To ask if you would send a child to a private school only for primary?

[Completelyhypothetical]

The reason I would consider this is because with wraparound care included it would work out the same price as state school plus childminders and or after school clubs.

However would it be then emotionally distressing for the child to be withdrawn?

This is a hypothetical scenario by the way!

Quite common in grammar school areas.

Yes our DS went to private prep (c£7k per annum) and has now been at grammar academy for 2 years. No issues. Quite usual round here.

How much is it per term? If it's under £10k I would look carefully into the financial viability of the school. Small private schools are going bust all the time.

Under £10k per term redstapler?

I’m suspicious about the maths.

The cost of the private primary school my DC went to works out at about £65 per day on their current fees, including wrap around care. That’s doesn’t include extras like compulsory school lunches, uniform, school trips, music lessons etc etc.
That’s more than the cost of a full time nursery place for a baby round here. And this is one of the cheaper private schools in our area.

I don’t know how much after school clubs or childminders charge where OP lives but they must be very expensive if they’re charging more than private school fees (& their wraparound). Plus there’s the longer holidays in private schools that mean extra childcare costs in school holidays on top of fees.

Absolutely, it lays a strong foundation, my DC were reading very well by 4 years old writing etc. They understood how children should respect teachers and behave in school, and got a broader spectrum of experiences than the local primary. They developed into well rounded, confident DC of whom I am very proud. Cost came out to similar to nursery / pre school which I was used to paying. Decision was based on local primary which was only one we were offered place at, which on visiting I decided was not suitable, so put my money where my mouth is and went private. No we were not rich. Had to work hard to send 2nd DC too. No regrets. It has paid off in spades. They have both done brilliantly 😀

Not sure. Probably not. I actually did that, and it wasn’t a good move. I went back to private for sixth form.

No, save it for secondary if needed, spend a bit in tutoring if you need. It's rare that a private primary outperforms a good state, and a bad state can be mitigated with tutoring that's a lot cheaper.

And yes I would be wary about anything for the figures you state.

Completely normal round here.....they get them into the grammars at 11. Depends what your secondary options are.

All I can think about is Will in The in-betweeners going to comprehensive sixth form after private school. ‘Briefcase’.
Sorry, not that helpful

Can you post the actual figures? How can a private school run for the same cost of a few hours of before and after school care. I don't see how that could be feasible.

My local schools cost around £400 per week I think it works out at, you couldn't spend £80 a day on wraparound care could you?

My DS went from private primary to state secondary with no issues

My local schools cost around £400 per week I think it works out at, you couldn't spend £80 a day on wraparound care could you?

Not the OP, but DD’s school cost nowhere near £400 a week

I wouldn’t. DP went to private primary and got the piss taken massively when he went to secondary

This was my experience as well, it wasn't even my accent it was the kids knew I'd gone to a private school and thought I was too posh in an inverse snobbery sort of way. My parents always planned to send me and my sisters to the local state school after private primary, in the end I was the only one that did they were given some money from relatives so my sisters stayed on at their school rather than moving to mine. We both agree with hindsight it would have made more of a difference doing it the other way round especially with gcse and a level exams. My shitty school only cared about getting kids c grades, if you were achieving that that was enough.

In private primary it was cool to be top of the class and doing well was very much a good thing. Whereas when I went to secondary even though it was a grammar school with the popular kids I fell in with being clever wasn’t a good thing.

State comprehensive here albeit an extremely high performing one. It’s very very cool to be clever and to work hard. It’s a given, the ones who don’t would be in a tiny minority, maybe 5 or 6 out of 150 but you would get that anywhere. Most of the children are looking at uni with the vast majority taking it as a given that they’ll go to a RG one. Couldn’t have paid for a better academic experience.

My DD started off at a state primary for reception and year 1, but we moved her to private because we felt she was a bit 'lost' in a class of 30. She has come on leaps and bounds and is now coming to the end of yr4. We hope to keep her at private through secondary, but quite a few of her friends we be leaving for secondary.

