Headmaster of a Sydney private school wishes more of his students would become tradies

Would you send your kid to a private school to become a tradie? (Source: Twitter, Getty)

Private school fees are no joke – to enrol a child into one of these exclusive institutions, it’ll set Aussie parents back anywhere between $18,000 a year up to an eye-watering $41,000.

There are several reasons why private schools are preferred over public counterparts, including specialised attention catered to the child’s needs, teaching outside the curriculum, a particular program they want to enrol their child into, or perhaps simply the prestige associated with a private school.

But no matter how you look at it, the general expectation is that the private school will deliver academic outcomes that the child may not have achieved otherwise in a public school and to have a leg-up in the employment market.

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However, the outgoing headmaster of a prestigious Sydney private school has gone against the grain and wants to see more of his students eschewing a university degree for trade professions.

Battling the beliefs of parents from the highest socio-economic bracket who believed anything less than a degree was failure, Timothy Wright, the headmaster of Anglican private school Shore School, encourages his students to consider apprenticeships.

"We would not get as many boys going into trades as I would like to see," he told SMH. "I'm pretty confident [artificial intelligence] won't replace plumbers."

Wright described the idea that everyone should get a degree as a “total fallacy” and added that he was “really annoyed” on behalf of his students at the belief that wealth made students immune to experiencing difficulty.

"I know them. I love them. I do not understand how people can possibly take that attitude towards them,” he said.

“The boys are privileged, and it's not their fault.

“It's what you do with your opportunities in life that I think you are responsible for. [Wealth] will give you certain advantages, yes, but it does not protect you. Some of my boys have some pretty wicked problems."

Parents pay up to $33,000 a year to enrol their child at Shore School.

Social media reacts

But do these parents actually expect their child to become a tradie?

A number of Twitter users took to social media to express their incredulity at Wright’s comments.

Pay $33K+ per year to become a tradie? Will be some of the most expensive tradies in the world 😳

— Frontal Assault (@AssaultFrontal) August 18, 2019

Twitter user @qpp doubted that the top price paid for private education would realistically see those students in trades.

Yeah, get in the real world, no one wants to pay $30K+ pa and have their son go into the trades

Shore alumni most known for financial services and law in Sydney.

— qpp (@inmybackyardpls) August 18, 2019

In what universe does he think Daddy wants little Hamish to be a plumber?

— Rory Delaney (@RoryRonaldo) August 18, 2019

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