Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

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fantasyvn2008
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:35 pm

Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by fantasyvn2008 »

I've just read The Times's article today about differences betwee elites in Notting Hill and North London.

There is one claim that is relevant to our forum.

It said, "Notting Hill : Private — Notting Hill Prep, followed by the Harrodian. Unless you’re a politician, in which case a C of E primary followed by Holland Park comprehensive, where David Cameron is rumoured to be sending his children, or one of the sought-after secondaries in west London.

North London : State school on principle, though extra private tutoring for the selective schools means it costs them the same as a fee-paying school."

Is it true that "extra private tutoring for the selective schools means it costs them the same as a fee-paying school"?

I am confused. If it is true that extra private tutoring costs as much as the fees at an independent school?
Last edited by fantasyvn2008 on Wed Nov 26, 2014 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by Guest55 »

Of course not! Why would you need to pay for a tutor at secondary? There are so many help sessions and teachers willing to support that I don't know anyone having tutoring ...
Ladymuck
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Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:04 pm

Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by Ladymuck »

I don't think that it was meant to be a serious article!

Some parents do seem to spend an excessive amount on private tuition for 11+. I know friends who pay in-demand tutors £70 per hour per subject, and over the course of a year that will equate to a year's worth of prep fees. But few parents do that, and ime private school parents also pay for 11+ tuition.

Once parents have experience of the difference which private tuition can make, and given that some parents have higher expectations of their children that their school may have, it isn't a huge surprise that they turn to tutors again at GCSE or A level, but usually only for a subject or two, and for short and concentrated period of time eg where a student is aiming for Oxbridge, parents will often engage a tutor during October and November. Again it happens in both sectors, but of course Blair was famous for having his Oratory educated sons tutored by staff from Westminster school.
Yamin151
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Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by Yamin151 »

As has been said, article was meant to be tongue in cheek, but it is a habit the media has of finding an average cost for something that bears no resemblance to what 'most' of us do, I.e the outliers skew the figures. So yes, you could pay £70 per hour for 8 different tutor sessions and end up paying the equivalent of fees, or you could do absolutely nothing and cost you absolutely nothing. In between is a range of us who might too up for gcse maths, for example, if it's needed, or whatever.
It's the same with the 'it cost £200,000 to raise a child thing. At one end you have top class prams and nursery fees, designer baby clothes and £100s of pounds per. Birthday, private fees, holidays twice yearly abroad, several different games consoles and every foreign school trip available. At the other end you have child in state school, no holidays at all, childminder, all second hand clothes, books, toys. The vast majority of us fall somewhere in the middle! It's nonsense!
equilibro
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:07 pm

Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by equilibro »

Yamin151 wrote:It's nonsense!
No it's not, it's information. Make of it what you will but it's not "words that make no sense" (Concise Oxford English Dictionary).
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by Amber »

equilibro wrote:
Yamin151 wrote:It's nonsense!
No it's not, it's information. Make of it what you will but it's not "words that make no sense" (Concise Oxford English Dictionary).
Always good to have a pedant to point out the mistakes of others on a forum like this. One only hopes that the individual concerned has faultless English him or herself and never falls prey to slight errors of grammar or vocabulary. For example, someone who would know what was wrong with this phrase:
equilibro wrote:Oh, the "joy" of it all for we 11+ parents!
and would know that the abbreviation DC, when used in the plural, doesn't need an 's' as the word 'children' is always a plural; and that using upper case letters in a word like SAME implies shouting rather than emphasis- yes, someone who knew these things would be in a great position to correct others. But there is always the chance that they would be too polite to do so, particularly when colloquial use is reflected and perfectly well understood in what others have said.
moved
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Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: Costs for selective schools vs independent schools?

Post by moved »

What about the private parents who also pay a private tutor?
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