REJECTED BY PRIVATE SCHOOL LUCY POPE
The argument about private school Vs state school has long existed. Some argue that if you go to private school you have an automatic key to success, believing that if you’re paying for an education that it will, of course, be better for you. However, some argue that if you have great success at state school then you are smarter as the education is ‘worse’. Having received both forms of education, I’ve formed a strong opinion as to why state school is more suited to me. I attended a private boarding school from year 9 through to year 11. I was a “below average” student, as they like to put it, and was in bottom set in every subject. I managed to move up to 5th set from 6th set in English in year 10, which was the only success I had in my three years there. I was part of the equestrian team, but only so I could go home more to see my family and I thought it would reflect me in a better light towards my teachers (it didn’t). I felt huge amounts of pressure on my
shoulders to achieve good grades there, my time to was English as I loved it so then to go to University, then get a much, and it definitively shows in my grade. Admittedly private school did successful job and live a successful life, help me, and I did love my teachers. I but I really didn’t care that much. Year attended workshops to try and help 11 was probably the worst academic push my grades up, yet it simply didn’t year with the pressure growing larger work. I just wasn’t motivated. I always and larger. I failed my mocks and saw myself as ‘dumb’ and thought then the conversations started. My there’s no point trying if I’m still going housemistress used to pull me aside at to fail anyway. night and would say “with the grades you’re getting you won’t be attending When exams had finished, I wasn’t sixth form here”. I always assumed they very optimistic about my grades were empty threats to make me work at all. I thought, to save myself the harder but looking back, I realize how embarrassment, I’d better take naive I was to think that. My friends everything home with me in case they were incredibly smart and were on track didn’t have me back. I am extremely to achieve top grades. They worked grateful I did that. Results day came hard, leaving me feeling like the odd around and was an extremely stressful one out, unable to achieve the same day to say the least. To my surprise (and grades. Even on the tests I revised for, my parents’) they were awful. I’d only I still didn’t get the grades I needed obtained 5 GCSEs. to stay, so as the My mum received I decided I wanted to pressure and the the dreaded call prove them wrong nagging increased from the Head, as we progressed towards exam season saying “unfortunately we just don’t and I gave up. I started saying “what will think this is the right school for Lucy be will be” and “they won’t kick me out’. and she would struggle with A levels”, The only exam I remember devoting a response which I wasn’t expecting.
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DECEMBER 2020
