Seems Prince George will be attending Eton after all, same as his father and Uncle Harry.

Grantanow

Anniebach

What is ‘real life’ ?

It's life lived by almost everyone in this country who is not immensely privileged. Kings don't have to worry about waiting for a GP appointment, whether they have enough money to pay the rent and energy bills and whether there will be enough food on the table without visiting a food bank. And whether their kids can get into a decent comprehensive school.

You do know that not everyone in the U.K. is on the poverty line Grantanow ?

Two of my siblings went to private school (one as a day pupil one as a boarder), three of our children went to private schools.

I can assure you that they know that others are not so fortunate as they have been. Several have had to tighten their belts since the interest rate has increased.

As for GP appointments, they seem to be subject to a postcode lottery with some practices far better than others.

It would be a security nightmare if the 2nd, 3rd & 4th inline were to go to the local comp which I am sure the other pupils and parents would be quick to complain about.

Anniebach

What is ‘real life’ ?

It's life lived by almost everyone in this country who is not immensely privileged. Kings don't have to worry about waiting for a GP appointment, whether they have enough money to pay the rent and energy bills and whether there will be enough food on the table without visiting a food bank. And whether their kids can get into a decent comprehensive school.

What is ‘real life’ ?

My brother went to private school and it turned him into a right t055er. But he's got over himself now and is actually quite a lovely human! 🤣

ronib

Boris Johnson went there.

Definitely don't have to be either normal or.bright, then!!

Everyone's life is real

Such as?

What a surprise! Eton! It was only a choice between a few public schools. He won't learn much about real life.

I was thinking this lunchtime, I wonder whether events of the past few weeks will change any decisions in George's schooling. IF his father is to become King sooner than expected, on a personal level will they want George as heir to the throne, closer by at Eton, or miles away as a full-time boarder elsewhere?

My daughter had a bursary for 4 years at Benenden.

It all depends on what you mean by confidence and what drives it. I have always been seen as confident, almost from birth, merely because I was born thinking I had a right to be heard and made sure I was. It never occurred to me to do otherwise.

I never realised I was seen as confident until I was graduating from university and a group of us were talking about how we felt when we first went to uiversity . Several people said how unsure and uncertain they felt and I heartily agreed, at which they turned on me and said, but you were always brimming with confidence, which was news to me.

I then realised that confidence is a confidence trick, as long as you sound confident, it doesn't matter how unconfident you are underneath.

It has little or nothing to do with where you went to school, I was state educated at a girls convent school.

Why do some find it reasonable to take one thing a group of otherwise disparate people have in common and use it to lump them together to attack them?

Is it because that makes it easy to suggest one punishment for all of them for being identifiable in this way?

Stereotyping is what the Nazis used, what Israel may be using, what the Post Office used, and what has been used by the extremist from the dawn of time. Some of the very same people stereotyping and using this as an argument to accept collective punishment for the group discussed here would be the first to call out the stereotyping of women, older people, etc., but seem to see a stereotype-driven attack on 6% of those in schools as reasonable.

Exactly, icanhandthemback!
It would be interesting, (well, to me at least!), to be a 🪰 on the wall at William and Catherine's meetings interviews with the prospective schools! I'm sure their expectations for Prince George will be high, but undoubtedly they will be looking beyond the academic side.
The all rounded child would be more important, even when you're going to be King!

Joseann

varian I'm from an "oik" London comprehensive school, there were only 4 girls left by the 6th form. My DH is from an independent school. Sod it, I'd have swapped everything for the confidence and self assurance that he has. And his father wasn't Lord Fauntleroy or Captain Cedric Errol, or worked in invested banking, but an employee of London Transport!

That confidence certainly comes from the Independence Schools in our family. I went to a state school and came out with little confidence, she went to private school and has loads of confidence in her abilities. Similarly with my youngest son compared to his 5 brothers and sisters. I think very often in the state schools it is not necessarily the done thing to do well amongst your peers because that would make you a nerd whereas at Independent School it is a good thing to do well. Of course, it is a generalisation because you'll have anomalies at both types of schools but most of my kids seemed to prove that point.

GrannyGravy13

I really do not care what schools Prince George attends as long as he is happy, not bullied and receives an education which will help him if and when he becomes King.

This 👏👏👏

I really do not care what schools Prince George attends as long as he is happy, not bullied and receives an education which will help him if and when he becomes King.

varian

It seems that the present king did suffer emotional damage from his private school education.

He suffered at that particular school, not the system.

I think this probably overlaps somewhat with another thread discussing the added value of a good education. Sometimes it is the only means of moving up and improving oneself.

Joseann well okay it might seem humdrum to you but it was an honest occupation and put food on the table. Were they happy though?

An LT bus inspector, ronib, not bright, who earned not much more than the minimum wage in the 1970s on the 29 bus route. At the time there was a shortage of LT workers because the price of property in the capital made it difficult for LT workers to live there. An independent education thankfully took DH out of this humdrum existence.

So are we, our children and grandchildren are all either oiks or Little Lord (or Lady) Fauntleroys?

How judgemental is that!

Joseann the current head of TFL is from Repton, from a single parent family and earns £400k per annum. There are good engineers working for London Transport and I don’t quite understand your point. You need to be bright to work as an engineer for example.

varian I'm from an "oik" London comprehensive school, there were only 4 girls left by the 6th form. My DH is from an independent school. Sod it, I'd have swapped everything for the confidence and self assurance that he has. And his father wasn't Lord Fauntleroy or Captain Cedric Errol, or worked in invested banking, but an employee of London Transport!

varian - I could try to agree with you by using less confrontational, more diplomatic language but I’m not even going to try. One branch of my family followed the private school path you set out with the results you predict

Joseann

Sorry varian, I'm disagreeing with your incorrect comment that that is the ONLY advantage in attending a private school, not about top jobs themselves.

I did write "perhaps the only advantage.", not because I do not recognise that parents who buy p;laces at private schools are buying better facilities and smaller classes, which they think will advantage their children, and to an extent they do, but numerous studies have shown that academic advantage is doubtful when state school students perform better at university than their peers from private schools with the same A levels. Perhaps an element of spoon-feeding is counter productive at the end of the day.

Yes if you go to a school with great sports facilities you will be more likely to excel at sports - not many top equestrians come from disadvantaged families.

However the big attraction of private education is social. Your child will be segregated from "the Oiks" and get to know little Lord Fauntleroy whose Dad works in an investment bank and will be much more likely to offer your child a job or at least an internship, getting his foot on the ladders of the "Old Boys Club" which still holds sway in 21st century Britain