Criteria for choosing independent school

[Toquestion]

Hi, I’m interested to know what criteria people used to chose both pre-prep and independent senior schools for their children? I went to a state school but am now in a position where I can send my children to an independent school. I have four independent schools locally offering pre-prep to senior, two closer to our house, one close to my husband’s office and another about an additional seven miles away. They seems to be fairly similar(!), none particularly specialising in music or sport for example, so I would like to know if there are particular things I should look for when making the decision? Thanks for your help!

For us it was location and reputation

We were looking for an academic school as thought best fit. Of course he had to get in by doing exams so that was a factor.

Thanks MarshaBradyo. Academically, they all post good GCSE/A level results.

Some private schools near me 'manage out' children at year 9 that they don't believe will get top grades, you need to ask about individual schools to get this information from local people.

What they publish isn't the full picture.

Actually one of the preps near us also encourages pupils to leave before entrance exams-so year 5. This is how they maintain their amazing numbers for entry to top independent and grammar schools.

I chose based on:

• distance - I wanted to be walking distance or a very short drive rather than a lengthy drive. This has proved invaluable during primary for making local friends (both children and parents), playdates, parties, sharing lifts, bumping into friends in the park and generally feeling part of a community.

• attitude of the school and parents. Of the various preps near us, two seemed to attract parents whose values didn’t hugely align with ours so we discounted those

• reputation, I asked locals with older children and looked on forums etc

Bear in mind quite a lot of independent prep schools take registrations from birth so the first thing to find out is their admissions criteria and would you get a place. (not sure how old your dc are)

I prefer schools that test to the standard they are after at the start then keep the students

It was a factor here and once you’re in you’re in, so look at what the entrance process is

Agree very much with others. This was my decision tree:

(1) distance - we moved to be close to the preferred school in the end. Being close to school is vital for social stuff and logistics

(2) face fit - we started dd at a school where neither she nor we really fitted. It isn’t just about ability to network with other parents, but young children will be better able to make friends if parents are a good fit with the school community. We are not super posh so we avoided super posh schools

(3) fit to my child for curriculum / ethos - my dds are sensitive so I wanted a non hot house and non pushy school with a lot of art and music and not too much competitive sport. On academics I was happy with as least as good as the excellent local state school

At prep and pre-prep I would be asking whether you want a school that considers itself nurturing, or competitive. For sport, does every child get to play all matches or just the top teams? Do they swim? How often and for how many years? What percentage of kids in the top teams also play these sports out of school? Do they stream kids? If so, when? What are the grounds like? How much are they outside? What languages do they do? What trips are offered? And I’d try to meet others to find out what they think of the music/drama/art offered.

Other things to consider:

• automatic pass through? Will kids be pushed out if not considered academic enough
• strict enough v too strict?
• facilities (nice pool, theatre, green space etc)
• co Ed / not
• exam grades
• leavers’ destinations - what universities do they go on too

@lunar1 I didn’t know that! That is good intel.

@minipie I want to feel part of the community too and that is a consideration for me. In terms of the ‘feel’ of the school, that’s really difficult to gauge as we’ve not been able to visit due to Covid.

My child is coming up for 3 and thankfully all the schools have a place.

I considered

• 4-18 school. 11+ is an unnecessary pain and trouble that I wanted to avoid. If, however, you want more options for secondaries, then choose a stand-alone prep school and look at leavers destinations.

• How to get there (how long and if there's a choice of walk/cycle/drive)
• How it looks and feels inside.
• Mixed school?
• And we talked to our neighbours who were parents at the school

distance to home & an easy commute
fit to our family & ethos.

The ones I rejected had

• head teacher (female) who said girls were less good at science
• pushy attitude & all other parents in designer clothes (me in grotty trainers)
• too much 'old boys network' & lack of diversity

the ones I liked had

• focus on inclusive & nurturing, especially at primary
• plenty of flexibility
• wide range of academic opportunities (at secondary)

[quote Toquestion]@lunar1 I didn’t know that! That is good intel.

@minipie I want to feel part of the community too and that is a consideration for me. In terms of the ‘feel’ of the school, that’s really difficult to gauge as we’ve not been able to visit due to Covid.

My child is coming up for 3 and thankfully all the schools have a place.[/quote]
Our school is a 3-18 one. They get a fair few from top ranked schools in year 3/4 & 9. Children not academically able to get top grades have been managed out, as have those whose additional needs are seen as not compatible with these schools.

My children's school doesn't do this, and if they have been there anytime before year 4/5 their senior place is guaranteed unless behaviour has been particularly bad-I've known this happen once in 9 years.

Thank you all for the replies. I’m definitely learning a lot about how certain schools have achieved their results!

@parietal I am more of a trainer wearer than designer clothes, so I’ll check out footwear when we do visit

I’m not sure if sending them to a school near my husband’s work would actually be easier. A bit further from home, so might impact friendship groups(?), but an easier drop off every day.

Might he not change jobs at some point in the next… 15 years?

It’s unlikely he’ll leave as he has a financial stake in the company. He’s also very happy there and there’s no limit to his growth within the company.

I would also ask about what they feel makes a good lesson and why. Husband used to work at a prep but was disgusted by the amount of lazy teachers handing out worksheets. We recently visited a senior school and the deputy head actually made the same point about how they had made changes once she & current head had started as she used to get emails from teachers during their lessons!

He also said they bumped up marks to get passes for some children rather than being honest with parents about failing tests, and used to burn books rather than send them home.

This is a highly regarded local prep school, albeit considered ‘quirky’ - it relies a lot on the attractions of sports for parents of hyper boys not settling in the state system, foreign students & having enough other kids who knuckle down and get on with it.

We are considering independent at senior and are looking for schools that take plenty of state primary kids, and who offer opportunities across the board rather than academic hot-housing. We are after a solid & well-rounded education somewhere our children feel they fit.

Look carefully at extra charges such as prep / tea / buses, and what you get for what you pay.

@Toquestion

Thank you all for the replies. I’m definitely learning a lot about how certain schools have achieved their results!

@parietal I am more of a trainer wearer than designer clothes, so I’ll check out footwear when we do visit

I’m not sure if sending them to a school near my husband’s work would actually be easier. A bit further from home, so might impact friendship groups(?), but an easier drop off every day.

What if he has to go in early or something

And how would your dc get home? Do they have to wait until 6pm

Do you work? Is that making the drop off and pick up tricky

I would go for close to home not close to work

We made our decision based on:

• wanting it to be co-ed
• wanting there to be an 'all the way through' option to 18 with no need to do exams at 11 for example
• facilities and outdoor space
• the children there already - do they seem both polite and happy
• fees

@MarshaBradyo I work as a consultant, which means I could be based at different locations and might not be travelling in the direction of the closest schools regularly. Husband could pick the kids up and continue working from home afterwards. But there will be occasions when he’s got to stay late in the office. Definitely need to give that a bit more thought.

@Foxhasbigsocks one of your comments earlier about the face fitting is a contributing factor for being unsure about not going close to home. One of the two schools is very elite and I don’t think it would be a comfortable fit! It is also quite a bit more expensive, though we could afford it. It’s definitely the type of school that results in Oxbridge graduates and very high flying professions. But I’m concerned whether a child from a normal professional family fit in.