There’s always something in the Sunday papers that stands out more than anything else. This week Revealed: the hidden benefits of a private-school education”.
Two scary stats: 1) A bright baby from a poor background is liable to be overtaken by a less bright baby from a wealthy background by the age of 22 months 2) No state school in the whole of Tottenham has even sent a pupil to Oxford.
As a state school attendee the whole issue of social mobility is both fascinating and distressing. Why did I manage to stay ahead in my first 22 months and make it to Oxford while the majority of my peers fell behind?
The answer – good parenting. I had the importance of academic achievement ingrained into me at a very early age. But for others it’s not so simple. How do you help your child read when you can’t do so yourself? Or encourage them to go to university when you have to experience of higher education?
The report which stemmed the article is great for raising awareness to the issue. But before we get carried away with sharing the benefits of private education, there are a fair few other inhibiting factors that we need to overcome first.
On a completely separate note….did anyone watch Top Gear last night? Ok, so Clarkson’s idea for removing CO2 from exhausts by attaching a giant greenhouse wasn’t exactly practical but a 10 minute green feature on Top Gear?? Hats off to you Jeremy.
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