The Great School Dilemma by Dunja

Public, comprehensive, girls only, boys only, London, outskirts, rural etc….

As Ari’s slowly reaching school age and I’m just about to relocate, my main priority has been what schools are in what catchment area.  I’ve stopped talking to friends and family about the subject because the endless contradicting advice has been making my head explode! Those with little resources living in London say comprehensive is best, it’ll toughen the kids up; those in rural locations say you shouldn’t subject your kid to London schools, public or comprehensive; those on the outskirts of London say it’s the best middle ground for schools, whether you can afford public or even send them to the comprehensive schools. So needless to say, I’m not getting anywhere. One thing I’ve done is considered my own experience, having gone to a mix of public and comprehensive schools, or private and public, as they are more aptly named overseas. Now I’m not all that familiar with the free schools here in England, but I prefer every single school i went to to the private one I was in for only 2 years, thank god! The bullying and elitism that went on in that place drove me insane. We may have had more resources and the teachers may have held better degrees from prominent universities, but nothing could have made up for the relentless snobbish atmosphere. When one kid was falling behind on his grades, he didn’t get a tutor or extra teacher time, it was up to the rest of us to help him out. And if someone couldn’t afford a notebook, other kids bought it for them.  Same goes for bullying. Expensive psychiatrists weren’t brought in for conflict resolution, it was again the other kids’ responsibility to take care of the bullied. Of course this doesn’t happen in all government ran schools, but I have heard a lot of similar stories from friends.  Nor are all private schools elitist of course, but again, it’s a pretty popular opinion. At the end of the day, I choose to look at it like this: the main thing that will determine my daughters future won’t be the school she attends but the character I help her build before and whilst she’s in education. You’ll be hearing from me on this subject in a few years time, let’s hope I was right!