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why do people hate private schools?
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I'm pretty certain Oxbridge still take like 70%+ students from private schools, so it's clearly working. Happy to be proven wrong, on this, but clearly the private school route is working.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
Original post by Student403
Lmfao this has to be a joke
Tbh it is true. There's no point unless you get into a top 5
Original post by Elivercury
I'm pretty certain Oxbridge still take like 70%+ students from private schools, so it's clearly working. Happy to be proven wrong, on this, but clearly the private school route is working.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
I can't really speak for Oxford but I know that Trinity college, Cambridge has about 50.8% of their students from state schools. Overall 63.3% of successful Cambridge applicants in 2012 came from state schools.
http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5991
The interview training may confer a significant advantage but if you can find a willing private school as a comprehensive candidate you can pay for that yourself without having to shell out for the whole private school education. Oldham Hulme Grammar School is an example of a private school that offers this to anyone.
Admissions statistics focus on grades achieved at GCSE and A-Level, your race, your gender and other things that distinguish you. Nowhere on any of the courses on offer at Oxbridge are extra-curriculars a requirement for a course bar the obvious such as medicine, vet med etc. Whoever told you this is obviously lying. Find me one Oxbridge course where having an extracurricular is a requirement outside of the ones where it is related to the course at hand (for example, a Grade 8 in the organ may be a requirement to study Music, but not Natural sciences)
A scholarship doesn't count because what ever money you would gain from it you loose anyway just by paying for the tuition fees in the first place. If you meant a scholarship in the sense that poor but academically gifted kids still get to attend the kids get bullied anyway by their rich peers for being from a poor family so there is still bullying in private schools anyway
Regardless of good teaching, when it comes to the exams, the teachers don't write it for you.. so if a private school student got an a* and a state school person do, it's is still an a*. It's not easy to get an a* regardless of teachers. The teachers don't write your exam for youm don't dumb down others achievements to make your self feel good. A stupid person in a staate school will still be stupid in a private school . There isnt a magic potion. God.
Secondly if people want to send their kids to good schools they have every damn right to if the wish . Whether that be for Oxbridge of just because theywant to. Get off your high horse and pull your head out of your a** its not a hat. Smh.
I go to a state comprehensive btw. It's a very good one. But still a state school so don't get at me like "you're only protecting yourself"
Secondly if people want to send their kids to good schools they have every damn right to if the wish . Whether that be for Oxbridge of just because theywant to. Get off your high horse and pull your head out of your a** its not a hat. Smh.
I go to a state comprehensive btw. It's a very good one. But still a state school so don't get at me like "you're only protecting yourself"
I never stated they are a requirement, I stated they would be taken into consideration, these are completely different things. Even if they are not directly taken into account, universities look for more rounded individuals and having extra-curricular activities will certainly help with this. Likewise I clearly stated that interview training is available outside, but having it given as a matter of course rather than having to see it out is obviously easier.
Incidentally, you are aware there are universities other than oxbridge right?
A scholarship to a grammar/private school allows you to access it with zero fees. Your suggestion that they will automatically be bullied for being "poor" is groundless and given you've already stated that intelligent children get bullied at state schools it is, ultimately, still an improvement being at a private school because they have access to superior teaching etc.
I think you have a real chip on your shoulder regarding private schools tbh.
Incidentally, you are aware there are universities other than oxbridge right?
A scholarship to a grammar/private school allows you to access it with zero fees. Your suggestion that they will automatically be bullied for being "poor" is groundless and given you've already stated that intelligent children get bullied at state schools it is, ultimately, still an improvement being at a private school because they have access to superior teaching etc.
I think you have a real chip on your shoulder regarding private schools tbh.
Original post by guntby
Going to private school seems pretty pointless then.
You know you can just go to a state school, work hard and get straight As there. Or do you just feel more entitled to a better education than everyone else?
You know you can just go to a state school, work hard and get straight As there. Or do you just feel more entitled to a better education than everyone else?
That's not true.
