Wealthy oxford students "should pay £10,000"

http://education.guardian.co.uk/oxbridge/article/0,5500,1147744,00.html?=ticker

what does everyone think about this idea?

I'd say it's a good idea. Some people say how rich they are, it wouldn't harm them to pay a little more or should I say their rich parents.

Why specifically Oxford though? Whatever peoples views on the rich usually being forced to pay a greater proportion of their earnings to the state, there's no valid reasoning behind making them pay more entirely because their child is intelligent enough to study at Oxford University.

It could end up encouraging the University to accept even more students from privileged backgrounds anyway.

I think people who have obviously got money it is a good idea for, most public schools are charging 20k a year, its not like their parents arent going to pay 15-16k at uni for their child to live. Thats prep school fees!

Well, my public school doesn't charge £20000 a year.

Good for you but unless it doesnt charge circa 20k and you start when your 13 it isnt a public school. Could just be classed as private.

I didn't realise that was the official criteria...

I didn't realise that was the official criteria...

I didn't think that was either. Hmm..

ETA - actually I KNOW it isn't. Mine - if I actually gave a damn, which I don't - doesn't start at 13, it starts at age 5, and it's certainly below 20k. I'm with Helenia too - most of mine is subsidised through various means. Maybe that's just the criteria you want.

Traditional public schools, start when your 13. Its not some snobby way of looking at it, all these schools charge circa 20k, its just what they charge. Whether the school has a prep school or not doesnt matter I started at my prep school when I was three all the way through to 13 when I moved to big school, if you start at 11 its not a proper traditional public school. Nothing snobby about it, its just their tradition to start at 13.

My school used to start at 13, but dropped the entry age to 11 to attract more people to it (or something) - I joined at 11. It still has a big prep-school intake at 13 though.

Its a public school then.

Its a public school then.

Well, whatever. I don't go there anymore, and I wasn't exactly the happiest person in the world when I was there (imagine me on one of my late-night depressed rants, and make it worse!) so who cares what it's called.

Plenty of top public schools charge c. £15000 a year.

I wouldnt call them top public schools. They probably have less facilities. These schools are often in cities with little to offer their children in ways of ex curicular activites.

Arguably. But looking at the league tables, I'm not complaining.