THOSE WHO CAN’T DO…: Of all of the things writer-provocateur Toby Young has been called, “educational example” is not among them. Nonetheless, the London-based Young, whose memoir of working at Vanity Fair and in New York was recently made into a film, is trying to start a school. Specifically, he wants to import the charter school model to Britain, starting with West London. “At the moment, people in this country only have two alternatives: They can either send their children to private schools, which cost a lot of money, or to the local public school, most of which aren’t very good,” Young told WWD. “Why should a decent education be something that only rich people have access to?” He said the school is in the “planning” stages.
Young is a particularly motivated founder, since he has four children. In February, he wrote a column for the Spectator entitled, “I can’t afford to send my children to private school — and I’m relishing the cachet.” (Apparently the cachet of state-run schools had its limits).
Nor can Young reasonably expect a Hollywood windfall, since “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” did not wow the American box office: In the U.S., it brought in only $2.8 million — a tenth of the reported budget — though it did manage to be number one in the United Kingdom in its opening weekend, earning about $7 million there. — I.C.
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