The Student Room Group

Private school pupils end up £200,000 richer

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Reply 20
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Rakas21
Of course if you increase the supply you'll devalue it a bit but with a 40% pay gap now (and that's just over 14 years I think) there is room to play with. Not only that but any kind of progress towards reducing the advantage of the rich from the bottom up (not top down harming the rich) is surely positive. Along with housing allocation I believe the education gap to be a big factor in the restraint of social mobility.


The 40% is an average. Those that you select might have a 5% pay gap, and it might not be bridged by sending them to the private school.

Lies, damn lies and statistics!
Original post by midgemeister7
I would expect that for a boarding schools, but few day schools in parts of the country other than London will have fees surpassing 200k. I suppose it also depends how long the child attends private schooling - a lot of kids only join private schools for secondary education and consequently only spend a maximum of 7 years there.


No, over seven years I can only think of Paul's and Westminster, but most people choose independent education from the off, though state to 7/11 is quite common it's not the choice of the majority, so they will pay around 200k over the child's time at school.
Original post by Le Nombre
No, over seven years I can only think of Paul's and Westminster, but most people choose independent education from the off, though state to 7/11 is quite common it's not the choice of the majority, so they will pay around 200k over the child's time at school.



I was in a state school until 11, and I then attended a private secondary school. I cannot necessarily speak for everybody else, but the overwhelming majority of people who were in my year attended a state-run primary school.
Don't see why this is a surprise to anyone. Rich get richer. You invest in something it has stronger returns than the people that didn't invest. :dontknow:


It's a shame but it's a symptom of oligarchical England.
Original post by midgemeister7
I was in a state school until 11, and I then attended a private secondary school. I cannot necessarily speak for everybody else, but the overwhelming majority of people who were in my year attended a state-run primary school.


I suspect your school is the exception (does it not have a prep/have a crap prep?). I can't find any stats, but there are a huge number of prep schools out there that are doing fine, plus you can't get into most 13 plus private schools without prep as you'd flunk CE.
Original post by Quady
Above the cost of attending? I doubt it.


In terms of raw financial gain, certainly not on average. Not what I am saying though.
Original post by redferry
Children from middle class backgrounds tend to achieve high grades whichever school they go to

Although of course there's a big foot in the door for Oxbridge compared to comps through networking and help with interview prep and things like step.


Private schools certainly give you a higher average grade than a state school (but not a grammar school). They would be pointless otherwise.
Original post by Le Nombre
I suspect your school is the exception (does it not have a prep/have a crap prep?). I can't find any stats, but there are a huge number of prep schools out there that are doing fine, plus you can't get into most 13 plus private schools without prep as you'd flunk CE.


It does have it's own junior school but it is very small. Where I live, there aren't any large prep schools and therefore most of the students in private schools would have come from state education. Forgive me for my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'CE'?
Reply 28
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by james22
In terms of raw financial gain, certainly not on average. Not what I am saying though.


I think thats all RedFerry was saying.
Original post by james22
Private schools certainly give you a higher average grade than a state school (but not a grammar school). They would be pointless otherwise.


Except studies have shown that not to be true... Middle class kids do well wherever they are placed. Sure they don't have to work as hard at private school, but the parents matter more than the school in grade achievement.
Original post by midgemeister7
It does have it's own junior school but it is very small. Where I live, there aren't any large prep schools and therefore most of the students in private schools would have come from state education. Forgive me for my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'CE'?


Common Entrance, the general entrance test for most public schools (though the big names often set their own at 11 too). It's the test for which you are 'prepared' at prep school, hence the name. It's a knowledge based exam with its own curriculum, so it'd be very difficult to pass it without attending a school teaching specifically for it.
Original post by redferry
Except studies have shown that not to be true... Middle class kids do well wherever they are placed. Sure they don't have to work as hard at private school, but the parents matter more than the school in grade achievement.


Links?
Original post by james22
Links?


http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/oct/29/middle-class-children-better-school

Can't get the original study due to a paywall, but if you ram it into scholar there's a number of studies with similar results
Original post by redferry
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/oct/29/middle-class-children-better-school

Can't get the original study due to a paywall, but if you ram it into scholar there's a number of studies with similar results


I see absolutely no mention of private schools there.
Reply 34
Avatar for Lucy39
Lucy39
10
Saw an article on this and not surprised really. Suppose theres got to some advantage for paying out for private school, though it gives people who can't even consider going to a private school a certain disadvantage.
Original post by Le Nombre
Common Entrance, the general entrance test for most public schools (though the big names often set their own at 11 too). It's the test for which you are 'prepared' at prep school, hence the name. It's a knowledge based exam with its own curriculum, so it'd be very difficult to pass it without attending a school teaching specifically for it.


Oh ok, I hadn't heard of that - my school just did four tests of Maths, English and Verbal + Non-verbal reasoning which they produced themselves.

But then again, i just found out that my head teacher is on the board of the regulatory committee... I just don't know anymore! All I do know is that a spent a few nights before the exams going over a bit of the reasoning tests
Reply 36
Avatar for teen1234
teen1234
Private schools most definitely give an edge, some of the dumbest people I've met got good grades at private school yet some people from my comprehensive were much more intelligent and got lower grades.
Not to mention for my course and similar, private schools help A LOT more than a comprehensive aka interview preparations, personal statement help from 'experts' and even UKCAT classes.
Original post by james22
I see absolutely no mention of private schools there.


Sigh.

It was a quick search scholar of of you're that bothered.
Original post by midgemeister7
Oh ok, I hadn't heard of that - my school just did four tests of Maths, English and Verbal + Non-verbal reasoning which they produced themselves.

But then again, i just found out that my head teacher is on the board of the regulatory committee... I just don't know anymore! All I do know is that a spent a few nights before the exams going over a bit of the reasoning tests


Not CE, it compulsorily includes science and then there are further optional subjects, nearly every school includes Geography, History and RS and stuff like Greek, an MFL, Latin and so on are common.

It's common for boarding but less so for day schools, as most of them take at 11 not 13.
(edited 9 years ago)
I think it is a case of the rich getting richer, yes, because only the rich can send their children to these schools.
It's also about the sort of people these rich kids meet. Posh schools ain't just about learnin', they're also about "making friends".
Since coming from the right kind of background and coming from the right kind of schools can carry a lot of weight, it makes one of these individuals much more likely to land a lucrative job. In turn, Tarquin then puts in a good word for his chum Harold, who gets hired and then later puts in a good word for Priscilla and so forth and everyone is greatly enriched...basically it's the Old Boy's Network in full effect but not quite since there's many more upper-class women these days who are quite happy to take advantage of these fortuitous opportunities.
(edited 9 years ago)

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