Yesterday, my public-schooled daughter had the opportunity to attend a holiday club at a private girls’ school. The facilities alone blew her mind and she couldn’t stop telling me how amazing it was.
This got me thinking. What is the cost of sending your child to a private school vs a public school?
What educational advantages do they offer? How much would it cost me?
I did my research….so there are few fees to consider, particularly with this school being a day and a boarding school. Registration fee £350, acceptance deposit £2500, £12000 Day per term or £15900 boarding per term. If you live outside the UK and need a student visa there’s an additional deposit of £12200.
Looking at these numbers, you may wonder what’s on offer. It would be tuition, lodging, laundry, personal accident insurance, the cost of most games activities, the majority of educational materials and many curriculum trips. Fees also include the provision of pastoral care, meals and snacks, and many activities as part of the co-curricular and weekend activities.
Private schools offer smaller class sizes and a pupil to teacher ratio, with most classrooms taking only 12 – 15 students.
They have access to facilities most public schools don’t and can teach a wider range of subjects outside the strict curriculum. Lastly, most parents see this as an investment in the child’s education, so they would take a deeper interest in ensuring they succeed.
It’s hard to ignore the benefits of a £15900 per term cost of sending your child to be educated. Some boast the fact that the child and parent will have access to a network of high-net worth individuals which could benefit them outside of school and later on in life.
My intention in writing this was to really weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. So I’ll lay out some disadvantages which are worth considering.
Admission criteria to be accepted by a school is restrictive. They may not think your child will fit in or would rather not risk them affecting other students. Private schools can kick out a student easily with little to no reason. Diversity of students’ backgrounds can be lacking. Students have a longer school day, which can be very intense.
Expect to attend school on Saturday mornings. Financially, poorer students may not always fit in.
I won’t ignore the fact that many successful people in this world come from a privately educated background and end up as lawyers, dentists, doctors and politicians. (This can also be archived by attending public school)
If the purpose of private school is to teach academic success by all means and to get ahead in life, but at what cost?
Financially, socially and psychologically. I’ll leave that for you to weigh up.
All in all, in my personal opinion, I’d send my daughter to private school if I could afford it and if I saw she had the potential. On the other hand, if I noticed it was affecting her well-being and happiness, she’d go back to public school.
One thought on “The Advantages Of Private Vs Public School”
Comments are closed.