I only send one of my kids to PRIVATE SCHOOL

Jane* worries that her son will resent her for sending his sister to a posh prep and not him

- DAILY MAIL

Freddie, Ruby and James would like to invite you to their Charlie & The Chocolate-themed birthday party,’ the invitation reads. ‘RSVP essential.’ 

‘We hope Jessica* can make it. Ruby will be heartbroken if she can’t,’ the glamorous blonde with the fur gilet purrs, climbing into her Land Rover and blowing me a kiss goodbye. I expect most parents at my daughter’s new prep school won’t be worrying about the cost of birthday presents, but I know my standard £10 Amazon gift card isn’t going to cut it this time.

Sacrifices

It’s a far cry from the last birthday party my teenage son, Sam*, went to at a nearby Nando’s. His friend, Alex, is the son of a single mother who is working two jobs. She insisted on no presents. You see, our 13-year-old son goes to a state grammar school while our 10-year-old daughter started at a posh prep last year. Why? We couldn’t afford to send both of them. It is a real sacrifice to send Jessica to a fee-paying school, but one we have decided is worth making. Even if it does mean forgoing holidays and a new car. I am aware it will give our daughter advantages over our son, but we simply cannot find the £37,000 it would cost each year to send both to private. The reality is, Sam is brighter. While he made it through primary school relatively unscathed, Jessica, who is less outgoing, sporty and academically able than her brother, got lost in a class of 33 kids of mixed abilities. The school, which was clearly massively overstretched and under-resourced, was not in a position to help her.