It's one of my biggest internal struggles - the whole schooling system in London and the fact that my kids are going to a posh school. It freaks me out.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When you're a child, it's easy to see school as the worst thing in the world. It's only later in life you realise what a wonderful time it was. Looking back, I can't believe I even wanted to leave.
Education in British schools isn't good enough. It's not remotely imaginative enough. It lets down too many children, excluding them from society, and, as I've often said, people who are excluded from society tend to express themselves in ways not acceptable to society.
When I first left drama school, I was too posh for the working-class parts and not posh enough for the upper-class roles. You know what England is like: the gradations of accent and how you're judged by them are still there. I discovered that to get a break you have to lie about where you're from.
When I was younger, I always assumed that when I grew up, I would be living in the country, and my kids would be going to a state school. But that's not how things have turned out. I can't see myself being able to leave London.
In the U.K., there is a sort of obsession with class.
As somebody who visits countless schools, I see firsthand the dire situation our educational system faces.
I know kids are supposed to go through these awkward stages, but I just never even thought about that. I was too busy worrying about getting my education while I was working.
I look back and see the kids who made it through school - it made a huge difference in their lives, which made me believe in the power of public education and what it can do for individuals and communities and the state.
In public schools, classes are bloated - it's ridiculous.
The only place I considered home was the boarding school in Yorkshire my parents sent me to. It's easier, isn't it? I mean, it gets kids out the way, doesn't it?
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