With the experience of both, I would say private for just primary would be fine as they get such a good attitude to learning and study skills that it will stand them in good stead wherever they go next. They may even be able to get a scholarship.

As far as costs go, we pay about 4k a term which is about the same as we were paying for nursery before DD started school. Most after school clubs are included. There is the option of breakfast club or Tea, but that is extra, however, not as much as after school club was at her state primary.
Also bear in mind the cost of uniform, no more getting away with £1 polo shirts from Asda and there's about 3 different sets of PE kit, all branded!
We also have to buy pens, pencils and in Yr6 they are expected to have an iPad.

If you can afford it, go for it.

Primary does make a huge difference, but I would only go private if your state was awful. We went private at primary as our catchment was one of the worst in the city. We are at a relatively ‘cheap’ school at £8k a year per kid, gradually rising to £12k at secondary...not sure quite how we manage that yet....

Anyway, I still pay £150 a week (childcare vouchers) for my nanny as after school became tricky with my work hours. Plus about 7+ weeks of holiday clubs for two at about £230 a week. The rest is our holiday and grandparent cover.

Add in extra for uniform (£40 for a dress ffs!), music lessons, various clubs etc and it racks up.

If it helps, DD1 has thrived, and she was mega shy when she started. You are paying for confidence.

From the kids I know who shifted to very good state secondaries, it generally wasn’t a happy experience, even at fancy state schools.

From the kids I know who shifted to very good state secondaries, it generally wasn’t a happy experience, even at fancy state schools.

What about it wasn’t happy? I can say hand on heart that it has been totally fine for my kids. They work hard, the teachers are good, they have lovely friends, they like going to school and are likely to get excellent GCSE results. Nobody has ever uttered a word about them having been at a private primary school, it’s of no interest or significance. They still have friends at the private school as it goes through to 18 but the state school gets better results at GCSE and massively better results and uni offers at A level so we would have been mad not to take the opportunity

In grammar areas moving from private to state at 11 isn’t an issue as so many people do it , it certainly wasn’t a problem for my ds or his friends from the private school and that is at a variety of grammars not just the one he attended .

If anything I'd do it the other way round...

I went to a private prep school got my 11+ only for the.grammar mum had marked out for me to become a comp! Yes, I had the lies filled out of me formally accent for a few ye ars, and I was ahead of most of my peer group initi ally (but they caught up). Thomson difference was strength nd breadth of knowledge - foundation I suppose. If.You have really.goo foundation, it tends to help.build higher a d stronger structures. OK, I've stretched that metaphor for enough!

There was a culture who m Ben I went.from classes of about 15-20 to 30+ with a whole year total of.well over 100, but I got used to it quickly enough.

Apols for typos, Kindles are crap for typing

"No, save it for secondary if needed, spend a bit in tutoring if you need"

"If anything I'd do it the other way round..."

There'll be nothing to save for secondary. It will have been spent on childcare through the primary years. That's the OP's dilemma, not state v private, but state v private if they cost the same.

OP, I know a number of families who have done private primaries and then state secondaries without any problems at all, beyond a bit of a shock about class sizes and having to share text books. Year 7 receives pupils from dozens of schools and people new to the area, everyone is making new friends and settling in. For some it will be a successful, happy experience and for some it won't but I doubt that the school they attended previously has got much to do with it.

we are doing that. in our case its a bit more expensive than state, but so much more relaxed/child focussed! my friends daughter was sick with worry over the last weeks due to insane ks1 SATS pressure. mine went to the lical playground to play. similar for ks2 sats - many private schools don’t do them, and its your decision how many entrance exams you them to do (or none, if you go state)
i find the drill and sats orientation in our lical state primarys off putting, kids are exclusively taught to perform well in tests, everything else is ignored (friends daughter has barely done PE this year to have more time for for test papers)