Thread by @jamesmb

My old school (an English public school - day fees currently £22,380 / yr, boarding £33,165 / yr), would like you to donate £595 because some of the pupils fancy playing chess outside. Don't worry, you can #GiftAid it.

#Charity

Now, it is probably disloyal or ungrateful or something but if you are paying over 20 or 30 grand per year to send your kid to school, you'd assume they could afford their own overpriced, oversized chess game. If not, why not just use a normal one? @Poundland probably have them.

But the thing that gets me is that, when I was there, they sort of instilled a sense of right and wrong and helping people that didn't have as much as you - charity was an important concept. However, we didn't raise money for bloody outside chess sets.

And this is, unfortunately for @KingsTaunton, a bit of a case of being hoist by your own petard. You really should not have instilled those values in us if you wanted to then trample them in quite such an obscene way.

I should say, at this stage, that I think that Kings is actually a pretty good school and I enjoyed my time there. I know it was a privilege and that I was very lucky to have that chance. Also, I am pleased that it helped me form some kind of moral compass.

And to me, there is something morally very wrong with any law that allows an organisation like this to benefit from tax laws that are designed to help those in genuine need.

(£437 for 42 plastic bottles)

EIGHT GRAND for some bikes (£1400 off with a tax efficient #GiftAid donation).

We aren't exactly in food bank territory here (by the way, the kitchens at Kings benefit (or benefited) from subsidised foods such as butter destined for charities when I was there). cc @BootstrapCook

When I see stuff like this, I begin to think that the private school system should be removed from the #charity sector completely. It's an abuse. You can't ask people to pay over £150,000 to educate a child over 5 years and then pretend to be worthy of #GiftAid exemptions.

That's it. That's my rant. I am genuinely sorry that it looks like it was aimed at @KingsTaunton but, frankly, they started it by asking for the donations in the first place. Ordinary taxpayers should not be subsidising privilege in this way.

There. I've said it.

PS Another thing they instill in you is a sense of loyalty and I feel very disloyal having re-read my post. But if they want me to choose between being loyal to my old school or being loyal to people in need, I'll pick the people in need any day of the week. Sorry.