School dissapointment
Discussion
My daughter applied for the Nottm girls high school a few weeks ago, she took an exam and sat an interview.
Anyway, on sat, we got a letter offering her a place so today we rang to enquire about the bursary we were hoping to get only to find out that all the bursaries and scholarship's had gone.
Basically, i'm gutted.
I was going to use my savings for the first year's fees but i would still have to find the other 5 years funding.
I was hoping for 50% funding and i would have paid the other half but short of selling the house i can't afford the whole thing.
Needless to say, she was very upset.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Mick
Anyway, on sat, we got a letter offering her a place so today we rang to enquire about the bursary we were hoping to get only to find out that all the bursaries and scholarship's had gone.
Basically, i'm gutted.
I was going to use my savings for the first year's fees but i would still have to find the other 5 years funding.
I was hoping for 50% funding and i would have paid the other half but short of selling the house i can't afford the whole thing.
Needless to say, she was very upset.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Mick
agent006 said:
Other than saying that, within reason, the school you go to makes not a blind bit of difference to your life.
Can't agree. All the evidence is massively to the contrary.
Go to a school that has a high number of students achieving A-C at GCSE and you have many greater chances in life; A Levels, Degree etc.
Go to a school that performs poorly and your life chances are much reduced.
Of course there are many individual exceptions, but the above is a general truism that the entire Schools Performance Tables are based upon, and OFSTED recognise.
As a product of the Public school system I am biased but I think you can achieve just as much in a State School if you apply yourself.
As a concerned parent you can help by ensuring that when she needs help she gets it, and use the tools at your disposal such as selecting the best state school in the area.
The money you have now will come in handy for her when she goes to University. Strike a deal that you will pay her tuition fees at Uni and use the knowledge of people on here to show her what she is capable of if she gets into Oxford.
Not that I am a parent but my observation is that school is just a start on the road to career and success. I've seen kids with unlimited resources thrown at them, but they have gone on nothing, and those where the only resource was a parent's time and love, and they have well paid jobs they enjoy.
If my school had invested time in me I'd have ended up in a career that paid well, rather than have to emigrate to get that standard of living. Mine was set up to provide fodder for academia - very laudable etc but the way the jobs market is going hardly lucrative.
In addition the parents of scholarship kids seem to spend a great deal of time arguing about money - whilst the son or daughter doesn't realise the sacrifice, and there is hell to pay if the child simply cannot cut it.
An alternative might be to send her to a private sixth form college. As everybody gets 10 A stars anyway nowadays regardless of where they went this may give her the edge when trying to go to a proper University.
As a concerned parent you can help by ensuring that when she needs help she gets it, and use the tools at your disposal such as selecting the best state school in the area.
The money you have now will come in handy for her when she goes to University. Strike a deal that you will pay her tuition fees at Uni and use the knowledge of people on here to show her what she is capable of if she gets into Oxford.
Not that I am a parent but my observation is that school is just a start on the road to career and success. I've seen kids with unlimited resources thrown at them, but they have gone on nothing, and those where the only resource was a parent's time and love, and they have well paid jobs they enjoy.
If my school had invested time in me I'd have ended up in a career that paid well, rather than have to emigrate to get that standard of living. Mine was set up to provide fodder for academia - very laudable etc but the way the jobs market is going hardly lucrative.
In addition the parents of scholarship kids seem to spend a great deal of time arguing about money - whilst the son or daughter doesn't realise the sacrifice, and there is hell to pay if the child simply cannot cut it.
An alternative might be to send her to a private sixth form college. As everybody gets 10 A stars anyway nowadays regardless of where they went this may give her the edge when trying to go to a proper University.
If i earned less than 13000, we would have been eligible for a trust fund but our income is 22000.
I believe she will do well where ever she goes because she has a good mind, reasonable social skills and although confident she is quite humble.
The local comp she is down for is 43rd out of 50 in Nottinghamshire in ofsted ratings.
We have ruled out selling the house.
I worked out if i sold my Drag race car and put my savings in we would have no more than 2 years fees.
It seems in this country if your rich or poor you've got it made but if your above the bread line, no chance.
Mick
I believe she will do well where ever she goes because she has a good mind, reasonable social skills and although confident she is quite humble.
The local comp she is down for is 43rd out of 50 in Nottinghamshire in ofsted ratings.
We have ruled out selling the house.
I worked out if i sold my Drag race car and put my savings in we would have no more than 2 years fees.
It seems in this country if your rich or poor you've got it made but if your above the bread line, no chance.
Mick
Muncher said:
Private schools are vastly overrated. With the right guidance and determination she will do just as well in a state school.
Nonsense comment
. Totally depends on where you live and how far you are prepared to travel daily or weekly boarding. With children in both state and private schools I can tell you that on the experience in these two schools the private school is head and shoulders above the state school with respect to all the major points of reference. "Right guidance and determination" just doesn't sound like terms that you would easily apply to the circumstances of the majority of today's teenage students! I think you've been reading too many "parenting" magazines!!
