i agree that it's more than just about public or private - it very much depends on the school itself & your child's needs. i don't believe private is for every child but i did go to a private school from day 1 of prep.
i was initially at a private school in adelaide & it was fantastic. had a lovely vibe to it & was very caring. then we moved to melbourne when i was in grade 2 & i started at a new school. it was larger & very much about whose mum could do tuckshop duty & gossip in the car park at school drop off & pick up times. my mum worked (primarily to pay my school fees) so i felt a bit on the outer in primary school because my mum wasn't one of those mums (and wouldn't have wanted to be!) i continued on to the high school part & it was a huge improvement - it did get a lot bigger but that also meant that the demographics changed substantially & there were lots more kids like me.
this school required an entrance test & prides itself on academic achievement. i always say the peer pressure wasn't to slack off, it was to get A's. the question wasn't 'will you go to uni?' but 'which uni are you going to?'. that said, this is clearly not an environment that would suit every child & for some, the pressure to achieve would be detrimental. there was also a big emphasis on music & sport & the access we had to onsite facilities was fantastic.
i think one of the big bonuses was that i left school believing that nothing was outside of my reach, that i just needed to work hard & i could achieve whatever i wanted to. that confidence & attitude i think set me up well for the future.
that said, finances aside, whether we send DS to a private school will depend on him & also the schools in the area. i don't think that all private schools are created equal (so to speak!) & it depends very much on the individual school as to whether it is worth the money. if your gut feeling is that this school you have the interview for is a good fit for your DS, then i think you should go with it. a great start to school is invaluable imo
I think the other thing to think about is that if you send your child/ren to an elite school and you are not well off (I mean really well off) it can mean your child is targetted as being different (ie. Poor). A social divide exists and it's hard for a child to see their friends living in mansions, going on European holidays, having all the latest gizmos and them being labelled as "povo". This might not be an issue for you but it is a variable at secondary level. I know of kids too ashamed to bring friends home because their is a disparity between their lifestyle and housing.
I agree with PP who said that it is really about the individual school and the fit with the child. I went to a public primary and private secondary but I was on a full academic scholarship. I was different to the other kids at both schools but didn't give rats - but that's me. I don't really care what other people think of me - never have, never will. Mind you I was never short of friends or picked on or anything and I thrived in both environments.
My DD's are going to the local primary which is awesome - they have 4 prep classes of 16 kids each, which is a much better ratio than the local Catholic school. They have more diversity and better outcomes so I had no qualms sending my kids there. The secondary schools are a different story but again I am holding out to see what will suit each of them and what sort of school will benefit them most.
So, in short, I think you need to look at what is best for your kids individually (they might be better off at different schools to each other) and make that decision based on them and the schools.
i continued on to the high school part & it was a huge improvement - it did get a lot bigger but that also meant that the demographics changed substantially & there were lots more kids like me.
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