I know that this question is probably like asking how long is a piece of string but no one in our family has ever been to an independent school and we don't exactly mix in the circles of those who do.
So, if you'll bear with me then I'll try and give all the details about us - at least, that I'm happy sharing anyway - that I think could be relevant and help people to give me a good answer.
Sorry if this turns into a very long post.
We're currently in Altrincham and DDs are in a very good local state school and, if we were staying here, they would hopefully make it to the local grammar.
But, we'll have to move next year with DH's job and we'll probably end up living in north Cambs somewhere. Well, along with this, his parents are now in a position to help pay for fees for our DDs education if we wanted. So, all of a sudden, a private school is now a realistic option for us.
As soon as DD1 got wind of this she suddenly decided that boarding sounded a great idea - having read far too much Hogwarts.
So, I've been looking at some schools local to where we'll be moving to and, so far, Oakham and the Leys look to be the sort of places we would be interested in.
Given that DD1 has expressed strong preference for boarding that is what we are looking for. However, interested in weekly boarding at first - more for my sake than DD's as I don't want her to just disappear. I rather like the concept at Oakham that they refer to as ''transitional boarding''.
Looking for somewhere that educationally is on a par with the local grammars where we live now but also offer lots of extra curricular stuff as well. Not looking for a ''super selective'' academic hothouse.
This isn't because I don't think that DDs are up to it, just that I feel there can be a lot more to education than just grades. I certainly survived a bog standard comprehensive and went on to a very good university. But, if I can give my DDs a much better school experience than I had then I'm certainly going to do that.
Ok, sorry for giving you my life history here. Back to the question.
DD1 is currently in Year 4 and DD2 is in year 2.
How soon do we have to register with these schools and put down deposits?
Do we register with all the schools that we are interested in or just one?
How soon should wse visit the schools and should we take DDs with us at this age?
Any other advice for somebody who has never been involved with this sort of thing before?
I will, obviously, be speaking a lot to these schools but I was really hoping that somebody could help with a sort of Dummies Guide so that I don't make a fool of myself asking them silly questions.
If you've got this far and are still reading - thanks.
ps Just noticed that Oakham also do Year 6 entry as well as Year 7 - anyone got any experience of this?
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How early should we register DD with independent school? - Oakham / Leys
21 replies
nickymanchester · 01/12/2012 14:46
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