I am amazed that while this Socialist Governments ethics seem to allow it to engage and fund private healthcare to reduce waiting lists - it will not help and fund private education.
The biggest problem the State Education System faces is political interference. All schools should be privatised

Richard Garland, Greater Manchester,

Rob of London, what planet was that ........

Your "All I hear is, I want free healthcare, free dental care, free education, a well funded police force"

There's nothing free in this list, you, me, and everyone else pay gladly for the list. Look up The Times for 5th July 1948 and read about "Free".

John Tyler, Caerphilly, UK

I went to a public school. You know what they taught me? To leave all you whiners to vote Labout while me and my mates work hard make wealth and move to a castle by the sea and in the sun. Globalisation rocks. Keep voting Labour and keep blaming someone else. I leave in two weeks. /wave

Zorch, London,

I am an engineer. Average salary for all Civil Engineers is stated by the ICE as £45,000 p a. - I educated two chldren privately. You need plan a bit but I do not regret the effort.

Lawyers ,accountants and service 'trades' (and small shop keepers) should not be allowed to overcharge.

james, shaftesbury, dorset

Perhaps if the state schools offered 6 days per week, 10 hours per day, all our kids could have sports daily, supervised prep, extra activities and better discipline. The money for this could be saved from the police and NHS who currently pick up the tab for our bored and understimulated youth

T, Oxford,

There are other ways of financing school fees which are cheaper than traditional bank loans and mortgages.

I have a number of friends who use HTC to pay fees, and whilst Ithey still have to pay the fees it makes it more manageable, to pay on a monthly basis

Mike, Bramley, Hampshire

my heart bleeds

Roger Cook, London, UK

I am a teacher. I have never been able to send my child to a private school but I wouldn't anyway - it's a disgusting concept. You happen to be in a job that society gives more money to at the moment so you abuse that privilege to make sure that your child gets an even bigger advantage! Shameful!

Pete, Yorkshire, UK

Only 7% of children in the UK attend private schools and there is no need to when we have free education for all. This issue must affect such a tiny proportion of people foolish enough to stretch themselves beyond their means for something they do not even need!

Andrew Boothroyd, London, England

I actually think there would be a great business opportunity for some one who wanted to set up 'no frills' private schools. I went to a state grammar school. It had the same funding as all state schools so classes were large and facilities shabby but I still got a really good education.

Natalie, London,

Tax relief shold be given if you are not using the State system.
Education and it's expense should be obligatory and State Schooling used only as a last resort.

james allen, manchester, england

I'd like to see 17.5% VAT levied on school fees, as it is on any other luxury item. From what I see, a large portion of the fees charged by private schools is spent on ever more lavish facilities in order to "compete" with other schools, that add little to the actual standard of education on offer

Simon Stock, Meppershall, Bedfordshire

A saddening amount of resentment and ignorance.

AndyN, Reading,

If its like here in the USA, you get tired of the schools teaching social engineering instead of math while our scores continue to slide. So you put your kid in private school and now the teachers unions are taking it to court to make it so that if you dont have a teaching degree, you cant do it.

William, Atlanta, USA

I was fortunate enough to go 2 1 of the best public schools in England.My parents slaved to give me this advantage and a great one it was.Many of the great leaders of the world have done so.It would be redundant if the Govt could deliver good education but we all know the Govt cannot.No knives at ps

James Walker, London, UK

Kerry from Cape Town - Simple, I couldn't afford it. The Direct Grant scheme promoted social mobility by giving bright kids from the lower orders a break. I had a good education and I'm grateful for it. But it didn't translate into financial success. Hence the comp for my son.

Anthony Price, Truro, Cornwall, UK

It's great more 'middle class' parents are being forced to send their children to state schools. As they do, the pressure to improve state education will increase, while private education will dwindle into an irrelevant status symbol. The market will have achieved what social engineering never could

Michael Powell, Colchester, Essex

If there were no private schools everyone would have to use state schools and standards would have to improve. Education should be a basic human right, not something that can be bought. My prep school was just full of spoilt brats who thought they were better than everyone else. A horrible place.

lindsay, london, uk

The pomposity of the middle class never ceases to amaze me. No wonder nobody outside the suburban south-east votes consertive. You only have yourselves to blame.

