11 Plus Exams Forum

There is a great article by the Provost of Eton entitled "We are sleep walking into mediocrity" in the Telegraph today, link below:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main ... do0703.xml

Therefore thought that it would be interesting to canvas an opinion from the regulars on this forum.

Lee: "Light Blue Touchpaper and Stand Back!"

Much as I would love to see my son's Prep School extend their facilities for the benefit of the wider community, I cannot realistically see it happening. The staff are already giving an enormous amount of their time in return for the fees that we pay for the education of our children.

The key issue for me has to be that we are already paying Income Tax for an education system that we are not using. If the Charities Commission impose these rules on Private Schools they will have to raise their fees yet further, creating a yet narrower elite.

A starter for ten ...

Sally-Anne

Are the private schools a charity in the true sense?

The country gives up £250 millions in tax revenues every year for private schools, so private school parents pay less for their education.

This money could be used to the benefit of state schools. So why subsidise private schools?

SAM

SomethingAboutMary wrote:Are the private schools a charity in the true sense?

The country gives up £250 millions in tax revenues every year for private schools, so private school parents pay less for their education.

This money could be used to the benefit of state schools. So why subsidise private schools?

SAM

If private schools spend £270 million a year on scholarships and bursaries, and relieve the education budget of £2.2 billion per year, and only benefit from £100 million a year from tax concessions due to their charitable status, who exactly is subsidising whom?

Actually I don't think it should be about money. This country spends billions on wars, whether they are legal or not. Surely our education system is more important? The truth is that Britain will never have a top class state education system like other countries do while private schools exist in the way that they do.

In many countries with a great state education system there are private schools,though often used only by wealthy people with less able children. They are not bastions of privilege and success. Here private schools cream off many of the brightest. Whatever anyone says, parents are essentially buying advantage and privilege. This feeds the class sytem we know today. I think it is worth £2 billion a year to completely reorder education in this country to make it more equitable and give everyone the same chance. I think the knock on effect on society would benefit everyone.

Charitable status for private schools is ridiculous.

Those of us that take up private places still pay our taxes for the state system for places we don't use (and rightly so).

No, irrespective