"Why I moved from state to private school"

Children in independent schools need strong teachers as much as they do in state schools and I have introduced some state school rules

*The names in this article have been changed.

Lin Ashfield is head of science at a prestigious preparatory school in south west London. Lin (38) lives in Kent with her partner Euan (39) and their daughter Lydia (1). Before making her move into the private sector four years ago, Lin spent 12 years teaching at a co-educational state junior school in Croydon.

“I had so much energy and enthusiasm when I began my teaching career at a state school. Class sizes averaged around 30 but you could find yourself teaching up to 32 kids at any one time and most year groups had a teaching assistant as it would have been near impossible to teach without one. My school was in a difficult catchment area where a large proportion of children were on the special needs register. A lot of people I worked with were young, ambitious and had a real drive to help those children that needed it most. Many of those teachers have gone on to become heads and deputy heads. 

“The staff were generally very supportive of each other but we were all scared of the head who ran the school with an iron fist. She did get the most out of us and the kids, though. She would involve herself as much as she could with the children and always paid for quality teachers, but her high standards did cause a lot of stress.

Problems with head lice

“Behaviour in the school was always challenging and there was the odd incident of bullying or racism. Although many of the children were extremely bright and I wanted to spend time stretching them, controlling the bad behaviour of some took up an awful lot of time. Many of the kids were from broken homes and we had a constant problem with head lice, which just added to the pressures.

“I’d dread playtime if I was on duty because there’d always be a fight or two and by the end of the session there would be a row of boys standing up against the wall outside the staff room. We didn’t issue detentions. Children were usually made to do lines or extra work. I felt one of my strengths was being able to deal with naughty kids – I could cope with being sworn at and I’m firm but fair. I never shout, I just set expectations high and stick to my guns.

“The downside of being able to handle unruly children was I always seemed to be given the worst class. I remember one term I taught literacy to the lower group. It was always after lunch and I had to get everything ready on each table right down to sharpened pencils so that the kids didn’t have any excuse to get out of their seats. Around 70 per cent of this group had behavioural or learning difficulties and these were made worse by the fact they were always hot headed and aggressive after the lunch play session. Those were challenging times. Some of the newer teachers found discipline difficult and they needed a lot of support.  

“A few of the parents were nice but a lot of them were rude and aggressive, probably because of their own bad experiences at school. I sometimes found the parents just as challenging as the children. I recall at least a couple of occasions when the police had to be brought in to deal with them.

The head was a weak manager

“My thoughts about leaving the school to move to the private sector started to brew when we got a new head. She was nice enough but she was a weak manager and was really into cutting costs. Lots of newly qualified teachers were recruited who were inexperienced. She didn’t want to pay the experienced teachers enough and wouldn’t give them incentives so they started to move on.

“The school began to deteriorate. There was a significant decline in attainment levels, especially where SATS were concerned, and behaviour got worse as the children didn’t seem to respect the new head. Personally, I was exhausted and after completing a deputy head course I decided that it wasn’t for me and that I’d rather go in a different direction.

“I’d been a private school pupil myself and was very happy with the experience. I did feel ashamed at wanting to leave the state system – I felt like I was giving in. When I first started teaching no-one of any worth would move across to the private sector but more and more teachers were becoming disillusioned with large classes, bad behaviour and low pay. I knew that I needed a change.

Starting at prep school

“Four years down the line I realise for me it’s been a very positive career move. I’m now head of science in a small preparatory school in an affluent area of London. I no longer have my own class – I just have to concentrate on teaching science and a couple of other subjects when necessary. I even have my own little lab.

“It was impossible in the state sector to single-subject teach. These pupils are very lucky. Instead of being taught by general class teachers who may be weak in a particular subject, they have specialist teachers for nearly all their lessons, from science, music and art through to PE. The staff are lovely and those that have also been in the state sector previously all have similar stories to mine. I now find myself teaching much smaller groups of children and there are few behaviour problems. At first I didn’t know what to do with myself!  The children generally want to learn and it does make teaching so much easier. 

“My main priority is to prepare the pupils for exams, though, and this can sometimes be frustrating. There’s a lot of pressure to ensure they do well and are able to move on to prestigious high schools. With so much emphasis on exams the teaching methods can feel a bit prescriptive, however this is balanced by the fact that there’s a broad range of extra-curricular activities on offer, which does ensure a wider scope for learning.

Absentee parents

“Although my day-to-day school life is a lot less stressful now I have come to recognise that the pupils do have as many problems as children in the state sector – they’re just different.

"A lot of them have pushy parents who put pressure on them and on the teachers at exam time. Many of them never see their parents as they work away or work long hours in high-powered jobs. A lot of them are used to having a nanny or a maid to clear up after them so I’ve had to train them to tidy up after themselves. These kids need strong teachers as much as they do in state schools and I have brought in some state school rules!

“I can’t see myself going back into the state system. I’d probably be lost now as there’s been a lot of changes I’m not up to date with. I wouldn’t change the path I’ve taken though. Teaching in a state school first made me the teacher I am today. I do think whichever sector you work in teaching is a tough job, but ultimately the real key is parental support whichever system a child is in.”

Read about a day in the life of a state school teacher and a private school teacher

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