Why do British royal children not go to state schools like the Scandanavian royals?

What a bizarre post DaisyAnne

But seeing as you ask...

I went to school across the road from my parents' house. The next nearest secondary school was 16 miles away. There was no "choice", or trying to get into the best secondary for my needs...because everyone was in together. The school in my town took every child and streamed them for each individual subject. We all turned into doctors, vets, oil industry executives, diplomats and goodness knows what. No selection involved. One girl I know went to private school 30 miles away, travelling everyday. We all thought it was very odd.

Where was this socialist and communist paradise? Well, Scotland of course. So, if you want to change the status quo in your elitist, snobby country, look at how education worked in Scotland in the seventies. I could name a few parties that could bring it about, but you can probably guess who they are.

And do move on from calling me a communist, its a very sad state of affairs.

Incidentally I have lots of arguments left. None of them sexist, no matter how much people try to discredit them. ?

I dont think changing the school system is communism though. I would not for one moment suggest the labour party put abolishing private schools in their manifesto but once they gain power I would quite like them to look at the inequalities in the school system.

volver

GrannyGravy13

volver

Our children had the education/school that suited them at the time as do our grandchildren, and I will do my very best to keep that choice.

And hell l mend the rest of you?

Sometimes I get a flash of clarity about why the Tories keep getting in south of the border.

I get the impression that you would like the Asian version of schools, prescribed hair cut, learning by rote and churning out little carbon copies.

The rich Asians send their children abroad to private schools, as they can see the advantages of choice.

You get the wrong impression then. Kids can have blue hair and wear what they like as far as I'm concerned.

As long as everybody who would benefit from it gets a good education. And it doesn't depend on how rich daddy is. Or even how "comfortable" daddy is.

The discussion obviously shouldn't "depend" on how sexist the posters are. You are unleashing your venom on individuals Volver. That tends to suggest you have run out of your argument.

How about telling us how we can change the status quo? We could then attract the parents of the 6% of privately educated children to their local schools. Then you could suggest how we find a party that can/would bring that about.

You seem to want communism where we deprive those with options, just for the sake of it. When did that improve the fate of all? It just moved power and wealth into another set of hands. Politics is about persuasion, not about beating people over the head with a big stick of sneers and inverted snobbery.

I guess security is the main concern, it’s much easier to deal with that with smaller class sizes. I can’t think why you’d send your kids to a state school if you can afford to go private. State schools have stupidly big class sizes, that’s not good for anyone. You will absolutely receive a better education in a private school. State school teachers are in huge demand as their pay and conditions are awful. My 3 kids went to state schools and went on to uni but had they had the benefit of private education I’m sure they would have achieved more. My DG goes to a private school which is amazing, it’s brilliant but her Mum is a state school teacher and what those teachers have to put up with is shocking. Including having to have security guards. Dreadful.

I know in Norway there are no private schools so all levels have to send children to state schools therefore the highly enabled and privileged parents make sure they are up to scratch. If only we did the same instead of separating the successful/ wealthy/ privileged to ensure they get a better start and mix with other successful people. Shame. Ethical, honourable fair and impoverished people will send their children to the state school. Out of principle. Thst is why Liz Truss was sent to state school her parents could have afforded to send her to the local fee paying school but chose not to. The standards between the resources of the two schools was immense. Diane abbot sent her son to private school. Jeremy Corbyn went to private school. Liberty and Frances Truss go to a state grammar. A proper comprehensive system that hasn’t been creamed off is the Scandinavian model. And of course they are right.

At least times have changed regarding the schooling of Royal children. The Queen and her sister did not go to school at all and Anne was 13 before she was sent to board. A governess was all that was required for them.
The British class system is so entrenched that it is inconceivable that Royal children would attend state schools.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand the point you’re making. If a parent can’t afford to send their child to private school then the only choice they have is to go to a state school. And that child should receive as good an education as any education that can be paid for. MayBee

And that child should receive as good an education as any education that can be paid for.

