This is an outcome which is supported by the catchment area system. State schools in better catchment areas (with more expensive houses) tend to receive children who are better behaved and better prepared and are therefore better able to teach them, so wealth still plays into the equation. Also many "state school" educated people have private tutors in their weaker areas.

However, also bear in mind that their "academic success" is measured on state exams, and in my experience at Oxford, while everyone had almost perfect grades and certainly beyond that in the subjects they wanted to do, people who went to serious public schools had been taught way beyond the syllabus and it took a year for state school people to catch up if they were doing a school subject. It also doesn't take into account the fact that it is much more beneficial to be taught to get a GCSE in Latin or Ancient Greek, than in business studies, which, frankly any fool could read a book and do.

This post was last modified: 07-26-2011 01:46 AM by Louise18.