Private schools

Throwing some fat into the fire, I wonder if those parents responding to this poll who do not favour public schools would have been keen given the chance to end their kids to a Grammar School? many of which still thrive in rural areas. What do you think? This article tells us:

Half the nation’s parents still would not send their children to a private school even if they did not have to pay for it, according to a survey published today.

The survey of 2,210 parents, carried out by YouGov, revealed 50 per cent would still want their child to go to a state school.

Three out of five who wanted to remain with the state sector wanted to do so because they thought it was important for their child to mix with other pupils from all walks of life. In the case of 38 per cent, it was because they themselves had been happy to go to one. A total of 37 per cent said they felt it was the duty of the Government to provide good quality education for all the nation’s children.

A breakdown of the figures showed that parents in Scotland and Wales were most likely to remain with the state sector – 62 per cent in both cases.

Least likely to send their children to state schools were parents in London – where just 35 per cent were prepared to stay with state schools despite the fact that the area recorded the biggest improvement in state school performance in the entire country.

The survey asked parents whether they would be likely to send their children to private schools if fees were removed from the equation – and 32 per cent said they would compared to just under 10 per cent who actually d so despite an average cost estimated at £15,000 a year.