Who says? I would agree that this is something I would want us to move towards, but I don't see why that should mean I must sneer at my neighbour if they use the system currently in place to give their child the best they can. Firstly, they may disagree with your view. Secondly, we have the system we have.

How does it enhance another child's education simply by any parent prejudicing their wish to provide what they consider the best they can provide for their child?

Fighting for a change of system is one thing. Fighting one another, whether it's the Royals, MPs or your neighbour, is pointless.

I hope that clarifies what I said. I'm sorry it wasn't clear the first time.

I can only speak for my family, two eldest went entirely through the state system, absolutely no complaints we are fortunate to have three very good state senior schools in the area.

Next child started in state primary, but wasn’t thriving, I do not blame the school. It was large three classes in each year and our child just got lost . When it came to fourth child starting school we had moved, next door but one is the local primary school and that was our choice (including moving number 3). On meeting the Headmistress and viewing the school DH was unconvinced and both went to private school (No. 3 absolutely flourished and No, 4 loved every second)

By the time No.5 was school age having been at a private Montessori nursery for three years we decided that the all girls private school which she was down for was not for her. We looked once more at the local (next door but one) primary and under a new Head the ethos of the school had changed and they went their. Extremely happy and successful for them.

Two of our GC now attend next door. Two also go to the school that No.3 initially attended and again under a different Head the school is unrecognisable from when they went, and GC are doing really well.

I would never knock state schools or teachers in this area.

I appreciate we were fortunate in that we could pay for our choices, and we will do the same for our grandchildren if it becomes necessary.

MayBee70

DaisyAnne

MayBee70

GrannyGravy13

volver if your local state school is falling down I suggest you complain to Ms. Sturgeon as education is devolved.

Whilst the U.K. has a choice of schools, Grammar, comprehensive, academy and private it’s down to parental choice. If they can afford school fees, I really don’t see why they cannot spend their money as they wish.

As for the Cambridge children, a prep school in Berkshire is preferable for their safety and privacy.

Because when people can send their children to private schools if they have the money they don’t care about the plight of children having to go to comprehensives. In Scandinavia, I believe, they don’t have private schools so it’s in everyone’s interest to make every school provide the best education as possible for every child, no matter what their background. My daughter left teaching because she was burnt out but also in despair at the lack of resources the school had.

Maybee, do you think that when people feed their children, they do not care about the plight of those who can't?

As has already been said, many families will use both systems for their family, aiming to find the best school for each child at different stages of education. It's also worth remembering that there are a proportion of parents who send their children to state schools who, once they are there, don't care about their input into the school or the system either directly or indirectly.

Scandinavia comprises Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland. Also, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Each country runs their system of choice. They are not one political system. The system in Finland, which does not allow private schools, has been mentioned several times.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand the point you’re making. If a parent can’t afford to send their child to private school then the only choice they have is to go to a state school. And that child should receive as good an education as any education that can be paid for.

From the post I replied to, I'll take your last point first. You referred to Scandinavia as one country and extrapolated your argument based on this error. I was merely pointing out that "Scandinavia" is more than one country. Finland, which does not allow private schools, has a population slightly bigger than Scotland and a land mass about the size of Germany. Whilst it's an interesting example, it is a very different country. To the best of my knowledge (and this was your point, not mine) all the other countries you talked of, as if they were one, do allow private education.

In any discussion, not getting facts right makes the rest of the opinions offered suspect, that's all.

There’s no need to ‘Hmm’ at me volver and you’re jumping to the wrong conclusion. I was referring to Prince Charles’ well documented unhappy time at Gordonstoun and I don’t need a lot of information about what life is like there. Princess Anne’s children speak very fondly of their time there.

That’ll do for me.

Mollygo

You’re right about both those DaisyAnne.
I wonder if GN’s whose children or grandchildren went, or go to private schools could help out here.

For most of their primary years we were living abroad, so dds went to the only school available - the English Speaking School.

For their senior school we sent them to a highly academic selective independent school. I wouldn’t say we chose it exactly - rather the school chose its pupils via exam and interview.
One reason we applied was very good sports facilities, inc. an indoor swimming pool - by then dds had both been very good swimmers for years. But in the event, neither was interested in competitive school swimming.

