Is it not considered "cool" to have went to private school anymore?

I went to a uni that where around half the intake at the time was private school educated students. I remember back to a time when me and a bunch of my coursemates were in the library and applying to placement years on company websites. As part of all these application processes these companies have an optional section where they ask for data such as whether you had a state or private secondary school education, had free school meals, your parents income, ethnicity etc. and all my private school mates intentionally skipped these sections as they thought it would negatively impact their application if they say they went to a private school. Also they left out their school names in their CVs for the same reason. One of them also told me that the reason he does it is that if a company had to decide between two candidates which had the exact same qualifications and experiences but one was state educated and the other private then the state educated one would get the job. This intrigued me as someone who is state educated as to why they'd do this as growing up I always thought the main reason why parents send their kids to private school is for better career prospects, and when it came down to applying for internships/jobs at these large companies they shyed away from disclosing it. Is it actually the case now that companies look down at those that went to private school?

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 1

GeT_iN_SHinJI

It's probably for "inclusion" or whatever. They do it for uni applications as well. If you come from a "disadvantaged background" then they'll swipe you right up.

Reply 2

hotpud

Original post by GeT_iN_SHinJI

It's probably for "inclusion" or whatever. They do it for uni applications as well. If you come from a "disadvantaged background" then they'll swipe you right up.

Yes, it is for inclusion, but equally the privately educated person still has a massive advantage. For one they know that applying to large corporations is a thing and know how to go about doing it. I think most don't recognise just how challenging life is for some of the most deprived youngsters.

Reply 3

londonmyst

Has attending a secular private school where the focus is on accumulating mandatory academic qualification passes or obtaining a uni place ever been considered cool in Britain? :curious:

Reply 4

gjd800

Original post by GeT_iN_SHinJI

It's probably for "inclusion" or whatever. They do it for uni applications as well. If you come from a "disadvantaged background" then they'll swipe you right up.

Yeah, I failed half my A Levels and still ended up in a good phil department, then with a PhD, then at Oxford. Long live widening participation.

Original post by londonmyst

Has attending a secular private school where the focus is on accumulating mandatory academic qualification passes or obtaining a uni place ever been considered cool in Britain? :curious:

Not in the circles I've mixed in.

Reply 5

ajj2000

Original post by Darcy1

This intrigued me as someone who is state educated as to why they'd do this as growing up I always thought the main reason why parents send their kids to private school is for better career prospects, and when it came down to applying for internships/jobs at these large companies they shyed away from disclosing it. Is it actually the case now that companies look down at those that went to private school?

Its a common misconception. Pretty damaging when people think (in error) that others have a better chance than them despite similar grades and taking the same course.

Reply 6

AMac86

It's not that some employers "look down" on private schooling, it's more that there's some recognition around longer term career potential and success apart from a strict comparison of grades, eg:

If you have two students, they both have 2.1 degrees from similar universities and the same A-levels, lets say ABB. One went to a private school, one went to a state school - otherwise they are essentially equal. As an employer in choosing between the two candidates you might consider that the student with less support in the state sector has demonstrated greater ability and potential by achieving the same grades as the private school student.

Notwithstanding these sorts of considerations, private school backgrounds are still strongly represented in the top universities and various competitive graduate careers - so it still seems to carry a substantial educational advantage.