2. Why I chose a private school.

I think my reasons are much more personal than general, and the nature of both my schools are not always perfectly aligned with the usual nature of private and state schools.

1. Quality of education. If you want to be crude, yes the exam results my new school produces are much better. Not forgetting that they very selectively pick their students, ensuring only the crème de la crème enrol (unless you are 4 years old and have very wealthy parents, that is). However, beyond these introductory remarks, the quality of education is very much better at my new private school (NPS), in comparison to my old state school (OSS).

   -Smaller class sizes- the middle and senior school (years 7-11) have class sizes of 16 (previously 24, which is still smaller than the state school average of 30). In the sixth form the class sizes range from 1-16 pupil(s). They are willing to let you take a class on your own, which I believe is unheard of in state schools and some private schools. I recall hearing in some schools that the minimum number of students needed for a class to run is 5 or 8 (I am citing different schools). Small class sizes are very beneficial as the teacher pays much more attention to individual students, and in essay subjects we seem to be in a semi-perpetual state of discussion. A ‘downside’ may be that you have no where to hide if you are shy. However I feel that this teaching format is overall beneficial due to its interactive nature. For example, I feel that I am gaining much more from my current English lessons than my previous English lessons due to the inclusive nature of our class.

   -Higher quality of teachers (on average). There are less teachers who seem “cannot teach” (a colloquial term commonly used by students), although there are still some teachers who definitely could improve their teaching techniques and be more organized.

2. Getting into trouble. At my old school, they were shamelessly authoritarian. Obsessing over the material of our shoes and the phone ringing in our jackets. Teachers could hand detentions whenever they pleased (it was our fault after all). There was a fear of being late. Late for the line, late for form, late for assembly. Not everyone feared, but I certainly did. From what I have heard, most state schools do not take up this model. But my school certainly did. Perhaps this is why embraced the kinder model of schooling on show at my NPS. No one has detentions, but maybe that’s because they know we’ll do the homework. It’s a private school with entrance exams. Children with behavioural problems do not really exist in our school. My old school didn’t really care about mental problems. Depression, anxiety and stress do. We sit at the round table with teachers. It’s amazing, it’s amazing. We’re supposed to socialise and relax and eat cake in form. It’s nice, even if I don’t talk to half of my form outside of form time. But it would be a mistake to say all private schools are like this. And perhaps if I waited, could I have been treated like a “young adult with rights” (as the website of my old school puts it) at my OSS? Maybe. But the atmosphere there could never be the same. Here no one has a key for their lockers. There is trust. That no one wants to steal your homework. But people WILL steal your mugs. Oh yeah, we have a kitchen in our common room that doesn’t really function, except from a hot water machine that bleeds one drop of water at a time. The caretakers are in charge of supplies for sugar, tea and coffee.
3. I want to talk about the above a little more. I very much wanted to depart from the authoritarian house that was my old school. I have bad memories there. Through the years, the school became to me a thread of grey corridors, dull, crowded classrooms and ceilings. As if I was a zombie continuously journeying to and from this ghastly factory. The careless crowds and lonely lunchtimes. When I was at the school, I had mindsets at various times which perhaps hindered my social progress. I went through depression for about a year and no one really knew. I didn’t have many friends, I didn’t have many close friends. My best friend left this autumn to go to university (she is older than me), so I doubt I could have realistically stayed there. I have made new friends at my new school, it makes me happy. It really does. I have also had traumatic experiences at my old school (when I say “traumatic” I mean it to be more than a mere adjective. For days after a certain event I literally shook and sweat.). And the educational style was really not for me. As someone who was top of the class, I really didn’t have much road to walk on. Especially for English, which was my favourite subject for a time. I continuously scored full marks in my courseworks and A*s in my mocks (for English). My teacher couldn’t be concerned for me. Other people were getting A,B and Cs (although this was a top set). If I wanted to be helped, to flourish, to plough forward, I had to move. If I stayed I would become complacent and the teachers wouldn’t have paid much attention to me.
4. Societies and extracurricular: my old state school (OSS) virtually did not offer any activities outside of music and sports for most students. My new school has a society for each subject, even if the societies themselves are not always active. There’s always lots going on. Sports, academics, music, art, lectures, volunteering. Some would argue there is too much (we have compulsory lectures and extra-curriculars). There are school magazines and journals about anything you can think about.
5. Architecture. The architecture of my school really depressed me, therefore the beautiful 18th century architecture of the private school immediately caught my attention.
6. Subject choice. My old school had a pre-set subject table/schedule for sixth formers, therefore there wasn’t much I could do about the fact I couldn’t take the subject combinations I wanted to. Whereas at my new school, I believe they base the schedule on the students’ subject combinations, not vice versa.

tl;dr

1. Better education.
2. Less authoritarian atmosphere. Friendly atmosphere.
3. Bad memories and experiences of old schools.
4. Didn’t have many friends at old school.
5. Extra-curriculars.
6. Architecture.
7. Subject choice.