@Busybeingtired and @Mumto51986 we are also in a similar boat - DC has place at a private but got a full music scholarship to Kingsdale and we got the offer yesterday. We've accepted our Kingsdale offer. For us, the fees would be just about affordable but a bit of a stretch (both our children were / are at private prep and the increase in fees has just been bonkers, and now there's VAT to consider and fees are only going one way!) and we just aren't convinced the added value is there anymore. For us there's also a strong argument about the diversity of the state sector and children learning to mix with everyone and stand on their own two feet as that's the real world.
Our DC is very bright and pretty outgoing, loves sport and music, particularly jazz, and the dedicated jazz music teachers at Kingsdale have definitely been a draw (they didn't get a Kingsdale sports scholarship so hopefully they'll still have opportunities to take part at Kingsdale but without private fees we can afford extra clubs and experiences etc outside school if not). The results at Kingsdale are excellent (this year's Good Schools Guide report 55% 9-7 at GCSE - which when you consider the entry is non selective is impressive) and we loved the atmosphere of the school and the teachers we met at the open day.
We actually made the same choice for our daughter a couple of years ago - state over private - and agonised over that decision even after we'd made it. She got a 25% music award to one of the top-performing GDST schools, and a 25% academic and music scholarship to one of the top co-ed privates. We didn't have Kingsdale on our radar then but she went to Grey Coat Hospital and we've not looked back. She is absolutely thriving there, getting an excellent education (like Kingsdale they stream the kids there in core subjects, from year 8 at GCH, and really push the able ones). She's also musical and is getting opportunities there she'd never have had at a private - and our friend with a daughter at a well-known central London girls private has said to me her daughter would love the opportunities ours has had. For example, GCH provide the children for operas at the Royal Opera House and our daughter is currently doing her second production there - complete with costume fittings, choreography to learn and drama direction! For a kid who enjoys music and drama this is enabling her to experience these at the highest level in a working theatre, and can't be matched. Of course, not all kids get to do this, but our experience is that if you put yourself forward the experiences are there. She has definitely learned to advocate for herself more and has really grown in confidence. I'd also say that we are able to give her nice experiences out of school in things she enjoys without worrying about cost - she's a member of a netball club and also of a youth orchestra (the standard of which is higher than anything we saw in any school - private or state). On top of that she does a club every day after school except Friday, so stays busy!
Great to hear good things from @LondonHOPDad about Kingsdale. We have friends with kids there who are very happy so we are pretty certain it's the right choice - in fact for our DC it has always been their first choice! There's just always that slight fear that you're making the wrong choice!