Moving from an independent school to a state Sixth Form: how did you manage the notice-period gap?

I would try an honest conversation, many private schools are in a difficult place, you hold more power than you think.

What is the difference between what you are likely to be offered a state place at and what he would not be able to carry on at the private school anyway? There may be a fairly small window so the risk of being caught short may be smaller than you think.

97% of children are in the state system and manage the transition to post 16 education. It's not difficult. Give the private school notice and have several 6th form options if the preferred one is strict about GCSE results. What are his predicted grades at the moment? There will be a place in the state system for him.

If you can’t afford the private 6th form your hands are tied. If your DC massively “fails” their GCSEs then the independent will likely not want them anyway and perhaps you will need to look at other post 16 qualifications.

Is the independent school that over subscribed they won’t have a space?

Is there only one state sixth form that would work for you? If so, have you looked at their catchment/ policies for who is eligible for places? The state sixth form that we really want for DS is in a neighbouring town, and we have around a 50% chance that he will get in based on where we live. The other deciding factor is what A levels he wants to do, and whether there is any flexibility in his choices.
According to his current school the sixth does give priority to high achieving students, but officially they are non selective.
Will your DS likely get the grades?

You’ll be in the position that the majority of 16 year olds are in. I’d hand in notice then if it doesn’t go your way with 6th forms apply for a place at the current school. Given today’s financial climate id say he will probably get a place back.

Just include a safer option in your state school choices as well as the top ones. If your DS is bright, he'll do as well in an average 6th form as he would anywhere. My DS got all A*s from a ropey 6th form (all the contextuals) so sure yours will be okay with all those years of private ed already stored up. Either trust to your DS and take your chances with the system or pay the term's fee as your insurance. Chances are he'll get in one of the good 6th forms anyway.

We gave notice at Xmas for our son leaving private.

The head wrote us a lovely letter telling us to get in touch if anything changed.

Its a full school too.

Include a back up option in your state applications. If he doesn’t get good results would you want to keep paying for him to attend the same school for a levels?

For state sixth form you can accept and hold more than one offer
On results day you enrol at your preferred state choice (grades dependent)

Talk to the private school and give notice in good time

I wouldn’t worry - he’s likely to get into a sixth form without any trouble!

Given the falling rolls the independent school are more likely than not to take him back if you were to approach them for a place post results day in the unlikely scenario that he does not get a good state option.
Also depends on his A level subjects. If humanities / MFL his chances at state are greater than if STEM.

I imagine the school will think if you are dithering then you are likely to be able to afford it somehow, perhaps with a bit of a squeeze and / or a more generous bursary. If you couldn’t afford it at all you would have to give notice and choose a suitable state setting.

Some state settings are also wise to a certain amount of deceit about notice, parents stating they have given notice when they haven’t. Genuine parents sometimes forward the email exchange. They obviously don’t have to do this, but it shows they have served notice, more likely to occur lower down the school for in-year admissions.

You can apply to as many state Sixth Forms as you want!
If it is in the contract that you have to give written notice by X date, they can definitely charge you and even take you to court. As to whether they can charge full fees in lieu of notice or bursary level fees in lieu of notice, read the contract and bursary forms you signed. If in doubt, ask the bursar.
It is highly unlikely you won’t get any state sixth form place. Sometimes they cannot afford exact A levels your DS may want to do, but again, make sure you pick a school that offers the combo he wants. Generally speaking at sixth form most motivated kids will do well in all sorts of schools.
DD is in year 13 in a state selective, there are quite a few kids from private schools who joined and some much prefer the state school. She switched from another state selective along with a fair few of her pre-existing friends. They all adapted well. Around where I live there is a big shuffle around at Sixth Form anyway so new kids coming in aren’t an issue at all as half the year is “new”.

I think some people have misunderstood what you mean, OP. This was also the case with DN. She had provisional places at 2 state 6th forms plus her own independent school. My sister had to pay for the Autumn term before she knew where DN would end up. And it was a good thing she did, as when it got to results day neither of the state schools could offer the exact combo of A levels she wanted to do (despite beforehand saying that she could). I guess what I'm saying is - you might just have to suck it up and pay.

