Eton Sir has the wrong answer
Spare a thought for Eton English teacher Joe Francis.
Despite teaching at the prestigious £32,000-a-year private school for the past 20 years, he says he and his doctor wife can’t afford to send their children to private schools because they’re too expensive.
He says fees have been driven up by the independent sector which he explains is hungry for cash to cater for wealthy overseas parents.
The senior master has now teamed up with teachers from other public schools, including £42,000-a-year Dulwich College and £39,000-a-year Winchester College, to set up Scholar 6, a sixth form college for those who can’t keep up with the spiralling cost of school fees. It will cost “just” £13,000 a year.
He said: “Even for reasonably prosperous people like us, most private education is unaffordable without bursaries.”
My friend has suggested a JustGiving fundraiser for Joe and his family, as times are indeed hard. I’m sure you’ll all give generously.
Mr Francis has been around the private school system for too long if he thinks setting up another one is the only way his kids can get a good education.
So much of what goes into making schools better is down to the involvement and engagement of parents working with them. When my son was in primary school we co-founded a popular coding club and the parents raised money for things like lighting and a sound system for school plays.
Mr Francis would be better off putting all of his enthusiasm and using his connections to turn his local state school into the kind of educational establishment he’d be happy for his children to attend, rather than trying to get more hard-working families to spend money on something we are lucky to get for free.