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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Weirdly, in the UK, public schools are where the rich send their kids to be educated. The rest of us send our kids to state schools, which are free.

aug 21, 2025, 9:11 am β€’ 2 0

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Kamchatka Refugee @kamchatkapawn.bsky.social

I'm confused πŸ˜… So public schools are the private ones? Newspeak goes that far??

aug 21, 2025, 9:14 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

It’s old speak. Public schools, such as Eton College, were invented by Henry VIII as places where a boy could be publicly educated, as opposed to being taught at home by private governesses and tutors.

aug 21, 2025, 9:29 am β€’ 4 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

I might mean an earlier Henry. VI probably…

aug 21, 2025, 9:30 am β€’ 2 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

I had a sketchy education at a state school.

aug 21, 2025, 9:48 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Science and maths teachers weren't up to much. Luckily, I loved books and we had a lot of public libraries.

aug 21, 2025, 10:03 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

I did reasonably well but I think that was luck more than talent. My sixth form physics teacher was dreadful but we had no concept of raising the issue with the head of department because my family were working class know-nothings.

aug 21, 2025, 11:08 am β€’ 2 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

My sixth form teachers were mostly awful and my parents weren't remotely interested in my education, openly hostile, in fact. My motivation was to escape and I saw education as the way out.

aug 22, 2025, 8:45 am β€’ 0 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Yes Henry VI opened Eton to enable a few poor, but bright boys to get into Cambridge. How times change πŸ˜‚

aug 21, 2025, 9:49 am β€’ 2 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

They started educating the peasants and we got uppity. That’s where it all went wrong.

aug 21, 2025, 9:53 am β€’ 2 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

πŸ˜‚ speaking as an educated peasant, I'm always up for a revolution

aug 21, 2025, 10:00 am β€’ 3 0 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

Same. My roots are so working class that they went down the mines. But I came out with four degrees.

aug 21, 2025, 11:09 am β€’ 2 0 β€’ view
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Kamchatka Refugee @kamchatkapawn.bsky.social

TY. Now wondering if the protests should move to their nearest public school :b "Some observers in fact blame the Public Schools for much of England's subsequent economic and political decline." victorianweb.org/history/educ...

aug 21, 2025, 12:03 pm β€’ 2 1 β€’ view
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social

I think this is still their ethos: β€˜characterized by dreadful teaching, archaic curricula, bullying, sexual abuse, and dreadful living conditions.’

aug 21, 2025, 1:00 pm β€’ 3 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Elitist system churning out the ruling classes for centuries. Time they were closed.

aug 22, 2025, 8:38 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Very poor working class from inner city Leicester. Two degrees.

aug 22, 2025, 8:30 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view
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Seymour Strangely @seymourstrangely.bsky.social

although just to confuse you, in Scotland (where I live) the posh fee-paying schools are in fact called "private schools."

aug 21, 2025, 9:18 am β€’ 3 0 β€’ view
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Gilly πŸ“Ž @gillmh.bsky.social

Yes. sometimes called independent schools here πŸ˜… The most elite private or independent schools are usually called public schools. Complicated.

aug 21, 2025, 9:58 am β€’ 1 0 β€’ view