Muncher said:
Private schools are vastly overrated. With the right guidance and determination she will do just as well in a state school.
If she is intelligent and works very hard, and does not allow others to distract her, she will end up with excellent results at a good state High school....
My eldest two boys passed the 11 plus, went to Grammar school, (non fee paying) and both obtained 10 good grade GSCE's and are now both at University.....
My youngest lad failed his 11 plus, went to the local High school, takes his GCSE's in Summer, and I expect he will do almost as well.......
Don't worry about it........
vixpy1 said:
So why are you biased towards the state sector?
I believe in freedom of choice. When you add up the cost of fees against the benefit it's a fairly poor equation going to a medium to low league public school.
Winchester, Eton, Westminster are worth it because of the network of friends you gain which you can use when you're working in the City after you get your degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford.
But a fee paying school charging 8000 Pounds a year looks like poor value when everybody gets the same results, which nowadays they do. And if you go and study Sociology at Keele they don't care if you're scum or royalty, and you won't get a good job anyway.
If you spent that 8K on tuition or on stopping the student from having to work at Uni so they can concentrate on their studies, then that's where the best advantage comes - which is why I said it.
GavinPearson said:
So why are you biased towards the state sector?
I believe in freedom of choice. When you add up the cost of fees against the benefit it's a fairly poor equation going to a medium to low league public school.
Winchester, Eton, Westminster are worth it because of the network of friends you gain which you can use when you're working in the City after you get your degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford.
But a fee paying school charging 8000 Pounds a year looks like poor value when everybody gets the same results, which nowadays they do. And if you go and study Sociology at Keele they don't care if you're scum or royalty, and you won't get a good job anyway.
If you spent that 8K on tuition or on stopping the student from having to work at Uni so they can concentrate on their studies, then that's where the best advantage comes - which is why I said it.
Ah ok, I actually agree with all that.
moparmick said:
This is a state school not a public school but it is by far the best in Notts.
The fees are 7000 a year.
I personally value this higher than university as there are a glut of post grads around and a lot of them would struggle to write their own name correctly.
Mick
If its fee paying its a private school. Unless there are state schools that charge fees?
This might have been said already, sorry if I missed it during my bried scanning of the thread.
I just just finished school and am now at university. I went through prep school and then a state-funded grammar. I enjoyed by school career but can't help thinking that (especially with A-levels) I would have done better had I gone to a private school.
You may ask why, and how can I tell?
The grammar school I was at (Cranbrook School, Kent) didn't have a work ethic at all. I am what I would consider one of the more conciensous (sp?) students but I found it incrediably difficult to do the amount of work needed to get good results. From this aspect I wouldn't have done any worse had I gone to the local comprehensive.
My sister is at Kings Canterbury and the expectation to work is unbelievable compared to what I was used too.
On top of this I also feel that more extra-curicular activities would have been beneficial. The school seemed to focus on rugby which, although having the build, I was never very good at. I am a keen sailor but despite considerable efforts on my part to persuade the school set something up nothing happened, and not because of lack of interest... I helped setup a photography club which quickly folded due to lack of support.
This may be the case in any school, but I get the feeling that if Catherine (my sister) wanted to do something outside of her music, sailing, occasional rowing, lacrosse and 6AS's the school would go out of their way to help her. It all comes at a price though!
I just just finished school and am now at university. I went through prep school and then a state-funded grammar. I enjoyed by school career but can't help thinking that (especially with A-levels) I would have done better had I gone to a private school.
You may ask why, and how can I tell?
The grammar school I was at (Cranbrook School, Kent) didn't have a work ethic at all. I am what I would consider one of the more conciensous (sp?) students but I found it incrediably difficult to do the amount of work needed to get good results. From this aspect I wouldn't have done any worse had I gone to the local comprehensive.
My sister is at Kings Canterbury and the expectation to work is unbelievable compared to what I was used too.
On top of this I also feel that more extra-curicular activities would have been beneficial. The school seemed to focus on rugby which, although having the build, I was never very good at. I am a keen sailor but despite considerable efforts on my part to persuade the school set something up nothing happened, and not because of lack of interest... I helped setup a photography club which quickly folded due to lack of support.
This may be the case in any school, but I get the feeling that if Catherine (my sister) wanted to do something outside of her music, sailing, occasional rowing, lacrosse and 6AS's the school would go out of their way to help her. It all comes at a price though!
moparmick said:
This is a state school not a public school but it is by far the best in Notts.
The fees are 7000 a year.
I personally value this higher than university as there are a glut of post grads around and a lot of them would struggle to write their own name correctly.
Mick
Yes, we all know that you get some prize thickies out of Uni, however, you need to know the system. It doesn't matter one jot what you personally think, the fact is that when hiring people make very conservative selections. A degree from Oxford and a masters make somebody employable, even if they cannot spell or construct a sentence. A worldly wise man with a 2:2 from Manchester who will actually be of use cannot cut it when all the other CVs say 1st.
The dumbing down of Unis is to blame, I cannot change the system, just work within it to get the best result. You should too.
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