Parents pulling kids out of private schools
#1
Parents pulling kids out of private schools
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...956332552.html
Astonishingly I heard a group of mums saying they are moving to state school so they can keep up their holidays and dinner parties
Astonishingly I heard a group of mums saying they are moving to state school so they can keep up their holidays and dinner parties
#2
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,066
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...956332552.html
Astonishingly I heard a group of mums saying they are moving to state school so they can keep up their holidays and dinner parties
Astonishingly I heard a group of mums saying they are moving to state school so they can keep up their holidays and dinner parties
#3
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Before the public v private debate commences we did pop along to our local state for a view but no no. Despite being one of the best in the state if not country its just not right for our daughter and her specific needs.
But was really quite astonished at comments by some people on lifes priorities
Childrens education versus selfish holidays/new cars.
PS the said holidays were parents only - children stay with housekeeper and nanny while parents dive in Maldives
#4
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Maybe they should move to Parkville
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers...ool,_Melbourne
Consistently one of the highest scoring state high school in Australia, overall always one of the highest scoring schools of any type in Aus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers...ool,_Melbourne
Consistently one of the highest scoring state high school in Australia, overall always one of the highest scoring schools of any type in Aus.
#6
Banned
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 697
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
In our case state school would be an inferior education and therefore are staying with the private school - although have now moved to another with smaller class sizes.
Before the public v private debate commences we did pop along to our local state for a view but no no. Despite being one of the best in the state if not country its just not right for our daughter and her specific needs.
But was really quite astonished at comments by some people on lifes priorities
Childrens education versus selfish holidays/new cars.
PS the said holidays were parents only - children stay with housekeeper and nanny while parents dive in Maldives
Before the public v private debate commences we did pop along to our local state for a view but no no. Despite being one of the best in the state if not country its just not right for our daughter and her specific needs.
But was really quite astonished at comments by some people on lifes priorities
Childrens education versus selfish holidays/new cars.
PS the said holidays were parents only - children stay with housekeeper and nanny while parents dive in Maldives
I should point out that although I have lived in Oz, I am speaking from a UK perspective where only 7% of the schoolkids are educated independently rather than the 30% in Oz but I'm sure the principle is the same.
What I can never understand from the UK state school critics is that we are agreed that GCSE and A'levels (which are the staple diet of comprehensive and independent schools), have been so dumbed-down that top grades are easily attainable (even at the bog std comp), so why shell out all that money for private education?
When I send my son and daughter to the local comp back in 1995/6, just 22% of pupils got 5 or more good GCSE passes (It's now around 80%) and I truly believed they both achieved their academic potential because a child's home background and their ability level are more likely to determine their outcome than the school they attend.
One of the girls in my daughter's class got 10 A* GCSE passes, how would she have done better at Roedean? Didn't the Eton educated Prince Harry only get a B and D in his 2 A'levels and one of those was Art. Furthermore extra curricular activities that private schools offer like learning the violin or playing tennis can be learnt out of school.
There is so much more to be gained from attending a state school – preferably a local one – where you are promoting community values and where the child is more likely to have schoolfriends in the area. Some universities also give preference to state school kids over their private counterparts even if the exam results are inferior (although imo this is wrong as I can’t see how any benefit is derived from attending an independent school over a state one).
#7
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Schools are a personal choice and not all children do best in state system.
What is the logic in sending our daughter to an underfunded school whereas we have the opportunity to send her to a school with no such issues.
#8
Banned
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 697
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
How do you know your daughter wouldn't have achieved her potential in a state school just because it was "underfunded"
Private schools are for snobs.
#9
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,066
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
The school you send your child/ren to is a personal choice. The same as the clothes you buy them (do you buy them the latest Nike trainers or an old pair of Woolies own brand)...is it snobbery to buy the Nikes if you can afford them? You do what you think is best for them and hope you come through it unscathed. I think there is probably more snobbery attached to private education in England than in Australia, but maybe that's because it did appear to be more elitist in the UK. Here it's just a viable option.
#10
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
As for my daughter it is because she is autistic and state schools are not equiped with relevant visual aids, have too large class sizes etc. Specialist autism schools are out of the question because she is too high functioning and requires far more social interaction with likeminded little girls. The local state school (which we went along too view) required additonal aide at an annual cost of $15k per year (no funding from govt). The school she will now be attending does not as they have teachers aides already in addition to the teacher with class sizes of 15 to 17 versus 28 to 34 at state.
Other points relevant to us:
Pool - state no, private yes indoor and fully equiped including diving platforms
(swimming is a big part of our daughters life)
Blackboards at state versus electronic boards with laptop workstations at private.
