Do academics matter when selecting a prep school?

[VesperLindt]

We recently have visited 2 local prep schools and our closest state primary for our DS (3) to either start in nursery or reception. I had a full state education and my husband had fully private. I’ve always been inclined to want state for my own children for all the usual reasons but am reconsidering as we can afford it.

The state primary was lovely on first viewing but on second viewing I felt DS wouldn’t get much attention as the nursery and reception classes are merged (so are year 1 & 2 etc). The first prep school we visited was amazing, super nurturing, small classes, lots of extra curriculars. The second was more expensive which I thought meant it would be better but it was actually chaotic and a bit hectic, not my sort of vibe.

The prep we really liked does go onto a senior school all the way to sixth form but I’ve just looked up their results and they get much worse at GCSE than my state secondary! My question is really how much you would factor that into a decision about what school to attend when your child is really small. We obviously have no idea whether he’ll be academic or not although he does seem very bright, he’s a quick learner and always developmentally ahead. I would be inclined to go with the school that suits him now and is going to nurture him then we can reassess at year 7? But does that create nightmares taking them out of schools away from their friends?!

I equally don’t want to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds on a sub-par education because we didn’t think the decision through properly at this stage.

All advice welcome!

I’d say your approach is right. Find the school that will provide the best experience for your child now - and wait to see how they develop. By 7 they’ll be showing and telling you what they need to thrive - so you can choose accordingly.

All the schools you look at now might be unrecognisable in ten years time, anyway - so it’s probably pointless to make firm long term plans regarding any of them.

In my experience 7 / 8 year olds are curious, open to adventure and … biddable. If you present them with an intriguing new possibility they’ll ask questions, but will essentially trust you - and won’t be overly troubled about leaving old friends and finding new ones!

Ah sorry! You said re-assess at yr 7. But actually I’d look again at 7 years old - they seem to take a leap in maturity around them and may need something different from a school at that stage.

Thank you! Can’t wait for a biddable age - 3 definitely is not! 😂

I would totally factor it in! A small school getting worse gcse results then the local state means it must be bloody awful.

No … ! I was thinking of the age when you move the child to a more tailored-to-them school. We found between 7 and 10 years old they responded with alacrity to new challenges.

Trying to get a 12 year old to do anything … Different matter.

Check their ISI inspection, it should say how many SEND kids they have. This may well be the reason for lower results, not quality of teaching.
However, are you planning on keeping them there till 16 or 18? Most people move around at the end of prep. I would just choose what's good for your child now. Lots of natural movement points in the independent sector.

I think you have to start off by asking yourself “what do I actually want from my child’s school and what are the reasons for possibly using a private school?” “We can afford it” is not a reason in itself. It sounds like you are not too sure of the reasons and are leaning towards private schools because your husband thinks of it as normal and perhaps automatically “better.”