Indie vs “super state”

@Paribus you can find out each independent school's overall annual income by searching for it on charity commission.gov.uk - then divide that figure by the number of pupils which should be available in the prospectus or school website.

most (not all) independent schools are run on a "not for profit" basis. every penny of fees is spent on the school. obviously having sufficient resources, sensible staff to pupil ratios and a wider range of subjects is going to cost more so obviously school fees are going to be significantly higher than the per-pupil funding that state schools get.

@Liam436 how do you define "ripping people off" given this? I would generally only use that phrase if a business was making massive profits on overcharging for something poor quality. However a not-for-profit organisation by definition charges "cost price"

I would be suspicious of a for-profit private school but some state school academies are also run on a for-profit basis.

Independently educated children are entitled to a state school place whenever they want to take one up. Just the same as any other child in the country.

stclair

I disagree. Independent school are ripping people off nowadays and so if you can find a good state school you should choose it. Instead of feeding the indie rip-off merchants, we should starve the beast.

If paying for an independent is not difficult, leave GCH for someone else? Just another thought

I'd be inclined to accept the GCH place. I've heard so many positive reviews of the school.

Yes, very happy. Properly comprehensive so all abilities. I think a lot of children live south of the river so may be a factor to consider regarding friendship get togethers if you live elsewhere. In saying that we accepted an offer today at an independent which is extremely far from us so should listen to myself!

Dh works with someone who has daughters at GCH. He said there are not as many trips as there used to be due to funding cuts. Just putting that in there!

At GCH they do a language trip in Yr 7.
to either Germany or France depending on which language they are learning. half year do french half do german.
Cost for france was around £400. German I think is a little more.
They mention it at new greys day and then don't actually tell you anything about it until Christmas. Deposit is due by 31st Dec Balance end April.
So if do pick start saving in September for it.
Def take advantage of the uniform sale on new greys day. It will save loads.
think we kitted DD1 out for around £150 vs £350 for bare minimum new.
Watch out on the PE tops. We got a letter sent home at end of yr 7 to say she needed a new top as hers was wrong colour yellow. I refused as we bought it from pta. Said if it was wrong then they should not have been selling it!
No big trips in yr 8.

Parents will fund all the cost of the trips (which I assume they would at Indies as well). Parents who want their children to go on a trip but can’t afford it will have a needs assessment and will make up a (usually small & I would imagine particularly so in SW London) proportion of the trip cohort. I think there is a general perception on these pages as many of the threads relate to Indies that there will be few Trips at a State school - we’ve had 2 already (an outward bound induction and a day trip to France) as well as a skiing trip which risk adverse DD had no interest in! I think the same goes for perceptions of the availability & diversity of extra curricular clubs (I realise DDs State school isn’t the norm but there is everything from an Equestrian club, Creative Writing, many specialised Art & Drama & Music & a total of 6 choirs just off the top of my head). State schools are good at making money stretch and hiring enthusiastic staff but parents will fund various non curricular elements.

From school funding stats:
The Grey Coat Hospital received £6,317 per pupil for the 2019/20 academic year - the least funding out of all secondary schools in Westminster. How does that compare to the funding per pupil at the other schools you are looking at?

Or want to present an ‘all is well and we have dealt with this’ illusion! DH did tell me off for what he saw as interviewing the kids (interviewing is what I do professionally) but as you say, you get to hear the reality behind the gloss and hype. Kids (bless them!) are so honest or if they are lying, terrible at hiding that. Good luck with your decision making and trust your instincts!

😊 I think I’d take some time off to revisit the schools if you can - that might help! Good luck in your decision, it sounds like you are in a luckier place than many and can’t in all likelihood go badly wrong however you swing! One thing I found very helpful at Secondary stage is asking the girls giving us the tour (if you get them!) what they liked most and then least about their school - the answers were pretty honest and illuminating as they were too young to put a front and spin on - the girls at the school youngest DD (YR7) goes too I wanted to adopt, the others I would have passed on!

@Paribas

I have older daughter at GCH.
my younger daughter has also got GCH but we will not be accepting it (fingers crossed it helps some of you on wait lists- we tried to withdraw her a week or so ago to avoid this)
youngest will be going to FHSS with academic scholarship.

GCH is a big school (6 classes/year) and opportunities are great, but I find dealing with the school on an admin side a nightmare.
Daughter loved it at first but is now in a big I hate school phase and I can't pin down why.
She does have ADD but has never received any additional support for it through primary or secondary. I sometimes think they forget.
The Head is new so hasn't really made her mark as yet.

My youngest is very academic so she was identified by her primary in yr 5 and given a year long opportunity with Westminster underschool which lead to her sitting exams but only for FH & Banding test & language exams at GCH. We were lucky as we meet the faith criteria, sibling rule and she achieved a top 15 language spot.
We did look at others but could only afford one exam.
We also weighed up if DD1 would get frustrated by how well her sister is likely to be doing and if that would put undo pressure on her.
I went through school constantly judged against my older brother (never tried but could always ace exams) l didn't excel until I moved school and went from average ability group for all subjects to top group for all (???)

FH will have 84 in the year so think DD2 will find making friends easier and I hope dealing with the school will be more straightforward.

Not sure if this helps but another perspective.

@Paribus it’s been 15 years since I lived in South West London so quite honestly I don’t have any recent knowledge of the individual Indies reputations. As a lefty, my answer is definitely coming from my own slant as well! As someone who had a very privileged education, I have preferred that my own DD mix at an earlier age with people from all kinds of backgrounds as I think it’s very useful in life. I’m not anti independent schools though - I moved my eldest DD from a Prep in SE London to a State Primary in SW London. Having done the move from Private to State, I understand your concerns but IME my DDs have always gravitated towards nice, bright kids, coped in bigger classes, not got lost in the system and steered clear of kids exhibiting bad behaviour (and you will find these in Private schools as well).

But quite honestly what I or anyone else on here would do isn’t what you should. Where does your and your DDs heart lie? What do you think is going to be the best fit specifically for her? As above, just go with your gut!

@Paribus yes please do