Jealousy mostly
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A family member used to go to one, so I went there to pick them up. I'm sorry generalise but all the kids fit into one of these categories
1) the snobby side of posh
2) socially awkward/disabled (not their fault but ppl are prejudiced)
3)weirdly over obsessed with school
4) really shy and elusive (you feel like they are physcopaths)
1) the snobby side of posh
2) socially awkward/disabled (not their fault but ppl are prejudiced)
3)weirdly over obsessed with school
4) really shy and elusive (you feel like they are physcopaths)
Original post by Elivercury
I'm pretty certain Oxbridge still take like 70%+ students from private schools, so it's clearly working. Happy to be proven wrong, on this, but clearly the private school route is working.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
Incidentally, aside from just providing better tuition they also provide assorted other benefits such as interview training and all that stuff (which is available at state school also but not as readily).
Universities also definitely cared about extra curricular activities when I was applying - how else are you supposed to decide between two people of identical grades? Of course we don't give sports scholarships or anything like that, but they definitely play a role in applications, albeit a secondary one. If nothing else it'll allow you to sound more interesting and like a full person rather than a revision robot at interview/on your personal statement.
As you say though, it's all relatively moot. It happens and it isn't changing. Although not all private schools cost £30,000, there are cheaper schools. I'd also note that many private schools offer scholarships to bright kids to keep their grades up and balance out those of the stupid but rich kids. So the opportunities are available to those without the money, provided they are intelligent enough.
In Oxford I believe it's 57% Private schools and the rest state schools. Being in a private school just allows you to have more extra curricular activities and drives you towards the top unis. They provide a lot of work experiences. My friend goes to a private school and honestly they have such amazing opportunities. They also have lots of help for future interviews and yes of course they get amazing grades (most private schools) however some of them do not have the independency they need because they've been spoon fed throughout secondary and maybe sixth form. Its been proven that state school students do slightly better in university as well. But if I had the choice I would definitely go to a private school!
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Original post by Elivercury
I never stated they are a requirement, I stated they would be taken into consideration, these are completely different things. Even if they are not directly taken into account, universities look for more rounded individuals and having extra-curricular activities will certainly help with this. Likewise I clearly stated that interview training is available outside, but having it given as a matter of course rather than having to see it out is obviously easier.
Incidentally, you are aware there are universities other than oxbridge right?
A scholarship to a grammar/private school allows you to access it with zero fees. Your suggestion that they will automatically be bullied for being "poor" is groundless and given you've already stated that intelligent children get bullied at state schools it is, ultimately, still an improvement being at a private school because they have access to superior teaching etc.
I think you have a real chip on your shoulder regarding private schools tbh.
Incidentally, you are aware there are universities other than oxbridge right?
A scholarship to a grammar/private school allows you to access it with zero fees. Your suggestion that they will automatically be bullied for being "poor" is groundless and given you've already stated that intelligent children get bullied at state schools it is, ultimately, still an improvement being at a private school because they have access to superior teaching etc.
I think you have a real chip on your shoulder regarding private schools tbh.
I am going to email both the admissions tutors at Oxford and Cambridge with what you said to confirm if they do actually take it into account. I will report back to you with the results. If I am wrong then I am wrong.
Of course I am aware there are other universities besides Oxbridge but paying for private school is one of the most well known ways to guarantee your child to an Oxbridge education. Why settle for less if you don't have to?
It's not groundless:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/private-school-scholarships-not-always-a-winwin-20160226-gn4pxi.html
''Other scholarship parents were similarly burdened and we tended to stick together. We felt we didn't belong. One school parent frankly admitted that she resented paying full fees to subsidise scholarship students. I didn't blame her.''
''Instances of sexual harassment, such as girls being pressured to send nude photos, were glossed over by the school's 'boys will be boys' mentality, and left me feeling profoundly upset and helpless.''
http://theconversation.com/is-your-child-less-likely-to-be-bullied-in-a-private-school-44917
Whilst the data in this link does support the fact that children are less likely to be bullied at private schools as opposed to state schools, the fact remains that bullying still exists in private schools so that's your arguement for 'no bullying and peer pressure' out the window. The article also acknowledges that schools are reluctant to provide data on this topic so the actual level of bullying in private schools could be much higher.
