Social advantages of independent school?

[OhNoDayvid]

My y11 DC may have the opportunity to go to an independent school for 6th form. It would otherwise be out of our reach financially .
It has been suggested that the main advantage is social - what does this mean?

You really don't know? Nothing about mixing with the rich kids, picking up on the arrogance and entitlement?

Making connections, so for instance another pupils Dad is CEO of a company and your DD become friends with them then offers work experience or years later he offers your DD an internship.

I mean you do not have to go to private school to make these connections but as it’s fee paying it’s more likely people will be in these roles. My DS had work experience at a major global food company in the offices and his friend also had that opportunity because DH had contacts there. My brother works in big pharma and also offered work experience to DS.

It’s one of the reasons social mobility is hard because you can be as clever as you like but it’s also who you know. I helped DS GF get a decent job straight out of University as asked round friends and one had a vacancy coming up.

Rich kids are not all arrogant and entitled just as poor are not all thick and problematic.

I don't really think any benefit would be had socially?

However there will probably be a less diluted concentration of students with professional parents ie those who can earn enough to send them there.

But I can't see at that age however that would benefit they child.

So it's about building networks? What about the activities that they do?
Is it too late at 6 form to do this?

bumping

My ds has just entered year 11 of a small non-selective, unfashionable independent school.

The key benefits for him when he goes into the 6th form will be:

Small class sizes - no more than 8 or 10 for A'level Maths, Physics, Chemistry & DT. Regular teachers who can spend time getting to know him and how best to support his learning.

Good careers advice and knowledge of the university admissions system, here and in overseas.
Extra-curricular activities that help him manage exam pressure

The pupils at his school are a mix of army kids, local professional & farming families, a very small overseas group and some like us, on a part-scholarship and scraping the rest of the fees together somehow.

There are a few well off families, but they are not the majority. The parents carpark is usually full of muddy old landrovers, elderly hatchbacks, a few Audis and Volvos (and one pristeen Maserati that parks a long way from me 😂)

If the main benefit is supposed to be social, then my ds has failed spectacularly. He has three mates who like chess and martial arts, and he sticks to them.

But he's happy and doing well academically which is what really matters to him.

Extra-curriculars ds does are DoE, archery, martial arts, swimming, chess.

He has made one or two friends in each, which means, for someone who is naturally not very out-going, he has found a small group of like minded friends, who have given him confidence and a sense of belonging that he didn't get at primary school - where he was miserable and isolated.

I don’t think there’s any benefit socially unless it’s one of the very elite schools. The advantage is range of subjects and possibly smaller classes but those depend on your state options. I’d also look at entry requirements for state and independent as some allow a level study with much lower grades. Whether that is good for your child would depend on their level and what would be best eg in some schools they won’t be allowed to take the subject with less than a 7 at gcse so could miss their choices, some schools they’ll allow a 5/6 which isn’t necessarily the best for those with 9s

Definitely the networking. DH and both of his brothers have been helped by random friends of friends or family of acquaintances from their private schools. DH actually got a lot of work related help this year from someone he vaguely knew at school over a decade ago and hadn’t been in touch with since. They weren’t at elite schools.

Sometimes the social networking isn't directly "your DC is friend with the DC of [person of influence]" but also alumni. The school may have a network of old boys and girls who they can call upon, having visits from celebrities or people with interesting jobs to do talks, the local chief constable went there so they get the police around to displays for the summer fair and mock scenes of crimes things, an old boy is in the England cricket team so they can help arrange a visit to the Oval for the school cricket team, that sort of stuff.