In Defence of State Schools

LUKE MILLER responds to claims that ‘posh prejudice is just as bad as racism or homophobia’


I had to get the confirmation of a few people before I realised Bristol student Becca Atkinson’s recent article for the Tab on private education was genuinely not a failed attempt at being tongue in cheek. Once I let what had been said properly sink in, it felt rude not to reply and set a few things straight.

 Firstly, let’s just make it clear that the state/private school divide is far from the biggest problem facing today’s society. There are things far worse. So when Atkinson claims that “‘posh prejudice’ is just as bad as racism or homophobia”, a far amount of reality-checking needs to take place. I don’t expect Steve McQueen to come along any time soon to make a hard-hitting drama entitled “12 Years a Posh Person”.

’12 Years a Posh Person’. Starring these guys.

The offensiveness doesn’t stop at this off-the-cuff remark. A couple of lines further down the article it’s claimed that “some parents choose to spend their money on school fees and some spend on flashy holidays and expensive cars”. Clearly, it has slipped Atkinson’s mind that there are quite a few parents that don’t have the choice between either of these – let’s not forget that the total average wage is less than a year’s boarding at Eton.

‘Holiday or private school’ isn’t a choice faced by most families.

A common argument from privately-educated people is that they have worked just as hard to get their grades as state school alumni have. In many ways, this is completely fair – no one gets into a decent university without putting a solid amount of work in and achieving the grades that they are capable of. However, private school pupils are given a massive head start in reaching what needs to be achieved – otherwise, what would be the point in their parents paying the fees if they had to work just as hard as their state school counterparts?

Do private school students have an unfair advantage?

Atkinson admits that she had “more one-on-one attention” thanks to her smaller classes, so clearly she didn’t have to work quite as hard to get her voice heard as the state school pupils in classes of up to 30. It was also recently found that private school pupils tend to do less well at university than students from comprehensive schools that have achieved the exact same A-Level grades, so something must be up.

Private schools are better – there is no doubt. They send more of their pupils to university, more of them compete in major events like the Olympic Games and their alumni tend to be much more successful in their professional careers. Atkinson is completely right in this regard.

However, just because she is right, does not make the system she defends right.

Why should the children of the rich be given an easier route in life, simply for being born in the right family? What exactly is it that makes them more entitled to a better education than the 93% of the British population that don’t go to private school? Clearly, Atkinson feels like she’s had the sort of education she deserves – when she lands in the real world, she’ll realise there’s a lot of catching up to do.