(I couldn't actually find any statistical data for private schools in the UK)
I don't have any chip on my shoulder tbh, why would I be jealous of someone whose parents forked out a load of money for their secondary and sixth form education yet still achieved the same a-levels as me and is at the same university as I am?
(edited 7 years ago)
Jealousy I guess. I was privately educated because my parents wanted to give me the best education they could afford (surely a parent's duty to do so?) so they sent me to the best school in the area. It was nothing to do with wanting me to go to a prestigious university, it was just to give me the best start possible. Private schools are really not the preserve of the rich either, my best friends at school were all from lower or middle income families and had bursaries. And sure there were plenty of snobby people about but most were quite normal.
Original post by Student403
Lmfao this has to be a joke
Why would I joke? Looking at it from a value for money perspective, if I paid for private school fees and my child didn't get into Oxbridge or at least one of the Top 5 I would be mightily annoyed and disappointed
I suspect the response you will get is "why are you wasting out time over an internet argument". Incidentally, Oxbridge is not necessarily the best for everything, although they are very good.
I'm not really sure how evidence that issues exist in Australia is especially relevant to the UK private school situation to be honest. I don't recall stating that bullying doesn't exist in private schools - you were the one who stated that the person getting A*'s at a state school is a hero for overcoming bullying. Bullying happens at all schools, however to suggest that you are guaranteed to be bullied for being poor is about as accurate as suggesting that you're guaranteed to be bullied for being intelligent. It's all just mass generalisations and assumptions.
If you're going to be bullied at both though, why not be bullied at a private school and get the other perks? The fact bullying exists at both doesn't detract from the overall argument.
I'm glad you don't have a chip on your shoulder. Incidentally I'll be curious to see whether your position towards private education will change after you (hopefully) become successful and are looking towards your own children's education.
I'm not really sure how evidence that issues exist in Australia is especially relevant to the UK private school situation to be honest. I don't recall stating that bullying doesn't exist in private schools - you were the one who stated that the person getting A*'s at a state school is a hero for overcoming bullying. Bullying happens at all schools, however to suggest that you are guaranteed to be bullied for being poor is about as accurate as suggesting that you're guaranteed to be bullied for being intelligent. It's all just mass generalisations and assumptions.
If you're going to be bullied at both though, why not be bullied at a private school and get the other perks? The fact bullying exists at both doesn't detract from the overall argument.
I'm glad you don't have a chip on your shoulder. Incidentally I'll be curious to see whether your position towards private education will change after you (hopefully) become successful and are looking towards your own children's education.
Just because they are private schools doesn't mean they can polish a turd.
They can roll it in glitter though, so they'll likely to better than they would have otherwise.
They can roll it in glitter though, so they'll likely to better than they would have otherwise.
Because there's a perception that they're silver spooned everything in life. And that perception is correct. I'd much rather have worked my ass off from the bottom than to climb up a single rung on the ladder that daddy or mommy have provided for me.
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I used to go to a private school from year 7 to 11 and we have to work hard for good grades. I don't agree with private schools because I believe that we should be able to get the same good quality education without paying for it, make it a fair playing ground so there are no misunderstandings
Private school kids don't see how much better their quality of education is compared to a state school. It's sad that people actively defend it thinking they don't have a massive advantage. Having seen the quality of education between the two myself i can tell you that the difference is very significant.
Original post by drogon
Private school kids don't see how much better their quality of education is compared to a state school. It's sad that people actively defend it thinking they don't have a massive advantage. Having seen the quality of education between the two myself i can tell you that the difference is very significant.
Well I think people get confused with rich people that go to private school and people who can just about afford it that send their kids to private school. I go to a public girls school and I learned that if I went to a private school still, I wouldn't be able to apply to summer schools or opportunities that can help you learn more about uni courses. Even now I can't really get places into those thing because I'm too "well off" I like that unis are trying to include everyone and i know that is hard for things to be done without nobody complaining but putting all private school children into one spot and generalising isn't fair. Its easy for those who have connections, not what school they went to
I'm sending my future kids, if I have any 
... to private schools.
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