Location private continues from junior school into senior school, state does not and we have no state schooling beyound primary in our areas.
I think its more a case of reverse snobbery from you.
I have nothing against state school but not for my daughter given specific reasons above.
Again public versus private raises its head by another ignorant poster who fails the first basic test question.
"What is right for our child"
#11
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Credit to the parents. I think it's really gay sending your kids private rather than state, after all that's one of the reasons we pay taxes.
There is so much more to be gained from attending a state school – preferably a local one – where you are promoting community values and where the child is more likely to have schoolfriends in the area. Some universities also give preference to state school kids over their private counterparts even if the exam results are inferior (although imo this is wrong as I can’t see how any benefit is derived from attending an independent school over a state one).
There is so much more to be gained from attending a state school – preferably a local one – where you are promoting community values and where the child is more likely to have schoolfriends in the area. Some universities also give preference to state school kids over their private counterparts even if the exam results are inferior (although imo this is wrong as I can’t see how any benefit is derived from attending an independent school over a state one).
Prior to coming to Australia I would never have thought to send my kids private. Once I got here and saw how the system works (particuarly here in Bris "two degrees of separation" bane) then I almost felt I was disadvantaging my child by not sending them.
#12
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
There is so much more to be gained from attending a state school – preferably a local one – where you are promoting community values and where the child is more likely to have schoolfriends in the area. Some universities also give preference to state school kids over their private counterparts even if the exam results are inferior (although imo this is wrong as I can’t see how any benefit is derived from attending an independent school over a state one).
I was discussing this whole subject with a guy who lives in UK. He pointed out to me that parents pay an arm and a leg to buy a property in an area that enables their child to go to a good school (because of the limit on numbers which doesn't so much apply here).
He said savvy developers had caught onto this and were buying up property near schools and turning them into tiny flats that parents were buying as a second property just so they could have that as their home address, enabling them to get their kid into that local school.
I guess we all pay in some way in the end.
#13
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,066
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
In our case also the state school could not offer the same standard as our local private schools.
I have now realised where we are going wrong as now he is at private school we are still taking him on holidays with us despite using his share of holiday money on his education. Must admit though as not to be hypocrtical when he was in state school we used to manage the odd child free holiday and very relaxing it was to.
I have now realised where we are going wrong as now he is at private school we are still taking him on holidays with us despite using his share of holiday money on his education. Must admit though as not to be hypocrtical when he was in state school we used to manage the odd child free holiday and very relaxing it was to.
In our case state school would be an inferior education and therefore are staying with the private school - although have now moved to another with smaller class sizes.
Before the public v private debate commences we did pop along to our local state for a view but no no. Despite being one of the best in the state if not country its just not right for our daughter and her specific needs.
But was really quite astonished at comments by some people on lifes priorities
Childrens education versus selfish holidays/new cars.
PS the said holidays were parents only - children stay with housekeeper and nanny while parents dive in Maldives
Before the public v private debate commences we did pop along to our local state for a view but no no. Despite being one of the best in the state if not country its just not right for our daughter and her specific needs.
But was really quite astonished at comments by some people on lifes priorities
Childrens education versus selfish holidays/new cars.
PS the said holidays were parents only - children stay with housekeeper and nanny while parents dive in Maldives
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Further, the principle is NOT the same in Australia.
- In the UK, private schools get no public funding
- In Australia, private schools get State and Federal Government Funding.
In 2005-06, government schools in Victoria received combined Australian and Victorian Government funding of $10,352 a student, while non-government schools received $5,613 a student
Education: State v Private
#15
Australia's Doorman
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: Parents pulling kids out of private schools
Firstly, I agree that it's a very personal choice and any parent that chooses to send their kid to a private school is perfectly entitled to do so. These things often come down to something as elusive as the way a school 'feels', so there's little point in beating people about where they've chosen.
That said, you're deluding yourselves if you think they get a better education at a fee-paying school. In terms of basic results, the state schools out-perform the private schools every year.
That said, you're deluding yourselves if you think they get a better education at a fee-paying school. In terms of basic results, the state schools out-perform the private schools every year.
GOVERNMENT schools have beaten high-fee-charging private colleges in this year's HSC, winning top spot in a majority of the state's 38 education regions. Public schools topped the HSC list in 22 regions across NSW but their success was even more pronounced in Sydney where they won 13 to the independents' three. Source
I'm certainly not going to take the moral highground on this and if we found, after visiting them and looking into them, that the best school in this area for our son was private, then we'd pay up.