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Original poster

State to 16, private for 6th form?

38 replies

AlexandraMary · 03/12/2011 23:09

Possible? Our local comp is decidedly (below) average, and only goes up to 16, so children leave to work or one of a load of local 6th form colleges. Very little chance of getting into any of the schools that do have sixth forms as we're well out of catchment.

We have always anticipated going private, but it has occurred to me that another option is to stay in the state system until GCSE then go private. We would consider boarding.

I would be grateful for any experiences or thoughts. Thanks.

OP posts:
aubergineinautumn · 04/12/2011 16:45

I had a friend who went from 'ordinary' indie to public boarding school for a level. It is v well known but not academically hard to get into. I got the impression quite a lot of pupils started at 16+ but I think settling in depends more on personality than on whether they've come from state or indie. I also know people who went indie to state at 16 and still ended up in the professions.

happygardening · 04/12/2011 16:33

Surely if you start at independent school at age11/13 it would be a massive culture shock to change at 16 yrs old back to state. Also you've got to leave your friends who are most likely to be staying on. The other point is three children in boarding school from yr 6/8 that's £100 000 a year that's a lot of money. If I was doing this I would look for a school with a biggish intake into the sixth form but beware I think you'll find that the entry requirements are quite stiff as are the closing dates early in the year. The indpendent school I work at (I'm not a teachers) whIch is not particularly selective at 13 is much more picky at 16 and alot of able children come from abroad to do their A levels.

Original poster
AlexandraMary · 04/12/2011 15:11

There are no catchments in our local sixth forms AFAIK. My point is more that if he's moving school anyway, why not consider all the options?

colleger - I take first your point but I don't see that as a problem for us; if anything he'd feel more at home. Husband is public school/oxbridge and I'm indie/oxbridge and we're both in the professions. Your latter point is more of a concern - but I'm trying to keep an open mind about state education. The local comp is crap but improving and a small handful of pupils get a clutch of A/A* so it can be done. I'd like to think our influence at home and advice will help him choose and succeed at GCSE with an eye to the future.

OP posts:
Colleger · 04/12/2011 09:26

If the comp is not very good then it will be quite a shock going to a private school at the age of 16 where most kids are of a certain class. This could affect your children's self esteem and they may feel a bit like a fish out of water. Also, better they have a solid foundation rather than a clutch or average GCSE's from a less prestigious exam body. I would do it the other way around - inde from Y7-Y11 and then state sixth form.

seeker · 04/12/2011 07:34

Check on the entry requirements of the 6th forms round you before you make a decision- ours don't have catchments- you have to apply (even if you are already in the school).

kerrygrey · 04/12/2011 07:29

From experience I'm all in favour of 6th form boarding. The ideal half-way house between living at home and the scary freedom of university

youngermother1 · 04/12/2011 01:26

Also consider if universities are 'against' private education. Would he do well enough in the last two years to overcome any prejudice?

happygardening · 04/12/2011 00:36

Many independent senior schools have a small intake into 6 th form. If your thinking of boarding you might be better to look at schools with separate boarding houses for the 6 th form as it may resolve the problem of integrating into an already establish group. The very selective schools I understand are very over subscribed expect A*s and require the candidate to sit a pretty difficult entrance exams as well. All will have websites outlinning their particular requirements!

Ponders · 03/12/2011 23:38

we have a very selective grammar here for 11-16. Local kids whose parents can afford it generally send them to less-local independent schools if they fail the grammar exam

However there is a much less selective (but still high-achieving) 6th form attached to the selective grammar; most of the indie kids come back to that & it has an incredibly wide catchment area.

HTH Smile

ASuitableGirl · 03/12/2011 23:29

That does make sense. Afraid I don't have any experience of private or boarding schools so hopefully someone else with more knowledge will answer as well :)

Original poster
AlexandraMary · 03/12/2011 23:29

(Sorry I wasn't clear in my OP. Ideally at 11 I'd want him to go to a school that was 11-18, but all the local 11-18 schools are oversubscribed, so he'd only get into the school which is 11-16 then move to either a sixth form college, or the sixth form of an 11-18 school.)

OP posts:
Original poster
AlexandraMary · 03/12/2011 23:27

No, no catchment issues for sixth forms locally. If we were to go state I'd imagine the children (I have three) would choose which sixth form(s) to apply to. My thinking is: if they're moving anyway, then why not open the field entirely and consider private/boarding schools as well.

OP posts:
ASuitableGirl · 03/12/2011 23:22

Do sixth forms have the same catchment issues? May well have changed since I was at school, but the school I went to was oversubscribed, but in the sixth form had people coming from much further away.