Private schools don’t put children first, they put everyone else last
At first I was energised and vaguely excited by the private schools debate. Abolish, I say. Get rid of a profoundly unequal education system that reproduces inequality and divides society! Bye! And then, as the debate continued, I started to consider what we’re not talking about when we’re talking about private schools.
As the election approaches, private schools have become a topic of extreme agitation, with Labour’s plans to levy VAT on school fees leading to politicians being asked endless questions about it and newspapers running endless pieces warning of the chaos it will unleash on “middle-class” families. This obsession is no doubt influenced by the fact that, while only 7% of the population went to a private school, according to social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, 43% of “the UK’s 100 most influential editors and broadcasters” did (and 44% of my fellow columnists). Anyway, one such middle-class family appeared in the Telegraph last week beneath the headline, “We moved to Spain to dodge Labour’s private school tax raid.” A stern couple were photographed with their daughter in front of a portrait of Napoleon III, a picture that invited the age-old question, “Middle class?”
Continue reading… Private schools don’t put children first, they put everyone else lastAt first I was energised and vaguely excited by the private schools debate. Abolish, I say. Get rid of a profoundly unequal education system that reproduces inequality and divides society! Bye! And then, as the debate continued, I started to consider what we’re not talking about when we’re talking about private schools.As the election approaches, private schools have become a topic of extreme agitation, with Labour’s plans to levy VAT on school fees leading to politicians being asked endless questions about it and newspapers running endless pieces warning of the chaos it will unleash on “middle-class” families. This obsession is no doubt influenced by the fact that, while only 7% of the population went to a private school, according to social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, 43% of “the UK’s 100 most influential editors and broadcasters” did (and 44% of my fellow columnists). Anyway, one such middle-class family appeared in the Telegraph last week beneath the headline, “We moved to Spain to dodge Labour’s private school tax raid.” A stern couple were photographed with their daughter in front of a portrait of Napoleon III, a picture that invited the age-old question, “Middle class?” Continue reading… Schools, Life and style, Children, Education
