The Student Room Group

Any other private schoolers wish that they'd gone to a state school?

I genuinely feel like I would have been so much happier and less stressed in state education. I hate the pressure to perform just for the sake of rankings, I hate the contempt of my peers towards anybody in state education, I hate the atmosphere of elitism, I hate my school's idea that fun is to be forbidden if we are to amount to anything.
I know a lot of people in state schools, and they're just so much happier and less stressed and I wish my parents had sent me to a school like theirs as well. Really curious as to whether anyone thinks the same?
Reply 1
You could move for sixth form ?
I go to the top sixth form in the in the country Cardiff sixth form college where you're expected to get As or they threaten to kick you out. Not worth it, my hair turning white. Would i recommend? Nah.
Original post by Börk Börk
I genuinely feel like I would have been so much happier and less stressed in state education. I hate the pressure to perform just for the sake of rankings, I hate the contempt of my peers towards anybody in state education, I hate the atmosphere of elitism, I hate my school's idea that fun is to be forbidden if we are to amount to anything.
I know a lot of people in state schools, and they're just so much happier and less stressed and I wish my parents had sent me to a school like theirs as well. Really curious as to whether anyone thinks the same?


I went to private school, but my school sounds nothing like yours. It was a really supportive environment, and while there obviously was academic pressure, it was more that we wanted to do well for ourselves rather than for the school. And my school was really fun - they were constantly doing nice surprises & special celebrations for us.
Reply 4
Original post by qam
You could move for sixth form ?


I'm in year 12 so sadly I'm a tad late for that. Oh the joys of being made to start with 4-5 A-levels because the school says so ;-;
Reply 5
Actually if you find somewhere that does the same exam boards as you im pretty sure you can transfer for year 13
Reply 6
The grass isn't always greener. I'm sure you want to go to a school that is probably under funded with larger classroom sizes where those who are doing well don't get any support, less impetus on academic excellence and the teacher more concerned with pulling the bottom in the class up rather than encouraging those at the top, meaning that a lesson that was planned to be one hour long can be turned into 3 hours worth of teaching because someone "doesn't get it". I was in set 1, imagine what it was like in set 5! Instead of snobbery you get inverse snobbery so anyone with a hint of a RP accent gets picked on. If you want to succeed you have to work like a trooper at home, and you have to use your lunch times to get that extra support or advice on coursework from the teacher.
Like the person said above, being an able person in a state school, I wish I'd had the opportunity to get an amazing education.
I'm from greater Manchester, but I don't have an accent, and I sound almost southern when I talk. For the entire 5 years of secondary school, people constantly laughed about it, and it really got on my nerves. Imagine what it would be like for someone who had been to private school.
Lots of people don't care about their education, and they don't have to, because as long as they pass that's all that matters. I was lucky in that my state school was quite good, and I did have some teachers who pushed me to get the best grades. However, you do get rubbish teachers, who don't teach you properly, and you're left to teach yourself everything. Also, like the person above said, if one person doesn't get it, you have to constantly go over it.
If you're a high achiever, you don't get support. I was really struggling with a certain subject, but because I got a pass in the mocks, I wasn't allowed any extra help.

Please be grateful for what you have :smile:
Reply 8
Millions of people would kill for a private education.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
It's interesting reading some of the reviews above about state schools. I've been state-school educated all my life and whilst I can agree with some experiences mentioned, overall my state education was not as negative as has been expressed. I used to think that if I ever had children, I'd send them to private schools but now I disagree completely. My outlook in life is that if you want to succeed and put the effort in, you will succeed.


Or maybe I just live in a good area and didn't have to experience these really rubbish state schools that people always go on about. :dontknow:

Spoiler

(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 10
lol
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 11
lol
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Nuttyy
I totally agree with the children statement. I know that of I was to send my children to a private school, it would ruin their childhood and make them into drones from the very start. I'd rather them have a few less As and let them enjoy life tbh, than come out with 10A*s


Haha, interestingly enough I went to a state school and came out with 10 A*s (and an A) which is why I stress that the main principle of success is not the type of school (although certainly this has an impact) but the work ethic of individuals.

