DD’s co-ed school doesn’t have a sixth form, so we are now looking for a school/college for her to attend in September 2015. She wants to study Maths and 2 sciences for A level. We are on a low income but could just about manage independent school fees if she were to get a very generous scholarship (no mortgage and could make cut backs and look at ways to generate income e.g.no holidays, get a lodger etc.). DD says she doesn’t want to go to private school because they will all be snobs and she won’t fit in. We went to an open day at an all girls independent recently and were made to feel very welcome by pupils and staff alike which I think changed her view. She’s still unsure though and I think it should be her decision (DH disagrees!). One of the main issues for her is that there are three girls going there from her present school and she can’t stand any of them. Worse still, they’ll be studying the same subjects and the groups will be small. Another problem is that the school has a very large intake of Asian students and DD thinks that they will stick all stick together (common culture, language and fact that they’ll be boarding together) which means that she will have a limited pool from which to make new friends.
One of the teachers said that, results wise, it doesn’t make any difference where you study A levels as A levels require much more independent learning. So now I’m wondering whether I’ll be getting value for money by sending her privately. She has some confidence issues, but would two years be enough to make a difference? Is is worth making all of the sacrifices we would need to make as a family? I’m really torn and DD said that she is worried that she’ll regret it if she doesn’t apply.
Any advice would be much appreciated.