Thanks! I found this very interesting and enlightening, I just didn't know how it all worked. What I would like to compare is, say a private school (like the one up the road from me), where they board them, they feed them, they educate them, very highly in fact, they go on to Oxford and Cambridge from this school, I'd like to compare their income from fees, the amount of pupils, to a public school with the same amount of cash being filtered into it with a similar amount of pupils and just see how it all compares? That would be really interesting! As somebody else has said, when it's a private company, every penny is accounted for, but when it's Government money coming in, I'm sure there's a lot of it that goes "wrong", is that the word, or maybe just wasted or lost perhaps? It's the same difference to me, doesn't matter where the money comes from be it fees or Government funded none of it should be wasted, and if private schools can do it, why can't the others? I know you said there is a huge difference in the amount of input cashwise, but IS there I wonder?

Full boarding fees are £19,000/£20K a year, but they do days only at £15K a year, so is there a figure per pupil then for a state run school? Surely they work it out per pupil when they hand over the cash? I'm talking 8 years and up to 14 here from what I can remember, so is there a figure per child at these ages for state schools, I bet it's almost there surely, it can't be £4K a year each pupil like you are saying about 4x as much?

I actually worked at this school for a short while, and even the meals were worked out precisely at say, 37p per child per meal, and dare anybody go over it! Quite incredible the lengths they went to to keep within their budget, and I doubt that happens in state schools I really don't (or do!)

No wonder they don't have enough money!!!! Then again, look at the difference in numbers of pupils in each school, it only takes one teacher to teach 10 kids as opposed to 40 at a time?? See what I'm getting at?

I only have comments for what I know and my sons teacher as the rest of the school its lights out at 3.30pm and no one is there.

Well they are, but a lot of the cuts are going to be front line services not back room pen-pushers. I just wish that they had spent more time looking behind the scenes before the axe fell. To reduce bureaucracy would mean changing the law which hasn't happened.

Tassle you obviously have not read the whole thread, please do so before commenting.

No - I have replied directly to comments made by yourself about comments made by me.....I am slowly working my way through the thread and have started to see that you have changed your mind and/or were possibly trying to be sarcastic? Either way - I found your comments quite offensive.