Until half past eight yesterday morning I was a little concerned for the future of private schools. They haven’t helped themselves by offering only a premium product, replete with Olympic-sized swimming pools, drama centres and other fripperies – ignoring demand from parents who could afford £5000 a year. Moreover, some state schools have improved hugely in recent years, undermining the case for sending your kids private.
But then I heard Holly Rigby, co-ordinator for a movement called Labour Against Private Schools – or #AbolishEton, as it tags itself on Twitter – on the Today programme.
Independent schools could not have hoped for a better recruiting sergeant. As well as being a left-wing political activist, it turns out that Rigby is also an English teacher in a London school. If she was my kids’ teacher I wouldn’t worry about the expense – I would want them out of the school as soon as I could.
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