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Most British people have attended state schools. They have no personal experience with private schools beyond seein smartly uniformed children on the way to and from school. Even so, there is avery strong image in the British mind of these schools. It is an image formed in part by memoirs which often are very critical. Here we suspect tht boys with a literary bean at these schools before the 1950s-60s often wee unhappy given the strong emphasis on sport. Another factor is the left-wing bent of the modern media. We note numerous TV programs in which private schools are depicted in unflatering terms. Programs like "Inspector Lindley" or "Inspector Norris" are good examples here. Rarely do we see this kind of treatment for the state comprehensive schools. Never of course do these programs address the disparity in academic achievement between the state and private sector. There are several themes commonly pursued in the media. One is that the private schools are dens of class conciousness--the Old School Tie. The private schools are condemned for social snobbery and unfair privilige. The Other popular theme to pursue is that private schools, especially boarding schools, are spartan, unhappy places to warehouse children. Needless to say this is not what we found when we visited British prep schools. The atmosphere we found was very different.
Private schools are dens of class conciousness--the Ild School Tie. The private schools are condemned for social snobbery and unfair privilige. There is no doubt that this was once a real factor. We recall a ground breaking BBC program, "Seven Up" which introduced a number of 7 year olds in the 1950s and then followed through the years at 7 year intervals. There were three prep school boys that can only be described as prigish little snobs. In fact in subsequent episodes they were quite embarassed. Which is an indication as to how these schools were changing. And we did not encounter boys anytrging like those three. It is of course true that private education is very expensive. Only wealthy parents or middle-class parents who are willing to make a substntial sacrifice can afford these schools. We found that quite a number of parents fell into the second category. Often the mother worked to afford school fees. We found at thrse schools boys and girls of wudely varied social background mixing quite happily.
The image that many people have of British schools, especially private boarding schools , is that they are very unhappy places to which very young people are subjected. The image includes Spartan living quarters in which the children pine away for their parents and the comforts of home. Also many believe that the children are subjected to harsh discipline, including physical punishment. Thereis also the idea that it is all work with little opportunity to have fun. English literature is full of accounts describing very unhappy childhood experiences beginning with Winston Churchill as well as countless lesser known individuals. Actually we believe that this image was a not unrealistic desription of many prep schools through the 1950s. The schools began to change significantly in the 1960s. Most of the schools we visited were not like this at all. We did find a few schools that seemed less concerned with the needs of younger children than one would expect. The general pattern, however, was quite different. Most schools made a real effort to create a homey, caring atmosphere. One of the most revealing examples were the dormitories. New boys entering a school for the first time through the 1950s found drab, Spartan dormitories. And he would never dare bring his teddy along. The dormitories we found were bright, cheerful places and the beds were populated with not only teddies, but a variety of stiffed animals that would do a good-sized zoo proud.
