THE long letter in last week’s Sunday National (Here’s what state education could learn from the independent sector, August 18) was, presumably, written to elicit a response. It is accepted that your correspondent has the right as a parent to send his son to an independent school, but what makes him think he can conclude that such schools are better than state comprehensive schools?

READ MORE: Here’s what state educators could learn from independent sector

Like him, I have a son and I wanted the very best for him in life and in education. As a first generation graduate, I wanted him to have the very best of what the education system had to offer. When he was all of 10 months old, I submitted an article entitled “Dear Christopher…” which won first prize in a London Weekend Television competition. Your correspondent’s letter made me go back and check if what I wanted for him in 1986 had been delivered by Scottish state schools.

I was adamant that I wanted education to meet the needs of all children, not just an elite. I was conscious that Chris, unlike his father, had been born into a home full of books and that consequently he had a head start on many of his contemporaries. But, I wanted him to know that, irrespective of the fact that my mother and father were not deemed capable of benefitting from a secondary education and left school from the advanced division of a primary school, nevertheless, they wanted the best for me and wanted me to aspire to attending a university.

Now, as your correspondent admits, he lives in a comfortable flat in Edinburgh and earns a good salary. So the first question I have to ask him is why did he feel that his son, coming from such a secure family environment, would not excel in a state comprehensive school?

If he wasn’t “performing well at school”, why didn’t he discuss with the school what his difficulties were and work with it to support his son’s learning?

It’s difficult not to conclude that the seeds of sending him to an independent school had been sown before this problem arose. After all, in Edinburgh, some 27% of pupils attend independent schools, as opposed to only 4% nationally. Could it be that your correspondent, with his well-paid job and comfortable apartment, was only too aware of the advantage of attending an elite school in terms of networking?

But, the crux of the matter is whether independent schools are better than comprehensive schools. We know they are more middle class, have better pupil-teacher ratios, have more extensive extra-curricular provision and have fewer discipline problems. But, is the education better? Are the teachers better? Do all of the pupils benefit from being there?

Well, back to Chris. I wanted him to attend a school which reflected the social make-up of the country he lives in. Was this selfish of me? Should I, like your correspondent, have used my good salary to finance a place in an independent school where he would have achieved more? Well, after an excellent primary school where he was supported, challenged and nurtured, he moved to the associated secondary school. There, he blossomed, becoming an stalwart of the debating and public speaking clubs; added the saxophone to his repertoire of musical instruments; became a prefect; experimented with poetry and other genres and, with the hard work and support of his teachers, his parents, and, of course, himself, achieved five A (Band 1) Highers in S5 and another two As in S6 (along with two Advanced Highers).

And, finally, to your correspondent’s question as to what our education system can learn from the independent sector. The answer is … not a lot. It’s obvious that if you have a school made up of children of middle class parents, better teacher-pupil ratios, with better funding, with smaller class sizes, with a hot-house atmosphere where success in tests and examinations are the key criteria for success … then success will follow. Add to this a wide range of extracurricular activities which parents will gladly pay for if necessary and, whisper it, a higher level of out-of-school tutors to fill in any gaps the school might have, it’s not difficult to see why your correspondent feels he made the right decision.

Good luck to his son. I sincerely hope he does well at school and in later life. But, if we want all children to be aspirational and to fulfil their potential as successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens, let’s fully fund state education, abolish the elitist independent sectors and make equality better for everyone.

It can be done; if we see education as a common good, not a commodity to be bought and sold.

Brian Boyd
Emeritus professor of education