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Madonna King: Being a graduate of a good private school is not a golden ticket to wealth and social status

It’s the question that divides Brisbane’s elite, but going to a good school is not a golden ticket to wealth and social status as it might have been in the dark ages, writes Madonna King.

GPS rugby powerhouse Nudgee College First 15. Picture: Darren England
GPS rugby powerhouse Nudgee College First 15. Picture: Darren England

“What school did you go to?’’

It’s a question people ask often, and routinely 20 or 30 or 40 years after we graduate.

But why? Does the school you attended in 1989 really point to your intelligence or value system or success?

No. But this question, particularly in Brisbane, continues to live on as part of the discourse at business events and social functions and even in the queue waiting for a parent-teacher interview.

Prominent corporate recruiter Russell Fairbanks left school in the UK more than 30 years ago - but he was recently asked again: “What school did you go to?’’

“Look, I get it,’’ he wrote. “Brisbane still has that charm mixed with a bit of that small-town DNA. But we’re a city of over two million people. We’re part of the global economy. We’re about to host the Olympics. Surely… surely, we’ve moved on?’’.

It seems not. “Why does it still matter where I went to high school… over ten years ago? OK, over 30 years ago (gulp)?’’

Fairbanks’ LinkedIn post received a thumping response, with most deriding old school tribalism as exclusive, ignorant, elitist, discriminatory, old fashioned, parochial and judgemental.

Sunday Mail columnist Madonna King. Picture David Clark
Sunday Mail columnist Madonna King. Picture David Clark

Some, with tongue in cheek, declared they’d attended Hogwarts, and others proudly nominated a small public school in a town no-one knows.

But the question was also seen as a legitimate one by some; a good predictor of later performance and a pointer to a person’s upbringing, wealth and competitiveness. Calibre, perhaps.

Surely that could not be further from the truth.

Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs roamed freely, schools (particularly private ones) might have delivered friends and networks and career paths - particularly for men.

But that’s whittled away, both as the public system has grown in stature and alumni, and as private schools struggle just as much as others to deal with the unsettling stories of some of their graduates.

A good school, however you define it, is not a golden ticket to wealth and social status, as it might have been in the dark ages.

It doesn’t mean a child will graduate with strong values, or an inquiring mind, or those empathetic skills like listening and teamwork that every study in the world has found makes good leaders.

But still the question hangs over conversations between mature and ageing adults.

“What school did you go to?’’

Perhaps it’s the same people asking this question as those who describe a person, by their formative education.

“He went to Nudgee. Class of 1958.’’

“Oh she’s from Somerville. Surely you know that?’’

“He runs the company - went to Churchie - but he married an All Hallows Girl, you know.’’

Or even those who think graduates from good schools know how and where to use apostrophe’s. (Subs please leave apostrophe here; it’s a joke)

Perhaps I’m jealous. Attending Dalby State High doesn’t prompt the same respect, it seems, as those who sat in classrooms, with green sporting fields stretching for miles outside.

(Although, for transparency I should record that we also had classes outside, but that was because the demountable classrooms had tin roofs and no airconditioning.)

At some point, and preferably soon after graduation - we should leave our school history behind because it is irrelevant, it eschews diversity and it doesn’t prove a single thing.

It also baffles half of those as ked, because in 2025 - like Russell Fairbanks - our state is filled with people who have made Queensland home from interstate and overseas.

Our honours lists are filled with many who struggled at school, failed or were caught playing truant a few too many times. Some of those went to ‘good’ schools and many others didn’t.

Our jails, too, host their share of ‘good’ school alumni.

This isn’t about schools, where money can only ever give you the chance of entry. Increasingly scholarships remove that economic advantage too.

A person’s success in life, personal and professional, comes down to a mixed back of experiences and how we deal with them. It doesn’t come down to the name of a school.

We can do better than focus on an old tribalism that shuns inclusivity and breeds contempt.

Perhaps we should also be grateful that this is a quintessential Brisbane question. In Sydney, I learnt it was less about schools and more about the size of someone’s mortgage.

And that lends itself to so many lines, I’ll stop here.

* Madonna attended St John’s Convent in Roma, before moving to Dalby where she was schooled at St Columba’s, St Mary’s and Dalby State High school.

Originally published as Madonna King: Being a graduate of a good private school is not a golden ticket to wealth and social status

Madonna King
Madonna KingColumnist

Madonna King joined The Courier-Mail team as a columnist, offering insights into every part of life in the state.

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/opinion/madonna-king-being-a-graduate-of-a-good-private-school-is-not-a-golden-ticket-to-wealth-and-social-status/news-story/a98f30ad1859a5f68ba9c2345c3f364e