Private or state

[thinkingcapon]

I was left a substantial some of money some years ago......my son is due to start school next year........would you consider private if you could afford it and were impressed by that school would you send?
I'm also impressed by local state schools........

Some of the private senior schools we looked at seemed no better academically than the good local state comps - their only advantages would have been the social selection of fees meaning that classmates would only be from naice families plus the better extra curricular programmes. Fortunately for us there was another school that stood head and shoulders above (and also was a little more diverse socioeconomically due to a thriving bursary system) so that was the right choice for us.

However if that school hadn't been an option then a good state school would be way better than a mediocre private school.

I think private early on rather than waiting until secondary. Smaller class sizes and, for us, the extra outdoor space and not needing to follow the national curriculum, really appealed. I know exams happen at secondary but the foundations and developing learning behaviours are so important.

If you’ve got good state schools, then definitely go state. Reassess at 11. I’m often surprised how very averagely children at private or grammar schools do.

Reasons we chose private for pre prep:
-Far far more outdoor time and play
-The school estate has woodlands and a farm amongst other things which are used regularly
-Swimming lessons on site from Reception age
-Smaller class sizes
-Wider range of skills taught
-No SATs or Year 1 phonics testing so freedom to teach more freely
-Longer holidays
-Easy wrap around care

We really liked the local primary but it would have been difficult with the start times and work etc.

Saw at Oxford...

Arf!! They still got into Oxford didn't they! Plenty of private, state whatever don't.

Maybe they seemed spoon-fed, but perhaps your perception is coloured..

Arf!! They still got into Oxford didn't they! Plenty of private, state whatever don't.

Education is about a lot more than just being able to pass exams though. I assumed the poster meant that they had clearly passed the exams but had little understanding beyond that.

A friends sister was like this, passed all exams with A* across the board, however was incredibly dim, lacked any level of critical thinking. She could just cram brilliantly and remember the content well enough to regurgitate in an exam (and credit to her, she's got brilliant results). But when it came to doing a degree where she wasn't being spoon fed, she completely fell apart, she dropped out within a few months and has a very mediocre job now.

Our thinking was: if our son gets into one of the top 5 privates by merit in y5/y6 exams, then we'll have a think about it. If it's not one of the really best ones, then what's the point?

I used to think state for primary and private for secondary but a lot of people did have a word and let me know that it’s not necessarily that simple if I want DC to go to top secondaries.
A private primary’s main goal really is to help you get into the best secondary for you and otherwise it will require a LOT of outside tuition for entrance exams.. even then still not a level playing field as the school spends years prepping you for it.

Hi , I’m so confused regarding which option to go ahead with . My daughter has got admission in a grammar school . She has been going to a private school and is a very sensitive girl . I wanted to do a tour of the grammar school but they can’t do it due to covid . My daughter wants to continue at her current pvt school . Could we please speak over the phi delta or text ? Or Facebook for Advice . Would really appreciate xxxx

@Deebzzzzz I suggest you start a new thread about this in the morning. It's an old thread, in MN terms a 'Zombie' thread. People will reply to the original post and not to yours.

To me it’d depend on the local private schools, and how good the state schools are - or not.

There are plenty of mediocre private schools, so from an academic POV, a good state may be better, at senior level anyway.

Fees are a lot more relatively expensive than they were a few decades ago, so coupled with the increased cost of housing, a lot of the sort of parents who would have been able to afford the fees, can now no longer do so. Our dds attended a highly selective senior private school, but very few of their old schoolfriends with children are now paying fees, and those who are, are mostly having help from grandparents.

A school some relatives’ dcs attended, which was selective and regularly reached a very respectable point in the league tables, has now dropped right down. I am told that this is because their admission criteria have had to drop, so they’re more or less taking anyone who can afford the fees.

According to the relatives in question, a good percentage of the pupils are now spoilt rich kids with not necessarily too much between the ears. That is now certainly not the sort of school I’d have wanted for ours.
I dare say a number of private schools have gone the same way.

Presumably the sort of private schools that were always very selective academically, and therefore sought after, particularly in densely populated areas, will have less trouble attracting bright pupils.