Really need a Plan B.....

[KentPhilip]

You lot are completely missing the point of private schools - it's who you get to know, not what you know.

True to a point. But your clever successful ex-school friends are not going to help you if you're a bumbling idiot.

.. which I'm sure they remind you of all the time

[russell]

True to a point. But your clever successful ex-school friends are not going to help you if you're a bumbling idiot.

.. which I'm sure they remind you of all the time

What about Boris?

[eek]

What about Boris?

He just pretends to be an idiot and is all the more dangerous because he can pull it off.

[northernladuk]

The state schools simply are not good enough and don't provide kids with the correct environment or education to go onto the best schools/unis.

This comment alone shows there is a problem.

Ultimately private school is not about the education for me - it is about the social environment and the quality of the people around your children. I have seen the class of students who come out of somewhere like Manchester Grammar school for example where the fees are 10k a year - no state or free Grammar school (e.g. Altrincham Grammer) can even compare to it.

This is true if children are around their peers. If you stick your child in to an environment where people are sticking rich with connections he is more likely to be labelled an outcast as he doesn't have a helicopter for this 16th birthday and going to Prince Georges parties etc. Sometimes it is best to be top of the rest than bottom of the somebody's.

It's not as black and white as you think. Social mobility isn't about skinting yourself to scrape in to a private school. Also who dictates what is best and what makes people happy with life? If going to a private school is the only way to achieve that then we are all a bit screwed.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

This comment alone shows there is a problem.



This is true if children are around their peers. If you stick your child in to an environment where people are sticking rich with connections he is more likely to be labelled an outcast as he doesn't have a helicopter for this 16th birthday and going to Prince Georges parties etc. Sometimes it is best to be top of the rest than bottom of the somebody's.

It's not as black and white as you think. Social mobility isn't about skinting yourself to scrape in to a private school. Also who dictates what is best and what makes people happy with life? If going to a private school is the only way to achieve that then we are all a bit screwed.

Fair point about some private schools but others don't operate the same way.... you can tell when you go into the car park the type of people you are dealing with. e.g. middle class, wealthy, mixture etc. I have found that a lot more people are willing to sacrifice their lifestyle for their child's education.....

Also being top of the rest hardly helps - you are likely to be seen as the rich kid and picked on......

[doodab]

Your only looking at it in pure financial terms - like I said, for me it is about them going to school, enjoying it and wanting to go there. It's about having good quality people around them, the best facilities, the best social environment. The private school we applied for didn't have stuck up people in it - yet the quality was the best we had seen. If they are spending most of their days somewhere then you want them to get the most out of it. I never look back at my school days positively and that is not something I want for my kids.

No, I am looking at it as bang for the buck. My perception is that at this stage of his life I get more benefit doing things this way than I would get from paying for a private school.

[TestMangler]

Plans B's are normally considered in addition to comtracting. Very few contractors will create a plan B that replaces their contracting income. This stems from two reasons, one most contractors while aware they are slightly more entrepreneurial than permies never put in the 100% effort to create a fully sustainable plan B and second the money from contracting is easy & therefore the comfort blanket it provides to soothing.

Best to create supplemental forms of income. Ie. websites of some kind, investments, buy to let's, some sellable software

This way additional income can be increased. When the additional income covers or exceeds your outgoings you've cracked it & can choose to do whatever you want.

Don't say this very often, but, WHS ^^^