I need to declare several interests. I am a governor at an excellent private school (which my three sons attended). All of my children have been privately educated and two are still at school (one about to enter Year 11, the other Year 13, so the end is in sight).
But I went to state schools.
Those state schools were a very mixed bag – aged seven, I was in a class of 42 and the teacher, who was recovering from a heart attack, just couldn’t cope. At 10 I spent a year at a wonderful primary school, after my parents moved house. From 11 to 18, I attended the local comprehensive, originally a “secondary modern”.
The teaching was variable (the physics teacher rarely showed up but the textbooks were a good substitute) and as a skinny, geeky teenager, I was “teased” relentlessly – it would be described as bullying today. But academically it was a good year group and we spurred each other on. No one had gone to Oxbridge from my school for several years; five of us got in.
I’ve recently been back to join the school’s 60th anniversary celebrations. It’s now rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, has a brilliant headmaster, thriving students and is considered one of the best schools in Sussex.
All that declared, what would I do now if my children were young?
The decision to send them to private school was definitely influenced by my own experience and a natural parental desire to give my children the best possible start.
Living in London had a bearing on the decision too; it was tricky to find good state schools (and to be in the right catchment areas).
But with VAT looming after two decades of rapid school fee inflation (up by 20pc in real terms – i.e. 20pc higher even than retail price inflation) and a perception that the best universities (and some employers too) might discriminate against those with a private education, would I make the same decision today?
Not necessarily.
For a start, with nine children the costs would be prohibitive even if I was still earning a big executive salary. Average day school fees of £6,000 per term (typically higher in London) mean that putting a child through private school from reception to Year 13 costs at least £250,000. VAT would take that to £300,000, or nearly £550,000 pre-tax income for a higher rate taxpayer. Eye-watering, even before multiplying by nine.
But even if we could afford it, is private school actually worth it – financially or otherwise?
Every school, every child and every family situation is different, so it is impossible to answer that with a simple yes or no. But studies and statistics corroborate my own experience that in Britain, having a private school education still gives adults an edge.
I emerged from school with top academic results but lacking the easy confidence of my privately educated peers. That wasn’t just a social disadvantage at university. When I started working in the City I felt very much on the outside; I worked hard but didn’t want to stand out. Those efforts to blend in led to not being recognised for my work and missing out on promotions and higher pay.
Once I realised what was happening – and badly needed the money for my growing family – I overcame that reticence. But being a state-educated woman in a private-school-educated man’s world has meant there have been situations when I have realised everyone else in the room has known each other from prep school days. It’s hard to feel completely confident and comfortable in those moments.
I got there in the end and my story – becoming a chief executive at 35 when I had five young children and succeeding at that role for 15 years – is perhaps testament to the extra grit, resilience and determination that might be the bigger advantage of not being handed social ease and acceptance on a plate.
But it felt a big struggle at times and as a parent it has been a straightforward call (given the funding was available) to give my children an easier ride. It seems to have paid off: they are their own characters, but all comfortable in their own skins.
And it may yet prove a sound investment. Research confirms that privately educated people in Britain earn more, at all career stages.
A Private Education Policy Forum study revealed that those who’ve been to private school are paid an average 17pc more at the start of their careers (age 25) than state-educated (and are 12 percentage points less likely to experience downward mobility).
By age 30, according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), those who attended private school earn an average £10,000 a year more than state-educated peers (£33,000 compared with £23,000).
And a 2017 study by Professor Francis Green and colleagues at UCL and Anna Vignoles from Cambridge found “among those aged 42 with similar social backgrounds, the privately educated men earned 35pc more than state-educated men; while privately educated women earn 21pc more than state-educated women”.
That research also found stark differences between the jobs being done by privately educated and state-educated people, with more leadership roles for the former, including of course being prime minister. Of the UK’s 58 prime ministers, 20 were educated at Eton, another 13 at either Harrow or Westminster. Sir Keir Starmer went to Reigate Grammar, which became a fee-paying school during his time there.
Critically, not all of the advantages can be explained by higher qualifications.
The ONS data shows that those eligible for free school meals with the same level of education, GCSE attainment, years of work experience, ethnicity and who attended secondary school in the same region earn an average 20pc less than their independently-educated counterparts.
We need fairer outcomes – which is what top universities have been striving for through their access programmes. Done well, these programmes recognise the inherent advantage of private education, and look through this to spot applicants’ potential, not just polish.
That doesn’t mean private school pupils are discriminated against but they do have to demonstrate real aptitude for their subject and interest in learning (and take extra care over where they apply – some colleges are more welcoming of private school pupils than others).
Even today 31.4pc of students at Oxford and 28.2pc at Cambridge went to private schools, almost five times the national average (5.9pc of children are educated privately across the UK).
So I would make the decision today based on affordability, access to good state schools and the character and aptitudes of each child (team sports are an area where the independent sector excels for example). And I would welcome the reality that in today’s world nothing can “buy” a place at a top university, a great entry-level job or a fabulous career. Hard work, ambition, enthusiasm, talent and drive will largely determine those things – just as it should be.
Just occasionally, a school might offer an unusual subject that can spark a lifelong passion – my eldest son, now a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Oxford, was introduced to Arabic in his sixth form.
For most children, the outcomes are unlikely to be vastly different but they will enjoy their school years more – and therefore emerge more confident and ready for the next stage in life – if they go somewhere where they make good friends, try new activities and are encouraged in their learning both by teachers and parents. That could of course be either a private or a state school.
If you would like to hear more about a reader’s specific private vs state school dilemma, listen to Helena speaking on Katie Morley’s Money Confidential podcast.
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