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Original poster

School went bust. Would you trust another small independent or go to the local comp?

37 replies

WorriedMutha · 21/07/2014 12:43

My DD was at a small girls school that has just thrown in the towel. We found out after they had broken up for the holidays and another independent school posted news of it on their site. The teachers similarly found out at going home time at the end of term. Shocking I know but we've got to move on.
This has been emotionally upsetting for everyone but is particularly devastating for year 10s who are half way through GCSEs and are having to find a school with a good enough fit to their syllabus. For some this will mean abandoning subjects.
My DD is approaching options and we could go to another independent who are sweeping up many of the girls. I do have issues with their options, particularly that they don't offer triple science. It is also a more awkward journey
Equally, we could go to the comp. This school has had a fortune spent on it and a new head is turning it around but this is work in progress. I should just add that although it is our catchment school, we didn't get it on application because it has become so popular that the de facto catchment has narrowed. We were offered a school 2 buses away that has just gone into special measures. Hence, we went down the private route.
I gather that the comp does have some bullying issues but the school are on to it. Mums with children in top sets (and DD would be) feel that they aren't stretched enough. One mum said that her son has suffered from there being a culture of it not being cool to be smart though she wasn't sure whether this was more of a boys thing at the school.
Has anyone switched from private to comp half way through secondary?I'm worried that she has worked hard so far and would become demotivated at a key stage.
I feel disillusioned with the independent sector but in no way want to sacrifice DD's potential.
AIBU? Will she be fine at the comp?

OP posts:
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celestialsquirrels · 23/07/2014 10:15

Just for info Oxford High doesn't do triple science (GDST school stuffed full of high achieving Dons' kids, always in top 10-15 schools nationally. The St Paul's Girls of the midlands).

If everything else works I wouldn't let that put me off a school

Mutteroo · 23/07/2014 02:02

DD's school went bust and the girls went to various other schools, but the vast majority of year 10 went to the same school. This school made sure all girls continued with their GCSEs by keeping them together if the exam syllabus was different to the one they used. There was no major disruption and it may be that the alternative private school you have may be able to operate the same system?

What's your daughter's personality like? Will she find it easy to go from a very small indie school to a large comprehensive? Sorry to hear this predicament and best of luck finding the right option for your child.

breward · 22/07/2014 13:40

Glad you are sorted. Enjoy your summer and let us know how DD gets on.

TalkinPeace · 22/07/2014 13:38

OP
Am so utterly glad for you that the meeting went well.
You have time to breathe.
The school will look out for DD and the fact that she is looking forward to a big pond is a bonus.
Enjoy your summer.

Original poster
WorriedMutha · 22/07/2014 11:31

We met the head and a deputy at the comp and within 20 minutes we were choosing options. We were very impressed with the head and though I probably wouldn't like to work for her, she gets things done. We cancelled the meeting with the indie head although that will always be there if the comp experiment backfires.
DD has always hankered after a large school and has felt a bit cramped in a smaller school. When we looked at schools from primary, she was lusting after the amazing facilities though we had to say this isn't the whole picture and it is about teaching not just the froth.
I take the point about GCSEs and equivalents. They brought the subject up and it is clear that the direction of travel is towards GCSEs. We were guided to all the academic subjects and we had to make some minor compromises but are generally very pleased.
We mentioned some names of friends from her extra curricular activities and these were noted down with a view to her being buddied with them.
All in all, we are relieved to have made a decision.
We saw another set of forms from one of the girls from her school on the side table. Many will go to the other independent as the risk averse option and if will be interesting to compare notes in a year's time as to how everyone has thrived and settled.
I will be back with a new thread then or at least have something to add to someone else's in a similar situation as closures in small indies are reaching epidemic proportions.
There was one mum at our emergency meeting who had been struck by lightening twice. The same thing had happened to her in Cumbria and now again in Essex.

OP posts:
breward · 22/07/2014 07:39

What does your DD want to do? What is her personality like?

She may want to move from a small school of 90 into a year group of 200 and be a small fish in a big pond. However, she may prefer to go with her friends and stay in small classes in year groups of 40, a big fish in a small pond.

I think it know the schools that you have mentioned. The comp has had a lot of problems this year. I believe the head fell out with the governors and resigned. She then withdrew her resignation and is continuing as head next year... How long will she stay and what is the governor/head relationship now?

The comp has had lots spent on it as you say and the results look good. The key word in the exam results is equivalent, which probably means the school offers more than the traditional GCSE subjects, Btec type qualifications.

The indie has a more stable leadership, but is further to travel. Could you DD lift share with friends? The results are similar to the comp but in more traditional subjects. Your DD would be in smaller classes and have a lot more individual attention... After all that's what you pay for when you choose the indie route.

Good luck with your decision making. It is a horrible situation to be in but a real 'sliding doors' moment for you and your DD.

LeBearPolar · 21/07/2014 22:13

There are no grammar schools local to us: the alternatives for the girls at our local school are either the local independent co-ed schools or the comprehensives. It sounds as if there are several which have gone under. Parents at the school in our town were told before the end of term and had chance to visit the other schools in term time too.

