Private school vs State

[MummyHLondon]

Hi

My two eldest are in a well rounded private school, with good academic results and good pastoral care (London).
They are both bright children with different personalities and approaches to learning.
The eldest (13 Yr8) doesn't do much and still excels in some topics (history/ geography/ rp) but doesn't shine in maths and science which is fine by me.
His brother (11yo Yr6) works much harder (eg will be doing his hw till 9pm if needs be) and takes more advantage of what a private school offers in term of clubs and sports.
Our family has been going through a lot recently which has made me change my mind and being less caught up on a lot of things.
I am thinking of moving them to a new free school which is two years old which offers the IB. IB is of interest because of its international aspects as it's unlikely they will stay in England past 18. They have US / European passports and will most likely want to explore universities abroad.
Their father and I are separated and we split the cost, eg 17K each/ year.
The idea is to - at least for the eldest - move him to that free school and put 50/60k for him aside for when he is 18 that he can use for a deposit for a flat/ start a business, etc.
I just think that the money will probably be best spent that way and that if he is meant to do well then he will.
We are still undecided for the 11yo. The 13yo is ok to try.
Their father and I (plus many other people) didn't go to great schools or eve great uni and still did well job-wise. I also have many examples around me of people who went to private schools and are now in not so great jobs.
What are your views on this?
AIBU to want to take that gamble?

[Clavinova]

I think your eldest ds sounds more suited to A levels, not the IB.

If you want to be fair to both dc, I don't see how you can put aside 50/60k for one child's house deposit and not the other. Also, what if you continue with private education for your youngest ds and you have difficulty paying the fees midway - will you stop saving for the eldest child or 'borrow' money from his fund to pay school fees for the youngest?

[farangatang]

I agree with Clavinova - A-Levels will probably suit your eldest best. They are still great qualifications to access European universities, and also those further afield (including the States - with their passports this could be a bonus!) they will also potentially be eligible for international student scholarships.

Are they bilingual ? Lots of European universities have native language/English-speaking courses as do the SE Asian ones (including Yale in Singapore and some in Japan).

But if saving money for further education is a priority the free school is likely to do a good job for your boys.

[MummyHLondon]

Thank you very much both for your replies, very useful and much appreciated.

May I ask you why A-levels would suit the eldest better?
I took the (French) baccalauréat and assumed IB was similar in the learning process but I actually know nothing about A-levels.
I definitely need to learn more about it.

They are not bilingual - their speaking and understanding of French is excellent, the writing/ grammar are not great as it is often the case I believe.

Thank you again

[MummyHLondon]

Meant to apologise for my own late reply, I wasn't on my phone yesterday

[Candlelights]

I would choose the school that will suit them both up to GCSEs for now. Have a look at GCSE options, clubs, trips, etc.

It's very common to move at 16 - especially between a school that offers IB and one offering A levels. But your boys will have a much clearer idea what they'll want to do post 16 in a few years time. So best just find the best school for now and not try to predict what they'll want to do after GCSEs yet.

[noitsnotteatimeyet]

IB suits pupils who are bright (organised) all-rounders. It doesn’t suit those who have a strong bent for either arts or sciences and struggle a bit in one area as you have to do a range of subjects, including maths, English, a science and a foreign language (plus two more subjects). It suited ds1 perfectly (apart from the being organised bit ..) but would have been purgatory for mathsy/sciency ds2

[Xenia]

NCLS where my daughter went offers IB or A levels. In our family we tend all to like to narrow down to 3 subjects which are our best at A level but depends on your child.
I would keep paying fees as that may well enable them to earn enough to buy a property later i.e. greater future wealth and earnings than just having the cash for the property deposit particularly as you say they may live abroad where property can be cheaper anyway.

however you and their father need to decide really not us on here. My children happily stayed at private schools and youngest two now at university and it worked well but your plan might work too. It can be a bit of a change to leave your friends at age 11 and 13 and go into a very different environment.

[MummyHLondon]

Thank you again for all the replies.

Of course we will decide, just trying to learn as much as possible
Not being from the UK, A-levels are a completely mystery to us.

Thanks again!