Does it really makes a difference by sending children to public/private/independent shcools?how many of you guys went to such schools? should I burn over £200K on 1 child by sending them into such schools or save that £200K and gift that money to them when they get marry?

*grammar school ;)Cue storm of political rants...Public schools aren't necessarily about an academic advantage as there are plenty of excellent state schools around (though you'll just end up paying through a bigger mortgage to live in the catchment), but they do tend to be good at developing qualities of confidence, leadership and strong networking skills (and a ready made network to practice them on..). It's also a lifestyle choice - I send my kids to public schools partly for the above and partly because it's a really nice way of spending their early years - they absolutely love their schools. My friends seem to divide between those who live in London, who have largely gone the mortgage-and-state route, and those who live in the sticks, who have largely gone either local private or a 'big brand' boarding school. If your child is an academic or sporting star, then you have a good chance of getting a scholarship - also worth looking at..

Having studied through state school education in my youth, then joining a Big 4 Consultancy in their Graduate Programme, and then having worked for a tier 2 Strategy Firm (e.g. LEK/ATK etc) I can safely say that the majority of colleagues who I encountered, particularly in the Big 4 Grad Programme were educated in Public/Grammer School.This doesn't necessarily mean to say these people had an obvious 'unfair' advantage as a child vs their state school counterparts (although this argument can be made), but the fact remains that in my own experience, there was an overwhelming majority of people from such a background.

I went to private school and obviously have my parents to thank for that...All I will say is that there is not a single person that was in my year that is NOT doing well for themselves

Yes, but is that the cause of their success? Would any of those people have doen just as well with an education from a decent state school and a 200K cheque?

arguably those two approaches would support different routes to success - public school routes towards a profession, cash lump sum enables a small business start up... depends what kind of child (and family career propensity) you're dealing with

I would say with the right upbringing a child can do well in pretty much any school within reasonThe thing with private school, is that it is more likely that they will do well. Ok so there are people that dont, but overall in my experience they do well. They have more opportunities including sports and other facilities so it does make it easier for them.My parents came to this country over 45 years ago with nothing in their pockets and nothing that can be called a real education. However now they are both leading Sugeons in their fields and that all through their own hard work, so anything is possible. They did not go to private schoolIf I could afford it, I would certainly put my kids through private school or be very selective over which grammar school they went too.

There are four big advantages to public schools:Extra curricular activities - sports and other activities - are professionally supported and a valued part of the school culture. Your not relying on volunteer amateurs with no budget.Class sizes - smaller classes mean more teaching time for each pupil. Its this rather than the quality of teacher that makes the big difference.A better class of people - snobbish, yes, but lest face it, I'd rather have friends from twemnty years ago who all have skiiing chalets to borrow than (as I do) know a few faces in Barlinnie for turning over post offices.Networking opportunities - although not necessarily straight away. There are circles within circles in public schools and society in general. Sendign you kids to Eton is not goign to make them Prime Minister, but if they do the same and their kids do the same, then you're probably getting up there.BUT - my kids go to a nice commuter town school and I woudlnt have it any other way......

The decision really depends on what's available in your area.My experiences:School 1 - local state comp which my left-leaning parents believed was the "right thing to do". Left at 14 and refused to go back after classmates tried to stab me. We had barbed wire and CCTV to keep the kids in, drugs, alcohol & knives all common. Anyone with any ability or desire to learn got beaten up day in day out the aim for a lesson was to get the teacher to leave in tears. I was in English classes in year 9 with kids who couldn't write their own names, supposedly studying Romeo and Juliet (our teacher gave up and let us watch the film). School 2 - Minor private school in top 10 UK city. Paid £6k a year. This was the only option for a move and my parents downsized to pay for it. Arrived to be told I was performing at the level of an 11 year old and predicted Ds at GCSE. Got 11 GCSEs (A/A*), 4 As at A level and went to Oxford.Kids won't do well if the school is bad enough! Private schools benefit from smaller classes, pupils who actually want to learn and the ability to instil some self-confidence and belief in their pupils that will let them succeed if they are academically capable. The state sector served me brilliantly until secondary school, but then utterly let me down.

Well of course if you can afford it then a top private school education in the UK for your children is fantastic. But how many consultants can afford £30k of taxed income per year per child (£100k gross p.a. for two kids)? Also you are gonna want to be very sure you can fund them for the full 6/7 years of school - what if there's a recession and you get made redundant.