On interviewing a former private school student, I learnt that one of the reasons that some people choose to go to private schools is the chance to get more of a chance to stretch yourself, to go beyond the syllabus and read more around the subject. This was apparently achieved because there were less people for the teacher to turn attention to, and so be put in the spotlight and be able to prove yourself.

But is this true? It is not possible to say whether this was private schools in general or just this school, and even then, it was for a real minority. The truth is that very few were willing to have themselves challenged, preferring to stick to the heady task of keeping up a heavy social life. Furthermore, this great chance to further your interest in a chosen subject was only possible if the work ethic was consistent from a young age, so that any who had a change of heart a really began to shine academically had no chance, because the idea was that once lazy always lazy, which left many people feeling uninspired and unchallenged, which lead to the twin demons of laziness and arrogance.

Some schools to challenge their pupils. For example the Perce is renowned for getting the best out of their pupils academically, pushing them hard and far. Some state schools do this out of necessity, because of a lack of real investment in education, meaning that students have to learn quickly by themselves how to get organized and working, which at my old school did not happen, as their was a large amount of pastoral care. Whilst this is good for both the struggling and the over achieving, for the very good student who only began to show their full potential, it was seen as a waste of time.

Of course, the school I was at was not a school built on turning out academics, rather on the principle of finding something the pupil could do well and so take to their full potential. This is shown in the fact that my former school turns out the best A level results for art and such subjects. On reflection, it would have suited me more to have a better challenge, but that is just me. I could be a unique case, or maybe there are hundreds who felt that they did not get the most out of their time at secondary school.

In conclusion, it can be argued that there is more of a chance for private schools to stretch talented individuals to make sure that they are not spending their time idly doodling whilst the rest of the class catches up. However, this does not mean that it is only private schools which make students take their education into their own hands.