Sir, – Jacky Jones (Health + Family, March 19th) argues that schools charge fees so that most children are automatically excluded; and children from fee-paying schools are denied an opportunity to mix with those from less well-off backgrounds. She asks, “How can they [children who attend fee-paying schools] be any good to anyone” without the insight of knowing how society operates? This is both factually incorrect and deeply insulting to those attending fee-paying schools.
My two sons attend/-ed a fee-paying school that runs a major fundraiser each year to help house the less well-off elderly citizens of Cork. The lads involved in Share, which is a major event in the school life of all students, give of their time to fundraise and the people of Cork see first-hand that there is nothing elitist about the lads – in fact their polite self-confidence is a tribute to their balanced view of the world. The pupils come from the city centre, the suburbs and the countryside of Cork city and are not drawn exclusively from higher socio-economic groups, as claimed by Ms Jones.
In my experience, the boys come from middle-class PAYE families who pay for everything and draw very little from the State. In all cases, these parents have taken the decision to invest hard-earned money in the education of their children. The lads from Presentation College, in my view, are well-balanced, decent individuals who will make major contributions to Irish society. – Yours, etc,
MARK HURLEY,
Mount Oval,
Rochestown,
Cork.