private vs state education

Reply 60

17

State/trust school.

Filled with retards, didn't offer GCSE sciences, school was so poor (in every sense of the word) that it was closed when I completed year 9 and relaunched by some charity, some of the worst teachers I've ever come across (several weren't even qualified to be teaching in a secondary school).

The majority of people I met when I went off to sixth form had come from fancy, single sex private schools. They actually had to.... Do work? I thought all you did in secondary school was **** around and have a good time/not bother going in. Didn't get bullied or anything, made (or maintained from primary school mostly) a few friends that I still spend time with today. I don't think I would have enjoyed the ridiculously sheltered upbringing that some of you seem to have experienced. ;p

If I hadn't gotten a place at a good sixth form I may have been a bit ******, uni wise anyway.

edit: eh, I didn't even really think of this but having read some other posts; the buildings were a load of **** for the most part, in summer it would be too hot to concentrate and for 3 winters my tutor room had no heating leading to it being filled with ice, snow and... Fish. There was a fair amount of violence and bullying overall, lots of drugs and drinking. Meh.

Reply 61

Spaf1

State school, and not a particularly well-regarded one, either.
Pros: They started an experiment type thing, where they put the top 28 CATS scores in a class. This for me was very successful.
I have learned to deal with ***** who don't care about their education.
IB, which isn't offered at my local private school.

Cons:
Large class sizes, sometimes mixed ability, with very thick people who muck around and disturb my learning.
Some teachers don't know how to deal with bright kids.
Didn't have a Biology lesson for a year before the exam...and bombed out a little.

I think it depends on the child as to whether or not I'd send them. My school was good for particular types of people, but not for others. It was great for me, but I know people who have't done so well by them.

Reply 62

ormaybeitsjustnarcissism

14

State comp.

Pros: Some of the teachers were lovely. It's easy to get glowing school reports and parents evening comments when you're in a class of thirty-five and 60-70% have no interest in passing.
Cons: Rarely feeling that enthusiastic about the subjects because so much time is spent trying to control the class. Constant 'special' assemblies about racism, graffiti, violence, bullying, behaving nicely in public. Social hierarchy in such a way that you don't put your hand up if you know the answer, only if you're popular enough to get away with it.

I would never send my imaginary child to a fee-paying school. My dad works at a state grammar and they sound lovely so I would possibly consider that, but I shared a flat for a year with the most stereotypical public schoolboy imaginable, and my dad went to one as well and I can't say either of them gave me a positive view of it. I wouldn't want my child growing up with this incredible sense of entitlement that some people seem to feel just off the knowledge that their parents paid eight grand a year for their education. It just seems such a waste of money when some of them aren't any better people than who I was chucked in with, they were just better at articulating it. If I paid so much every year for my kid to come home and tell me that feminism is redundant, or that there's a 'poofter' in their class, or that all arts and humanities degrees are a pointless waste, or that people on benefits are all chavs and pikeys, I'd want my bloody money back. At least with comp issues it's pretty easy to explain why it's not really admirable that the boy you used to sit next to in science is now in prison, or why chucking glass bottles at bus windows isn't a good idea.

Reply 63

meowmeowmutiny

2

State school for GCSEs then private for sixth form. The private school was much, much better for me in terms of the way they taught and how friendly and accomodating the students and teachers were. Not everyone's the same and I don't think it would be for everyone though.

If I somehow get children then I'd try to send them to a grammar school unless I was rich in which case I'd send them to a private school so that the grammar schools are free for people who can't afford to go private.

Reply 64

Amy(:

State School.
The good points about it are that I've made some good friends, the teachers are good, and I'm happy with the grades that I'm getting. There are some idiots there, but aren't there idiots at most schools ?

Reply 65

fox_the_fix

13

I went to probably the poshest private school in Europe, and I've been to a state school.

The state school requires more self-determination to meet the grades whereas the private needs less. However more pressure is put on you within private than within state. So if you're one of those 'I can just sit down and work by myself' then state is fine for you. If you need more pressure then private would benefit you more. The level of teaching at private is >>>>>>>> state, we could do A-level Math when currently studying GCSE etc, you just gain so more more general knowledge as well, as the teachers treat the subject like a subject, and not a curriculum. Whereas state has seemed really focused on JUST the exams and specification. In terms of experience then private > state, private schools can just afford to offer so much more extra curric.

Would send my children private without a shadow of doubt.

Reply 66

username133496

9

Pros:
- I was pretty much left alone and not bullied (people thought I was a mute or had some kind of autism).
- Some of the teachers were brilliant and genuinely wanted the kids to do something worthwhile with their lives.
- Most of the kids who went there were from fairly poor backgrounds so there was no bragging or economic/financial snobbery.
- The place was full of characters (like the Libyan girl who built a shrine to Tom Cruise and said prayers to Colonel Gaddafi, or the boy who wanted to be Shania Twain...)
- A varied cultural and ethnic mix with pupils from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Libyan, Somali, Malaysian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, Kenyan etc. I think British Caucasians were the minority tbh.

Cons:
- I didn’t really make any friends. I’d have to wait until College for that to happen.
- It was ‘fairly’ rough. Some of the Pakistani and Somali kids had some kind of bizarre gang warfare going on. It involved knives. There was also that time a girl shot someone in the toilets...
- Unless it was a strong willed teacher leading the class, most of the classes were disrupted by people who didn’t want to be there.
- It's probably the reason why I'm a bit weird... Apparently.

I neither loved nor despised my time at high school. I’d probably send my hypothetical child to a state comp. If they’re intelligent enough and hardworking they’ll get through it and come out with decent grades. :dontknow:

private vs state education

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