More money than sense?

Another example of a world gone mad.

MPLST and her friends were chewing over the whole private school debate, as many of them have already decided that their offspring will attend such grand institutions. I'm told the conversation went like this.

Given that the demand for places is high, it makes it easier to get a place in such a high school, if one's child was taught in the feeder primary school. I can see that, it makes sense. It also follows that it makes it easier to get into the primary school if one's child progresses from that particular institutions nursery. Apparently, the affluent north east of Scotland remains unaffected by the current global financial meltdown.

Ok, I'm starting, like you are, to see a pattern emerging here. But it gets even worse. The same rule of thumb applies to anti pre-school nursery. And the test to get your aged three pride and joy into the school in question? They must be able to draw a picture of a butterfly and sing a song, presumably not at the same time. A bit bizarre for my liking, but there you have it. Probably not a challenge even for the slowest of three year olds, provided of course, they are in the mood to draw pictures and sing songs. I can just see it now, we arrive for the interview promptly with BB in his finest grey shorts and knee length socks, sporting the Eton flick, only for him to decide, nah....I'm being shy today. Oh, and they charge you £50 for the interview too.....I suppose it would keep out the trash right enough.

And it gets worse still. There is more than one example locally, where young Farquhar has shown the early promise, but by the time primary school starts, he turns out to be more of a Freddie. What happens here? The school tell mummy and daddy, sorry, there is no place for your little Freddie, you'll have to find another school. Just like that. What they are actually saying is Freddie's place has gone to a family who clearly breeds a more intelligent specimen than you two do.

And this threat I suppose, lingers from one stage to the next, because of course the school needs the brightest kids to rank highly in the league tables.