inner city state schools because the class sizes are too big so the teachers can't control their behaviour resulting in their belief they can do whatever they want.

If you go to a Russell Group university you'll notice how stark the contrast is between state schooled and privately educated students. Well, it's not always that obvious but in some cases it's a joke! Unfortunately a sizeable portion of people who go to the best universities are some of the most egoistic, self-righteous oiks and buffoons on the planet. There is a lot of resentment from state schooled students towards pompous kids at university and in all honesty I don't blame them for feeling that way.

I understand your point about disruptive kids, having suffered them myself, but I'm not sure if I'd want my kids to be brought up with snobby children who may osctracise them and shun their potential. Besides, at most state comprehensives the disruptive kids tend to fizzle out during GCSEs and are almost extinct at A-Levels.

If you go to a Russell Group university you'll notice how stark the contrast is between state schooled and privately educated students. Well, it's not always that obvious but in some cases it's a joke! Unfortunately a sizeable portion of people who go to the best universities are some of the most egoistic, self-righteous oiks and buffoons on the planet. There is a lot of resentment from state schooled students towards pompous kids at university and in all honesty I don't blame them for feeling that way.

I understand your point about disruptive kids, having suffered them myself, but I'm not sure if I'd want my kids to be brought up with snobby children who may osctracise them and shun their potential. Besides, at most state comprehensives the disruptive kids tend to fizzle out during GCSEs and are almost extinct at A-Levels.

If you go to a Russell Group university you'll notice how stark the contrast is between state schooled and privately educated students. Well, it's not always that obvious but in some cases it's a joke! Unfortunately a sizeable portion of people who go to the best universities are some of the most egoistic, self-righteous oiks and buffoons on the planet. There is a lot of resentment from state schooled students towards pompous kids at university and in all honesty I don't blame them for feeling that way.

I understand your point about disruptive kids, having suffered them myself, but I'm not sure if I'd want my kids to be brought up with snobby children who may osctracise them and shun their potential. Besides, at most state comprehensives the disruptive kids tend to fizzle out during GCSEs and are almost extinct at A-Levels.

yeah I can see how that would happen with them having their every need pandered to! Yeah I wish they wouldn't be there for a levels, but for my year, it is a legality that they have to carry on with some form of education until they're 18, mind you there are apprentice schemes so I suppose my a levels may be relatively un disrupted!

Urm we don't live in communist China. Abolishing private schools to totally uncapitalistic. If we started banning private enterprise where will it stop? Will we start banning private health business, such as Bupa, because people treated there receive a better standard of care and can possible live longer than people treated on the NHS. If we apply your silly equality policy private enterprise, the key of a capitalistic society will cease to flourish.

Is there anybody who has been to a private school but feels that they should be abolished?

Equality should not be our primary aim, our primary aim should be to increase the standard of living of the poorest in society. If this means that the rich get even better still, that doesn't really matter.

I'm sick of people being so against private schools. People always screw their faces up when I say I go to a private school. Yes, some private school kids have mansions in Spain and get stupid amounts of pocket money, but there's a girl in my year, who is one of the sweetest people I know, whose fees are paid by the school, and part of the uniform costs, because she simply doesn't have the money. We're not all stuck up, and we're not all stupidly rich. We don't look down on state school kids. You call us "pompous kids"- how would you feel if we just decided to assume all state school kids are grotty chavs?

There's no way I would be where I am today if I'd gone to a state school. My schools teachers are brilliant. Rather than abolishing private schools, why not focus more on getting state schools up to the same level?

A benefit of abolishing private schools would also be to abolish faith schools as well. We can fight both injustices with one swoop and then every child will, theoretically receive the same education and maybe we will have a bit less social segregation between rich and poor and faith/faithless.

Apart from those from better areas will have better state schools... and those in poor areas will still have poor state schools.

So in other words you admit that what you've achieved in your life hasn't been entirely through your own steam then? 'My teachers are brilliant.' - That might be fine for you to say, but you're in the minority of people who have access to such a privilege that is far out of reach for the rest of us who have to think outside the box and sweat blood if we ever dared to try to move up the social ladder. You can't really empathise because you have no absolutely no experience or idea of how miserable, frustrating and boring life is for ordinary people like me.

That's precisely my problem with private and state school segregation. At a young age, and out of no control of your own, your future is essentially mapped out for you based on whether or not you're born into the wealthiest 7% of families in this country - which, like it or not, is an unearned privilege, and the key reason why Britain will always be a deeply conservative, un-meritocratic nation. Helping the rich get the cremiest jobs through little actual merit or innovation of their own can be quite damaging for the rest society, especially when poorer-but-more-talented people could probably do a better job of running the country...

I agree, state schools should be brought up to the same level of private schools, but it won't happen tomorrow. For the time being, the education system in this country is a total joke and the majority of people are being screwed over because of it...

A benefit of abolishing private schools would also be to abolish faith schools as well. We can fight both injustices with one swoop and then every child will, theoretically receive the same education and maybe we will have a bit less social segregation between rich and poor and faith/faithless.

Apart from those from better areas will have better state schools... and those in poor areas will still have poor state schools.

This makes absolutely no sense at all.

Firstly, not all faith schools are private. Far from it, in fact.
Secondly, how is having a faith, or being educated by religious people, an injustice?

Unless you're some Soviet nutjob who thinks that religion is a tool of the bourgeoisie or something similarly ridiculous.