Of course they still struggled more than me to pay their day to day expenses while I had the chance to be backed by my parents.
As others mention, this is why free education should provide everything that the children need to be able to take advantage of said free education.
I know many folk who went through the UK's free education whilst their parents struggled to even ensure they had breakfast, or lunch money. What does that do to a child's ability to concentrate and perform well in class?
The same goes for school uniforms - I remember a few who I went to school with couldn't afford the schools own brand of uniform and would just wear the closest matching unbranded clothes their parents could find - and would often get made fun of for it.
IMO - free education should include a healthy breakfast and lunch to ensure everyone is given the best chance to succeed. (The definition of healthy in the UK is another issue - our school meals growing up included some of the cheapest food available like chips, pies, sausage rolls).
I'm a fan of how Finland have tackled this issue by making private schools effectively illegal - so that all schools have the same level of funding. A nice side effect, or I guess perhaps the intended effect is that if wealthy parents are having to put their children to the same schools as working class kids - then they're going to do their best to ensure these schools are up to standard. Everyone benefits.
This video gives a bit of a glimpse into the Finnish school system - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xCe2m0kiSg