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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by dwazou@lemm.ee to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

But, if interested, you can access an archived version here.

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[-] MacFearrs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 94 points 1 month ago

“The gardener used to come twice a month, but then he increased his costs from £230 a year to £245 a year. We only have him come once every other month now.”

I find it hard to believe a household with a combined salary (No bonus included) of £345k can't scrape together an extra 15 quid.

Get the feeling this was deleted because they realised it was utter bollocks, though that's not much better as they allowed it through.

[-] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 12 points 1 month ago

I know it's not the point but a gardener isn't doing shit for £230 a year. That must be a typo, that has to be monthly and if they have a big garden that could be weekly!

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[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 9 points 1 month ago

That's really not good wages for twice a month, is it?

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[-] And009@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 1 month ago

Lifestyle sacrifices are news for the rich. Luckily there aren't enough to support this kind of journalism.

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[-] MonsterMonster@lemmy.world 64 points 1 month ago

I smell a rat.

The image for this article, and the same family in slightly different poses, can be found across multiple websites.

The image held within the archived Telegraph article seems to be a generic library image yet there appears to be no reference of this. The footnote of the image implies this is the "hard up" family.

Valley Fair Dental

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[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 38 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Maybe they had to sell their photos to an agency so they could afford that 5th holiday. Times are hard.

There is at least a real Telegraph article, but it's odd that they seem to have used a stock photo, as you point out.

https://archive.ph/BRKtd

[-] Tweak@feddit.uk 12 points 1 month ago

Not that odd, if anything I thought it was strange that someone would give their name and their family's image to a paper, particularly on a subject as contentious as this.

"Al Moy" may also be a pseudonym. I wonder if "Al Moy" even exists.

Also, while the Torygraph have pulled the article on their site, it's still up on yahoo: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/earn-345k-soaring-private-school-090000096.html

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[-] Skua@kbin.earth 14 points 1 month ago

I don't think it matters too much because what the family looks like isn't important, but I agree that it seems intended to imply that that is a photo of the family

It is pretty funny that they chose the most stock-photo-looking stock photo ever taken though

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[-] ogmios@sh.itjust.works 37 points 1 month ago

“Almost overnight, the school fees went up from £55,000 per year to £70,000. The increase was shocking, but not entirely unexpected,” Moy says. “Ultimately, I believe, the education provided and the sacrifices we will have to make are worth it.”

So they readily admit it's a fair price, but still felt the need to complain to the media?

[-] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago

Hear me out on this, I don't think that's enough to be hated

There SHOULD be people who make a lot of money. That should be achievable. The problem is the billionaires and multi-millionaires who prevent that

I think this article shows that it's even starting to affect the almost-mega-rich

[-] tetris11@feddit.uk 9 points 1 month ago

I draw the line at 5 holidays a year

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

Nah everyone should get infinity holidays. That just shouldn't make you rich.

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[-] DarkSpectrum@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Its revealing that the 'middle class' is a lie, it doesn't exist. We're all poor compared to the super wealthy, even at $350k.

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[-] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 22 points 1 month ago

This is real? Holy crap….

That's so sad... I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

Wish they had to live with 10% of that money each year.

[-] twinnie@feddit.uk 12 points 1 month ago

I actually know a couple of teachers at private schools and they say the people being hit hardest aren’t the rich twats but the families who scrimp and save just enough to try and give their kids the best opportunities.

[-] HK65@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 month ago

Honest question, why do people pay 50-70k a year for school? If it was higher education, I presume that's worth it for the connections you get there, maybe, but this is high school. Isn't it possible to get into the best unis from a good state school?

[-] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 15 points 1 month ago

So their kids don't have to be with the poors ?

[-] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Probably for the experiences. The sort of things kids do in these schools seem more lavish, I mean, as much as I enjoyed my school trip to a farm I'm not sure if that's the sort of thing they'd consider.
Although David Cameron did shag a pig, so not sure if that's true for all of those schools.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's quite possible, and quite common, to get into the best universities in the UK from state school. More than 67% of undergraduates at Oxford University come from state schools.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/oxford-university-of-oxford-cambridge-university-of-cambridge-university-of-exeter-b2559848.html

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Only if your kids have excellent grades or are star athletes or otherwise exceptional. Most of this ends up as networking, where the rich parents meet other rich parents and eventually someone with connections is involved when it’s time for the kids to go to university, and because rich people like it when other rich people succeed, because they want “the right kind of people” at the universities they send their kids to, (sometimes) they’ll help grease the right palms.

[-] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 11 points 1 month ago

Honestly, this is why I'm always peeved when I hear parents telling their kids that school isn't a social club. I followed that advice, only to find out that the real world cares more about networking than test scores. Whoops.

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[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You make it sound like it's rare to get into good universities in the UK from state schools. But most of the students at the UK's top universities come from state schools.

You're right about networking though. Even if you go to Oxford, for example, you can find that there are exclusive cliques and clubs there that are only open to the "right kind" of people. These will be wealthy kids who went to a few expensive public (that is, private) schools. The networking begins long before they even get to university.

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[-] HollowNaught@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Is that from the Daily Torygraph?

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this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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