State 'til 8? Or 6/7/8 or when?!

[purrrge]

Posting here for traffic as tend to find the education boards a bit slow, but also scared to post anything about (private, or indeed any) education considerations in AIBU!

Disclaimer: this is not actually about switching from state to private, as we are not currently in the English system. We are in fact already paying private school fees as we live abroad. We are now considering moving back to England. My question is more about timing, but I thought the whole "state til 8" advice did potentially capture my question ... in that it seems to be the received wisdom that the years up to and including Y2 are somehow less important / less worth spending money on, etc.

We should have some control over timing. We have two kids, one is about to start Reception equivalent, and the other one is 2 years behind that. Both on the younger side in the English school year but not July/August. Both seem to be reasonably bright.

I'm reading up on it and hearing that the jump between Y1-Y2 is quite big, and similarly Y2-3. I'm therefore thinking that maybe we shouldn't hang around... the elder one will do at least Reception equivalent where we are, as I've paid for it now (!) and we also need to plan in order to move. Ideally I'd like to leave it until at least Y2, or even potentially Y3 to make the move (so follow the state til 8 advice), BUT it is undeniable that the system here is slower and/or having a mix of kids from everywhere that come and go gives a different experience that might be less about technical maths/english (and that might be fine).

I'm keen for insights from English parents, state or private doesn't matter, and how they feel their kids have coped with each of the jumps, and whether any of the years feel really foundational in nature. I am aware of a family who are moving back from the private international school that we are at to a London state primary because they feel their children are so behind where they should be (children older than ours), and that did give me pause for thought tbh!

I think there are two big advantages to waiting till around age 8:

• you save some money!
• you have a better sense of whether your child is turning out academic/sporty/anxious etc so can pick the best school for their needs.

The big disadvantages are:

• Your child will have to move twice - once from overseas to a local state school and then again in a couple of years to a private - that’s very disruptive
• friendships (including among parents) may be established in the early years
• admission can be more selective/challenging as you get older

So it’s not a straightforward answer really, and depends a lot on your finances and your local options for schools.

Lots of parents like to get the state system to do the grunt work of teaching their children to read and write, then send them private for the ‘confidence’ and to mix with the right sort of children and their rich parents.
🙄
I see it a lot with DS’s rugby team. They often then switch back to state grammar school, having been expensively tutored to within an inch of their lives - or go to a ridiculously expensive non-selective public school if they don’t get in.

I suppose they begin Key Stage 2 in year 3 (7-8) so that is a natural cut off point.

It depends a bit on what you are aiming for. My knowledge is based on London/South East. The big name schools can be harder to get into at 7+. We have friends that moved from abroad for the start of year 2 from a country where school starts at 6, so he hadn't been to 'proper' school. He didn't get a 7+ place at the school they were targeting (because a parent was working there).

Other friends have moved their DC to local private schools at various points in year 3 and 4 with no issues. One specifically moved her son because he was falling behind at state school. Whilst there can be some catching up to do in this case, it should be manageable.

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

I guess life will pan out the way it will, we will probably end up going the private route if/when we relocate, as it seems as though it will be the safer / easier choice.

I guess I am wondering if any of the years would be harder to catch up after? Should we avoid skipping Y1, 2? Sounds as though Y3 is a good outer limit to set.

Tbh we found that prep school was no better academically than state primary and was worse than selective state secondary. The drama/sport/music were of course better at private schools. And the uniform was nicer!

I think that public school offered more choices than the best state secondary schools so if you have to switch I think that state until 11
is fine, as then your dc has two years to do Latin if necessary and get ready for 13+ entry to public school. If you’re looking at private school with 11+ entry then you probably need to be in the private system a couple of years before (so starting Y4 or Y5) to prepare. But plenty of kids switch at 11.

I think state till 8 is only a thing because it rhymes. If you can afford it then go private whenever but if you have a good state school then it’ll provide the same academics as private in primary, and in secondary you may miss Latin and Greek and have a smaller choice of languages, but again it depends what’s important to you.