I had this for my daughter. I asked them to pay £500 a month for the terms notice and they were happy with that

I think OP has confused people by saying that they might not be able to afford private school ... but then suggesting that they only want to move to state for the "preferred" school. OP's DC will get a state sixth form place somewhere but it might not be in the ideal location or offer the combination of subjects that they want to study. But this is also the case for students in the state sector who don't meet the criteria to stay in their current school/school doesn't have a sixth form. It's slightly unusual in OP's case because her current school has lower entrance criteria than the preferred state school. I would think OP has a reasonable idea as to whether the current school sixth form is likely to be oversubscribed. If it is, and she's not a risk taker than no way round paying the deposit.

It is more complicated for her because if she gives notice then they won’t be guaranteed a bursary if they do change their minds? So for a normal fee payer, you give notice, wait for your best state option, then reassess and usually the private school will give you back your place anyway, unless it is some massive oversubscribed London private school or a boarding school with limited dorm room. And just about affording it and wanting to save for uni ahead is perfectly reasonable on her part. Most people are hoping for the best state option to do the A levels a kid really wants as depending on uni choice, it is really important to do the subjects you are best at/meet the requirements of the targeted uni course.

Similar position here but we literally cant afford the extra 2 years now with VAT, so if she doesnt get in we would apply to her old school belatedly for a bursary (aware v unlikely but she is a good student so maybe not completely a no but risky). I think private schools will let kids back easier as long as they get the money. You may forfeit any minor reductions you would have got if you hadnt "left" (I think we get 1k off the first year or something as an old girl).

Is the school he is aiming for a grammar? Ours is and massively oversubscribed for this exact reason. If dd did the GCSEs now she would get over the poibts required to get in, but as places are so limited we are unsure if they only take the very top scoring outsiders. Whole system is a mess as I can only assume private schl kids are out performing local state kids on points, so another barrier for decent education has just been added.

@samsubI guess it would hinge on the % bursary you have and the saving versus spend.

you have 3 paths:

1. you give notice in time and get the state place >> ideal
2. you don’t give notice, but you get the state place and liable for 1 term fee - what’s the £ value of this? Let’s assume ‘x’ x1
3. you give notice and need to return. You now pay full fees for 6 terms. What’s the value of this? ‘Y’ x 6

on balance unless ‘x ‘ is a crippling figure it might be worth it to avoid ‘6y’?

I have friends in your situation (no bursary) and they have decided to go with option 2. Rationale being - having paid fees for so long, 1 more term seems like a small price to pay as insurance.

Demand for private has plummeted with VAT and unless it's westminster or st pauls they'll probably have you back if you change your mind.

You apply for 6th form in November and get the place in march. Places being subject to grades is the same at a private school too surely

My DD moved from one independent sixth form to another. A lot of kids move at this point (and a lot move to the state sector at the moment because of the VAT impact). At the school she moved from, they seemed very willing to agree (in advance) to waive the notice period for people who were still undecided and my DD’s friend, who was in your position and did give notice, was told that her family could rescind that at any point. Similarly, at the school my DD moved to, one student left and came back after the first, having had a change of heart. So I would just discuss the issue openly with your current school.

Surely you have an idea of how well your son will do? Usually sixth forms expect at least a 7 in the A level subject you wish to take. If your child is bright, it’s an easy decision.

I have looked into this this weekend and yes, I completely agree with this. DD has mocks in the first two weeks of November specifically so the cohort can apply elsewhere and get responses back in time for March, which is the cut-off to give a term's notice. We also had end of year exams which were GCSE papers, so we have a good idea of the grades we can expect which enables us to choose reasonable options.

Most sixth forms have entry requirements including, presumably, the one at his current school. So I am not sure he is in a different position to most other 16 year olds in that he will need to get certain grades in order to get into sixth form. You can apply to multiple sixth forms or post 16 colleges so you can make sure you have quite a bit of flexibility around entry requirements (and some might be more flexible than his current school). However, if there is only one state school you are interested in and otherwise you would prefer he goes private then you may need to accept you will need to pay the notice to keep an insurance place.