Going to a state school made my teenage years very interesting to say the least :biggrin:
Reply 13
...
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Nuttyy
Noice! My friend who went to the same school as me got 10A*s. He was offered a scholarship at a private college, but rejected it lol.


Yeah! I applied to a selective sixth form which had all of these exams and graded interviews and was offered a place and even enrolled there but then I rejected them for a nice state sixth form - best choice I ever made :tongue:
Trust me, I jumped between three different state schools (as well as a private school for a couple of terms) and the academic pressure was still immense wherever I went (not that it struck myself as a problem, it evidently impacted others negatively though).

The area I live in has a high density of schools, so you hear of a lot of different experiences; 9/10, everyone has an awful time Year 7–Year 13. Fun is essentially prohibited across the board anyway, that isn’t unique to your private education. Plus, you could find yourself put on detentions just for sitting on windowsills or trying to hide indoors when it was cold. The number of times having a laugh or making too much noise in the corridor had you under suspicion alone was ridiculous. I have only known two types of people to pass through education without a hitch:

Those naturally granted with the perfect life, with a perfect home and perfect supportive parents, with no personal issues, that somehow find themselves favourited by every teacher just for existing, regardless of their academic ability.

Or...

Individuals who are so nonchalant about their education, they willingly spend all of their time disrupting classes, thriving off being irritants to the teachers, putting 0% into anything, not caring about failing or being in trouble, and only valuing school for the cliques they can reign while somehow avoiding permanent exclusion (although suspensions are frequently tallied up).

The pressure was always put on the wrong people as well, usually those having a hard time. We lost our on-site counsellors, career advisors and learning support team due to cuts; on top of that, while you are being beaten up over your grades, the teachers have no time for you because all of the departments are underfunded and understaffed.

My school (the one I ended up attending the longest) was not the worst as a grammar school, but the regular secondary school that sat nearby was only just given enough money to keep everyone imprisoned—I recall some attempt being made to improve the place (because it wasn’t bad, they just lacked provisions and opportunities), but as soon as they received the funding boost to invest in a small farm (some small and larger animals, to offer a Level 2–3 BTEC in Animal Care to students) the money was relocated to the top performing local grammar school. Like, all of the schools (academy, regular, grammar, or whatever) were just shafted unless they were the TOP school in the area.

The conditions worsened though (and I am talking 6 years ago now), to a point where we started paying to join clubs at a local private school just because our own schools couldn’t afford to invest in anything decent. It was depressing being bound to classrooms that were falling apart but could never be repaired, watching teachers leaving or being made redundant (always the best ones), every year involving fewer science practicals because they were too costly and no longer counted as “relevant” to our education, and our previously partly-funded student exchange trips (for languages) mounting up to three figure numbers because they were unnecessary to the curriculum—despite the clear benefits they carried.

In many places, if you didn’t get it, you were given up on. No intervention was introduced to help you understand your work. You were just dumb and that was that. Not that the school could help, because every teacher was responsible for in excess of 100 students. If you were a straggler, you would learn to accept it; they were only going to give you a millisecond of additional explaining time, before multiplying the pressure on you in classes, assuming that would force you to grow a second brain and catch up on your own 🤔

End of the day, I believe the only friends of mine who enjoyed their secondary education, and the experiences that came with it, attended the private school I went to for their after school clubs.

Initially forgot to add that I did actually attend a private school for a couple of terms and that it provided a greater educational experience than anything afterwards. It’s just unfortunate we went from being relatively well-off family to suddenly having no money. I would have stayed there any day.
(edited 6 years ago)
As a parent who as a teenager who was bullied at a comprehensive school who tried for ten years for a child we always said we would give out child the best education we could afford. We have worked out hearts out to give our son a private education and he has done really well. The school are extremely supportive of his high functional autism which we only found about about in the last six months. He has had help with his studies and personal statement. I highly recommend smaller private education where you don't get lost in the system.

Quick Reply