Leanne, York,

Some of these comments show that greed and envy is alive and kicking among selfish Britons. It amazes me that people are so prejudiced towards parents who do their best for their kids and educate them privately.

Stuart, Leicester,

My 2 kids go to a top UK grammar school. If they hadn't got in, I'd have likely paid to go private.

Fact is the middle-classes want their kids educated with other middle class kids in an environment dedicated to education

Working class comps with bad exam results and bad discipline? No thanks!

Guy, London, UK

I agree with Robert Allen. My son has just completed his GCSEs this year having attended a 'failing' comprehensive. However, we expect him to pass all his exams with grade C or above and go on to University. The secret is to explain that a profession is the way out of poverty! See Wikipedia.org

Mary, London,

I went to a fee paying school in the 60s, hopeless education from a bunch of old embittered spinsters, but there was discipline & at least I know how to behave & am grateful for having been so well prepared for a credit crunch, lousy food, freezing bedrooms, one bath a week etc

sarah, france, france

I remember switching from private to state school, I couldn't believe how little was expected from state students.

That said, private education comes with a hefty cost, if that cost can't be met then it's off to state school.

Cest la vie.

Dawn, Worcester,

The benefit of private schools is quite straightforward. Apart from a few lottery winners children the ratio of pikeys to nice children is significantly lower than at you local labour yobbo comp. Worth every last penny.

James, Dundee, Scotland

Of course it is envy, but isn't that natural when people are getting an unfair head-start in life?

If a person is starving would you say they are just envious of us because we have food?

Craig, Warrington, UK

Anthony Price from Cornwall, you say benefited from a private education, but complain that your son did not. How long did it take you to realise that he wasn't getting a good education - 10 years? Could you not have sent him to a private school or home-schooled him instead?

kerry florin, Cape Town,

Education fees's arising will become a divide in many countries, UK, US, China, so and so.
In my opinion, people are created equal for receiving good education in any state despite man or woman, rich or poor, black or white. Unfortunately, people are never equal because of money.

thomas, harbin,

As a working class child of the 60's I received a good education through a scholarship to a private school.

Labour's class war fanatics ended the Direct Grant system that made this possible.

My son went to a comprehensive - he did not receive as good an education. And all because of socialist envy

Anthony Price, Truro, Cornwall, UK

You ignore the point that children are most influence by their peers. It is that prospect, not the standard of teaching that persuades parents to enter their kids for private education.

Robert Allen, London, UK

Jealousy and envy are not the basis for a productive happy life or society. They are destructive attitudes. Look at the UK today - no society, no sense of who you are as a country and a Labour party who stands for nothing except class war. Sad really. The UK will only get worse unfortunately

kr, london, uk

Chris from London you have been taken in by the media portrayal of state schools in the UK. Do you work in education? Do you have you any experience of modern state schools? I believe your opinion will be based on what you read in the papers!!

Ceri Hookins, London,

Private Schools are run by a posse of unaccountable Trustees, those in the good books of Headmuster/Trustees get reduced fees while the rest pays for this - on top of taxes for the state schools. Now the sector caves in to government demands to allocate more of the fee income to 'good causes'

Heinz Geyer, London,

The government are increasingly putting pressure on universities to favour state school pupils over private school ones so the credit crunch is doing those misguided parents a favour. Abolish charirtable status for private schools and let them survive (or not) in a proper market.

Clive, Chichester, UK

I took my youngest out of the state sector and into private education because as an Aug child, she was put into a split age group class and was simply failing.
My second has special educational needs. He is also in a private school because his state school was not interested.

Gareth Jones, Dusseldorf, Germany

I have taught for 30+ years and I have to say that I have come across very few teachers who could afford private education for their offspring.

