Concerned about my kids in school with large number of disadvantaged pupils

[wedders]

Hi there
we currently live in Surrey, near Ashtead but are seriously considering a move to Tunbridge Wells, partly due to concerns about local schools - a large proportion of local kids are in private school - this isn't an option for us and tbh I would rather my children were in (a good) state school. I have two primary age kids in our local school and am becoming concerned that as a large number of more affluent children are schooled elsewhere, the demographic of the school is unbalanced. I want to be happy that my kids can walk to their local school and mix with children from all walks of life but I keep having wobbles that I am not doing the right thing. Am I crazy to think that we have to move???? Please can any one offer some advice?

[SaraSidle]

I dint see how you can call a child 'disadvantaged' because it doesn't attend private school?

[QuangleWangleQuee]

In what way are the children disadvantaged that is causing you concern? If you could tell us more about what affect this is having on the children then it would be easier to answer. Do you mean that they come from very dysfunctional families which is causing them to be aggressive or something?

[AMumInScotland]

Are you happy with the school, or are you not? You're talking in terms of theoretical concepts - "unbalanced demographic" vs "all walks of life" - but your children are at the school already, so are you actually seeing problems from this hypothetical "lack of balance" ? I suspect you are overthinking this, if you had any actual examples of problems your children are having at the school then you'd be mentioning those and not theoretical things.

[QuangleWangleQuee]

Oh SchmaltzingMatilda does the school you are referring to begin with R? We are looking at high schools at the moment and considering one in a leafy part of Croydon surrounded by large detached houses and I wondered if it was the same one.

[CalmingMiranda]

Have you been to actually visit the schools? Looked into the ethos, how happy the children are, what the atmosphere is like?

What concerns do you have, exactly?

My younger children are at inner city primaries and there are NO families who will be sending children to private schools. Are we 'unbalanced' before we even start? My children's secondary is doing extremely well, gets fantastic results from well behaved high achieving children, and has a very high ratio of children on free school dinners.

Only 7% of the population go to private schools, so the (theoretical) unbalancing effect can't be that great. And since YOU are one of the ones who can't afford to go private, why should you find other families on the same situation so concerning?

Stop falling for hearsay and panic and go and look at the schools for the eduation they provide, rather than for the bank balances of the children that go there.

[QuangleWangleQuee]

I thought the OP is writing about the school her children are in at the moment that she is concerned about.

[QuangleWangleQuee]

Does he have any insider info on a school called R--down in Purley?