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Deesha Ganguli, Masters Student at the University of Cambridge
Interview Phadria Prendergast
I am currently doing a Masters in education, globalisation and international development at the University of Cambridge and previously studied politics and international studies at the University of Warwick. I went to primary and secondary school in the UK. The secondary school I went to was a grammar school and then I changed this for a sixth form where I went to a mixed environment. I’d say they were 3 different school experiences but all of them were fulfilling in different ways.
When I started out in primary and secondary school, it wasn’t on my mind to go to the best educational institutions. I was very supported and always felt I could apply to these universities. With my Masters, I applied quite aspirationally so to be here is a dream come true. I definitely have my school, family and friends to thank for supporting me.
One thing that is quite interesting is that the high school I went to before sixth form, I don’t think it would have been the same at all. I went to a grammar school and there were massive class sizes. The teaching was good but it was this mentality that because you were good enough to get into a grammar school, you were left to your own devices. When I moved to sixth form, there was much more emphasis on the individual and opportunities to explore our own passions. It was eye opening as I wasn’t used to that in my high school and you were just a small fish in a big pond who needed to get on with work.
I think there is a lot to be said of the UK educational system, there’s so much more than can be done. I think that there’s fundamental issues that hold back children in state schools and grammar schools because of lack of access to resources, funding, quality teachers and other sources of inspiration. There’s no point talking about private schools and I think until more funding is given to state education, it’s going to be very hard to say that we should scrap all private schools, as there’s a huge inequality in the types of education that we can access as young people.
Private schools are a minority and even to have experienced 2 years there during sixth form, I can definitely see that. The whole time I was there, I thought about the people I was in school with before that would have flourished in an environment like that and unfortunately, some of my peers that I was surrounded by, they were not super fussed about being in an environment like that and they could be there just because their parents could afford it. They weren’t really able to recognise their own privilege.