WireCat · 21/07/2014 19:55

Cheminotte, there are grammar schools in our area so obv more than one has gone bust.

cheminotte · 21/07/2014 17:18

If we are talking about the Girls school I think we are, there are no grammar schools in the area, so there must be more than one private girls school that has gone bust this year.

TalkinPeace · 21/07/2014 17:11

wirecat
indeed, if you look at their own web page it looks like all is well : which is pretty shabby

WireCat · 21/07/2014 17:10

It may be normal to go bust without telling anyone, but it was the way in which it was handled.
Parents found out on Facebook from another indie schools page.

OP, good luck with what you do for your dd.

TalkinPeace · 21/07/2014 17:04

The school is not hard to identify with a bit of searching.
It has been insolvent for some time.
The freeholders decided to stop subsidising it.
The administrators would have been in breach of their appointment if they had given more notice.

OP
Go with the comp.
That gives you a term or two of breathing space and your DD some security for September.

Her reason for changing school is one with which any reasonable person will have utter sympathy so the Comp will be supportive and if another school has a place that suits her better she can move again in a constructive and controlled manner.

queenofthemountain · 21/07/2014 16:57

It is absolutely normal for a company going bust not to tell anyone beforehand.This happened at a prep school in our town a couple of years ago
If the comp has 2 grammar schools nearby, then it won't really be a true comprehensive , the most able will have been creamed off.

Hakluyt · 21/07/2014 16:43

When it cones down to it, she will probably only have a choice of three or four, the rest will be compulsory. There isn't that much variety between schools to be honest. I have one child who's just left a high performing grammar and another who has just chosen options at a bog standard high school. The only differences are that he didn't have a choice of lMFL and he also only gets to do double science. Apart from that their final GCSE choices are almost the same,

Original poster
WorriedMutha · 21/07/2014 16:31

I have looked at the options list on the website and ended up with a list of 15 worthy of further consideration. It wasn't clear what subjects were compulsory and I wondered if the range varied across ability groups. Meeting the heads of both schools over the course of tomorrow so will jump one way or the other and post an update.

OP posts:
Hakluyt · 21/07/2014 15:48

Have you looked on the comprehensive's website? The will probably be information about the different subjects which will help her choose her options. Maybe get in touch with th girls she knows and ask their opinion about teachers and subjects (then adding a pinch of salt?Grin)

Hakluyt · 21/07/2014 15:45

"Your dd has a right to be assessed for the school and you can appeal for a place."

But you are very unlikely indeed to get a place because grammar schools tend to be oversubscribed, and there won't be much movement in year 10.

JimBobplusasprog · 21/07/2014 15:41

It doesn't matter that your dd has missed the grammar tests. There is something called the in year fair access protocol. Your dd has a right to be assessed for the school and you can appeal for a place.

Original poster
WorriedMutha · 21/07/2014 15:18

wow. Just nipped to the shops and am overwhelmed by all your helpful comments. Just to avoid confusion I should say that she will be going into year 9 in September. There were only a handful in her class and all but one are going to the other indie. She will stay in touch with them and 2 of them actually live very local to us.
She knows 4 girls at the comp from outside activities but it really depends on which class she is placed in. We have a meeting with the head this week and I will be asking how they manage pastoral care. Can she join the girls she knows (2 are in the same class)? Do they have a buddy system?
It is entirely feasible to go to the comp and jump ship at the end of a term if it isn't working. The indie don't start options until year 10 whereas the comp start in year 9.
I have read the options at the comp but we don't know any of the teachers or lessons so it is a big ask choosing stuff speculatively and we've got a million questions which they won't be able to answer over the Summer. They will have had full consultations with their year 8s to help them choose the right options.
As for our local grammars, I phoned them as soon as I picked myself up off the floor. Both had just tested the previous week to fill their gaps so we missed that particular boat.
The lack of notice from the school has robbed her of:-

  1. Grammar tests
  2. Opportunity to attend the comp open evening and try and talk to subject heads
  3. Opportunity to have try out days to avoid making a god awful mistake.
I think 1,2 and 3 has contributed to my disillusionment with the indie sector. We would have to give notice of a term to withdraw her but they can close down with immediate effect.
OP posts:
HeyBabyBaby71 · 21/07/2014 14:22

Phone the comp. it's only for a year. I bet they will be very accommodating.

LeBearPolar · 21/07/2014 14:22

Your situation sounds incredibly similar to what's happening in my home town but the independent school that's 'sweeping up' a lot of the girls does offer triple science.

If she is motivated and wants to do well, I think she will be fine at the comprehensive. As others have said, you can rethink at sixth form if necessary.

Belloc · 21/07/2014 14:18

I wonder if it might be easier for her turning up at a new school alongside other familiar faces, whereas turning up at a new school where she is the only one might be very different.

What are her friends doing?

Belloc · 21/07/2014 14:15

What does your daughter want to do?

WireCat · 21/07/2014 14:15

I know the school you mean.
Maybe try the grammar schools?
The 2 high schools in the next town up are both very good.

The way it was handled is awful. I hope you find a suitable school for your daughter to do her exams.

Belloc · 21/07/2014 14:14

My eldest son did double award science and then went on to do chemistry and biology A levels, very successfully.

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