Q. Every parent wants the best for their child but I was grammar school educated and always assumed that my children would be the same. But the state schools in our area have had disappointing results this year – is it worth busting the bank and going for a private school?

This is the question that increasing numbers of parents cannot escape.

What, after all, do you do if you live in an area where there is no good state school or where the one or two that are good are hopelessly oversubscribed?

The latest report from the school's inspectorate, Ofsted, suggests that 1.6m children are being educated in secondary schools that are not providing an adequate education. So much, it seems, for Mr Blair's promise back in 1997 that he would deliver a world class education system. It is hardly surprising, given statistics like this, that so many parents are digging deep into the family pocket and opting to send their children to private schools.

The alternative is to move as close to a successful state school as you can. This, too, will cost. House prices in the Redland area of Bristol, a city with desperately few decent state secondary schools, have rocketed by more than 30% since the announcement that the LEA was building a new school which will, hopefully, achieve better standards.

It is a personal choice which will depend on personal circumstances. The advantage of moving to a more expensive house is that you should re-coup your investment when it comes to sell.

There is also the little matter of university entrance. Top universities have come under increasing pressure to admit more students from state schools. This pressure is likely to increase if Mr Brown becomes Prime Minister. So, many parents are wondering whether paying private school fees might actually disadvantage their children when it comes to applying to university. I do not myself think that we have any hard evidence of real discrimination against students from independent schools.

There is no denying, moreover, the current success of private schools when it comes to securing a place at a top university. If it were not for the fact that grammar schools continue to send a significant number of students to good universities, the percentage of students from state schools going, for example, to Oxford and Cambridge would be pathetically small.

The sensible thing might be, therefore, if you can afford the fees and find an empty place, to swallow hard and invest directly in your child's education.

There is also the question of whether it is better to pay for a prep school education in the hope that a scholarship might be won to a senior independent school. Or, if you live in an LEA which still has a selective education system, whether it's worth trying to secure a grammar school place.

The hard truth is that your child, however, clever, is unlikely to win a place at a top independent school if he has not been to a prep school. The gap between the academic standards achieved in the better prep schools and the work done in even the best state primaries is just too huge.

My advice, therefore, would be to pay the prep school fees and keep your fingers tightly crossed.

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