we often need to put the community before ourselves, when it comes to my kids I am a tiger mum -- I really don't worry about what is right for everybody else's kids, I will do what is right for mine. And if that means sending them to a private school, then that is what I will do. I wouldn't say I'm proud of my new found snobbery and protectiveness, but it is what it is. Thankfully, we live near a wonderful public school that my son has recently started at and we couldn't be happier. We did consider the private school only 2mins from home, but for my son the pubic school turned out to be a better fit. And ultimately that should be what every parent bases their decision on -- where your kids will be happiest. Because a happy kid will learn no matter where they are. We had very small class sizes but the downside was that there weren't enough students to warrant a huge array of subjects to choose from. The money that my parents paid went into the teachers salaries, NOT swimming pools and definitely not overseas excursions. They attracted the best teachers in the area and could therefore pick and choose their teachers. My school offered partial and full scholarships as well as heavily discounted fees for families with a lower socio-economic background meaning that single mum's and struggling family's could afford to give their children a better education. I was educated at