In later years I did often think it’d have been better to send them to our local, excellent grammar school - they had both passed the 11 plus - but at the time, we thought we were doing our best for them.

They both did well at the independent (all girls) and dd1 was perfectly happy there, but sadly, dd2 wasn’t - there were some nasty little bullies in her year. She had also got a place at a slightly less academic mixed independent, and I’ve often thought she’d have been happier in a mixed school, but at the time she really wanted to follow her elder sister.

Like us, if they can afford it, presumably most people do what they think best for their children at the time.

I might add that given the increased cost of school fees, not to mention relatively much higher house prices now, very few of their old school friends send their own children to independent schools, and of those who do, most have help from grandparents. Our gdcs go to their local state primary - there’s never been a question of anything else.

I’d be interested too.

I’m glad we could give our children an education which best suited them.

I'd be interested to know what it was that made private education more 'suitable' for some children? Can anyone explain further?

volver

p.s. - we don't have academies in Scotland, at least not as you mean them. I don't think we have grammars or comprehensives either.

We just have "schools"

But some very expensive independent schools too!

CoolCoco

I don't know why a state school couldn't be made as "safe" as a private one, presumably security could be employed, I'm guessing the taxpayer funds the royals bodyguards etc. Tony Blair's, and I believe Cameron and Gove's kid went to state schools in Westminster.

No, I don't understand it, either, CoolCoco.

Apart from a mention of 'undercover security' (what does this look like, I wonder?) no-one seems to have explained why schools ringed by security fences with controlled admission to visitors during school hours can't accommodate some extra security..

I'm getting cross about all the denigration of state schools. With funding cut, cut and cut again, over the past decade some of the shortcomings are not at all surprising. Exacerbated by cuts to other services, such as social work and mental health services. State schools are expected more and more to deal with deeply damaged children, with no outside support; even in school support has been severely cut back. State schools can't do anything about this. Private schools can just put up their fees...

Yes, there are not very good teachers in both the state and private sector, but most teachers in the state sector are trying to do their very best, in adverse circumstances, for the children they work with. I think that Teachers and ex teachers on GNet might well agree with me. Especially that things have got so much worse over the past 12 years...

volver

merlotgran

Prince Charles may have hated Gordonstoun but his life would have been even more hellish in a state school.

Hmm.

You've obviously not got a lot of information about what life is like at Gordonstoun.

I thought it was well-documented that Charles disliked his time at Gordonstoun?

It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the school, but perhaps it wasn't the right type of school for his personality.
His father loved his time there.

merlotgran

Prince Charles may have hated Gordonstoun but his life would have been even more hellish in a state school.

Hmm.

You've obviously not got a lot of information about what life is like at Gordonstoun.

Blooming No snobbery here just that at the time local senior school had a terrible reputation.

Too

Autocorrect is on the prowl.

RichmondPark1

merlotgran

Why should the Cambridges break the mould and use their own children as an experiment?

Thinking of royals past and present I wonder how well served they have been by their private schools in terms of academic success, emotional intelligence and happiness both during school days and in the long term.

Perhaps some of that could be attributed to family circumstances rather than the schools they attended.

However, personality traits could be a large contributory factor two.

Prince Charles may have hated Gordonstoun but his life would have been even more hellish in a state school.

Their likely 'place' in society is what differentiates them.

merlotgran

Why should the Cambridges break the mould and use their own children as an experiment?

Thinking of royals past and present I wonder how well served they have been by their private schools in terms of academic success, emotional intelligence and happiness both during school days and in the long term.

I have friends whose children went through both systems, it’s just what suits each child, and obviously what you can afford.
I’ve never looked down on children who are in the state system, through activities out of school our children mixed with both, and there was nothing to differentiate between them.
I went to a state school, my grandchildren all go to state schools, but I’m glad we could give our children an education which best suited them.

Why should the Cambridges break the mould and use their own children as an experiment?