CL wrote:

> I had the misfortune of visiting several schools in Birmingham 
> and Manchester during a recent trip and I have to say what I 
> saw was as bad as anything I have ever seen in New York or Chicago.

The quality of state schools in the UK is often (not always) closely 
related to the catchment area. State schools in depressed inner-city 
areas are often struggling, whereas state schools in middle class areas 
tend to be bolstered by very active PTAs and other parent/community 
initiatives to ensure that there is money for books, libraries, sports 
facilities, etc.

By the way, it is misleading to see education in the UK as being divided 
purely into state and independent; in fact, there is quite a spectrum:

http://www.axcis.co.uk/html/types_of_schools.html#typesofschools

Note the comment on independent schools:

"Some are selective but many are not, and take pupils regardless of 
their ability or aptitude."

There are so many issues to be taken into account in a proper discussion 
of this subject that one hardly knows where to begin. However, I would 
say that anecdotal observations tend to be one-sided (like the person 
who argues that there is no such thing as global warming because it 
happens to be a cold spring in the particular area where he or she is 
living).

As a starting point for genuine comparison of the state and independent 
systems, you may find the following useful:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,3321,00.html

See, in particular, the list of top-performing state schools:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,66020,00.html

 From the point of view of academic excellence, one could expect as good 
a performance from the schools on this list as from many independent 
(fee-paying) schools.

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com