[Gembac8019]

Are private schools really that snobby? I have heard alot of stories that they are and also seems to be a competition on who drives a better car, etc etc.

thought i'd elaborate. Dd goes to a private school kindy and everyone seems lovely. I'm really suprised i guess... lol. I dunno what I was expecting really! My SIL and other friends who have kids going to other schools in Brisbane have told me there seems to be alot of snobby parents & some sort of ''keeping up with the Joneses"" thing happening.

This post has been edited by princeza: 08/02/2013, 10:07 PM

[Cacti]

Like all things, depends on the school.

[Pobbs]

In the one my son attends - I'm going to vote no. I thought it would be, it's the area's Grammar school, and no, it's really not. The Mummy Mafia doesn't really exists. The mums are all really nice.

Obviously you form your own friendships with some more than others but that happens everywhere.

[!momo!]

Agree with PP it depends on the school. I went to a private school in a lower socioeconomic area definately wasn't snobby . Most parents were small business owners. There was no comparing cars etc. maybe in a more well to do area it might be different.

[MrsLexiK]

Not only does it depend on the school it depends on the year. My year at school was pretty good. Everyone got along really well and even though we all had our issues at times if it wasn't the group you where part of you would still be welcomed. I know the year below and above me where not like this at all.

[DarylDixonismyhe...]

I think it depends on the school.

Ours certainly isn't but i know when we lived in Brisbane there was a private girls school that we knew of children being left out because their parents didn't drive a certain brand of car, or live in a certain area etc. So yeah it does happen. But it probably happens in all schools to an extent, maybe it can be more exaggerated in some private schools.

[baddmammajamma]

Really, really depends on the school.

My kids attend a small private school in an upscale suburb (not ours ;-), and it's very chill/welcoming/down to earth. What few snobs there are really stand out as not being the norm!

Interestingly, it's the local state school that has the reputation for being snobby (high percentage of kids who are multi-generational residents of the suburb -- a lot of cliquey-ness).

[mombasa]

At our School no, the down to earth mums out weigh the made up Barbie dolls by a fair bit. Cars, where you live etc has never been an issue, I honestly don't think most parents care. The majority of parents are far more worried about getting their kids and arriving at gymnastics, swimming etc on time. I imagine some private schools are quite snobby but then again in our area some of the public primary schools are more snobby.

[Fossy]

There is such a variation in private schools you can't really group them all together. You're going to get different responses from the cheaper private schools with low fees less than $5k compared to the $20+k fee schools, they attact different demographics.

I went to a cheap private school, fees around $7k now, no snobby attitudes at all. My friendship group consisted of kids who's parents were teachers, nurses, bank tellers, managers etc, all normal 'middle class' families. We all lived in normal houses, drove normal cars, some people occasionally went overseas but never skiing in Switzerland or anything like that!

My cousins went to an expansive private school, fees now are $24k. Very elite. I remember my cousin was teased because they were 'only!!' going to America and Mexico for their holiday. Another cousin was flown to the Whitsundays for a cruise with 10 other girls for one of their 14th birthdays. It was very much about keeping up with the Jones'.

[New Horizons]

DD's wasn't but the one a few blocks away was super snobby, the one one the other side was not. All within 1km of each other and all in the same suburb. The public high school in that suburb had a mix and the snobby kids really stood out. One of the public schools here is really snobby. Even on a short visit it was evident that the school was all about appearances so it wasn't the right school for us.