Pushkin, Durham, Uk

Big 'ah!' now. All those poor teachers delivering a substandard education to ordinary kids can no longer avoid having their own kids in the same situation. The game isn't straight is it teachers? This article will provide entertainment for days. I wonder how much sympathy this will get down the pub?

judy, Liverpool, England

Having gone to both a private and state school for 5 years each- there is no comparison.. private wins hands down!!

George, Northampton, UK

Why should we expect the Government to hand us everything on a plate? Sometimes you just have to accept that you have to pay for it.....

Rob, London

We could and would if we weren't paying record levels of tax to support 5 million 'economically inactive' who are better off not working.

DanOxford, Oxford, England

Boo hoo. My diamond shoes are too tight. Is this even news?

Amy Allen, London,

Rob
You seem to forget that we have and are paying for "it" in taxes and stamps. It is the government which is squandering the money on MPs. Quangos, and other unelected so called watches. wars and and support of loony causes. All managed by a old boys and now girls network of incompetents.

Dave Madley, Alicante, Spain

Private schooling is not just about subject education but overall social interaction. My children started their education attending local authority schools in London n for them it was poor quality in many respects. After 8 years of attending private schools, we have no regrets. of course fees worry

Anthony, London, UK

Jamie Highfield, you have met "countless amounts of people" , (as opposed to "a countless number" of them) and think that "the less that can afford it the better" (as opposed to the "fewer"). Enough said; I will keep my kids in private school.

Victor, London,

Why would I want to send my child to a private school with a mistaken notion of superior education. I can't actually believe that people in this country are really that stupid (says it all really). The truly talented will shine through whatever the school

Jon Kingsbury, Southampton, UK

"The UK has an excellent tax funded education system", "Comprehensives are staffed by highly qualified, skilled and talented teachers"

Ceri Ho - I can't take this seriously.

Chris, London, United Kingdom

The astonishing hate from your commentators is more characteristic of our society than public v. private schooling. Hatred of those seeking something better for their children and hatred of wealth is the curse of New Labour. It's almost honourable to be a jelalous single mother.

Ken, Oxford, United kingdom

They are clearly not being priced out of private education. They simply have to make hard choices about expenditure.

Just like everybody else.

Rick Worth, Rochester, UK

ha ha, paupers.

tern, Manchester, UK

Removing personal choice is, of course, what socialism is all about. It is still possible to educate at home to avoid the evils of state provision - for now.

Sean, Droitwich, UK

Middle-class parents could make better use of state schools and use the money saved on fees for tutoring in subjects where it's needed and extra-curricula activities. Don't fall for the myth that Independent = good state= bad. Many private schools aren't worth the money and sacrifice.

Paul, Sevenoaks, Kent

Why should we expect the Government to hand us everything on a plate? All I hear is, I want free healthcare, free dental care, free education, a well funded police force, cheap food & petrol and a reduction in my taxes. Sometimes you just have to accept that you have to pay for it.....

Rob, London, UK

The problem with our society today is that it is all about what we "have". I am a single mother with a good job, I don't drive a car and rent a flat. My daughter is at a fantastic state school and I don't buy into all this status stuff. Any money left is for stuff that I want to do.

tam, exeter, uk

I agree hugh. At my current university you meet countless amounts of people who are clearly no more intelligent than the average state school kid, but are there because their daddies paid £15,000 a year for them to go to a school with 3 teachers to a child. The less that can afford it the better.

Jamie Highfield, Nottingham, UK

The UK has an excellent tax funded education system, these 'middle-classes' are the very people that attended state schools to become teachers and police officers. Comprehensives are staffed by highly qualified, skilled and talented teachers. This is a symptom of our status driven society.

Ceri Hookins, London,

Teachers can no longer afford private education for their pupils. Appalling -have you seen the state of local authority schools these days?

B Wood, Inverness,

heartrending. i may cry.

hugh szymonowski, London, UK