mcendless asked:


I am thinking of relocating to London with my family of four including two young kids, but so far got contradicting views on the quality of public-supported (’state’) schools. I’ve heard an opinion that only private schools in UK are comparable to good US public schools. True or not? Any advise will be appreciated. TIA.

3 Responses to “How do state schools in London city/suburbs stack up against good US public schools?”

1. David S on November 29th, 2008 3:26 am

   There are a few good state schools, but sadly most are full of bullying and other forms of violence, and even sometimes drugs; many of the children are reluctant to learn - the predominating British culture is anti education; teaching is often not great either with an inflexible syllabus laid down by government civil servants. If you want your child to get a decent education with some encouragement to creativity and appreciation of the arts, you will have to use private schools; these vary from the excellent to the dire.

2. kendra23uk on December 2nd, 2008 12:24 pm

   er Id rather go to a bad state school in the the uk than one the USA! They are really scary and have metal detectors and have lockdowns! Sheesh!

   My local schools were not bad! nothing compared to a fee paying private school but my state schools were ok generally and left some money over for any extra lessons I needed.
   Some yes are pretty bad and some are good!
   Just like any schools!
   also just because you go to a fee paying one doesn’t always mean better! Ive seen some bad private schools LOL
   and been to 1 as well!

3. SJM on December 5th, 2008 4:37 am

   Like I’m assuming it is in the US, you can’t really generalise all schools together, some are good, some are bad. I personally went to a state school in the suburbs of south-west London and then went on to get a degree from Oxford University so I really don’t think they’re that bad at all!! You can look on at the area you are thinking of moving to and it should comment about the schools in that area. Alternatively, there are several American schools dotted around London and the surrounding areas which are geared for ex-pats wanting to keep their children in the American system so you could always consider those.

   I’m not sure where you heard that only private schools in the UK are comparable to public schools in the US. I don’t mean to cause offence, but after travelling to the US many times and meeting Americans over here I very much get the impression that the American educational system doesn’t really match up to the one we have over here. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve told an American I’m from London only to find out that they’ve never even heard of it.