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However would it be then emotionally distressing for the child to be withdrawn?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

We are. For those exact reasons. But they don't have an attached senior school, it's just pre prep and prep. Him going to school and wraparound care/holiday clubs will mean I can work full time and more than cover the costs (about £6k a year here).

also, breakfast/after school
club for state schools us 8:90 to 5:30, and places are like gold dust. private school: places are available for all, even ad hic, and 7:30 to 6:30 if necessary

I can well understand how the maths works out on this. Our local state primary doesn't do before /after school care and there are no school clubs until year 3 and even then your kid won't get more than one or two.

For extra curricular after school activities and care we'd have to hire a nanny / childminder and have them take them to afterschool clubs which would add up. The school drop offs we could cover maybe one each with a late start but would have to hire someone to do drtop offs as well.

It's not the only factor of why we chose private but the logistics of childcare seemed v difficult.

It is reasonably common around here for kids to move in and out of private and state education and no one bats an eyelid. In your shoes I would 100% do it as your dc will get a much superior foundation in education.

From personal experience, I’d do it the other way around if you can afford to. Of course, many variables, lots of excellent state secondaries up and down the country but not so in our area where the primaries were very good, secondary not so.

Mine go to a private primary for this exact reason. It includes all meals and before and after school care, clubs and swimming (which I was previously paying £25 a month each for).

It’s £7k a year and it’s not much more than the before and after school care, with careful planning I can just about cover school holidays though I do use family.

The plan is to increase our earnings over the next 5/6 years to cover secondary when the fees increase and we don’t need childcare or apply for scholarships at other private schools in the area.

It gives them a brilliant start, there’s 5 children in my daughter’s class (although it can be up to 12), they get to read with a teacher every single day, they do cooking, go in nice trips etc.

It’s a lovely small school.

Worth it if you have a selective school you are hoping to get them into

That's what my SIL did. The private primary was excellent and DNiece got a full scholarship to an independent secondary. They would have paid for her to go there anyway, so the scholarship saved them a packet, far more than the primary fees!

I have 2dc, DS9 and Dd4. They both go private ( nursery all the way to secondary).

DS doesn't have a posh accent, he's been given a scholarship for secondary when he starts.

DD, will stay at the same school too.

The pro's for us, the classes are smaller, the school is small. When he finished nursery, I put him in a state school for reception, and he really struggled. Because he was able to read and he was advanced he was considered a nuisance and it affected his self esteem. I then took him out of that school and placed him in another school and he struggled as other children where getting certificates for doing the things he can do and the teachers didn't see that he needed to feel included. One award ceremony his whole class got a certificate for one thing or another (one child got a certificate for putting his coat on the right peg), my son just cried.

I took him out and put him back to his private school. And he doesn't feel like he is any different.

The cons are; because he's in a small school, there isn't that many children. One year, he was the only boy in his year. My DD will be starting reception in September and I'm worried that she will have no friends as her nursery friends are leaving to join state schools.

Not sure what I'm trying to say, just that there's pro's and cons. Both myself and husband went to a state school and he is naturally clever and I am not academically clever. I personally think, private schools are just the same as state schools but it's more to do with the size (I'm probably wrong here). It worked for us, but doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

There’s no selective school system here and in any case there’s no guarantee whatsoever that they would get in.

For those asking about fees - I could pay, in the short term, the school fees for primary.

This will probably make no sense to anybody but me but the school fees are £9000 a year. In this, my child would not need any additional care because the school day and my work day end at roughly the same time. They would also have a good lunch and hopefully a brilliant start.

Now, yes, I would obviously be paying more than state primary plus childminder plus after school clubs plus lunch but paying for high quality education for say three years (reception, year one, year two) is doable.

However the fees go up for senior and I’m not sure I could manage for that length of time! What I don’t obviously want is for my DC to settle, be happy, make friends, then whisk them away!

Lots of kids will leave at rhe end of primary school your child won't be the only one. If the finances work, go for it.

This is interesting to read as we are considering doing the same. We have a wonderful prep school around here (10 students in a class) and I think it would work out about 12k a year. So all my salary would go towards school. However for secondary i think it’s about 12k a term so unless she got a scholarship it’s just not doable.

One of my concerns would be missing out on making friends in the local area. As in a class of 30 students you are likely to form various friendship groups. So the small classes could be a negative thing so I think we will have to wait and see what her personality is like.

I would save to private 6th form over primary

One of my concerns would be missing out on making friends in the local area

Definitely something to consider, however at DD’s prep all but 2 children were from the area so no real difference to state school in terms of play dates etc.

Unless perhaps you have access to secondary grammar schools in which case either private primary or tuition?

I wouldn't unless you are in a position to continue into secondary. I've been teaching in state secondary schools for 18 years and the kids who come from private, even in Year 7, tend to have a tough time adapting.

I should think it's a culture shock and would be very difficult to fit in to a state secondary after being in tiny classes, with no real behavior problems. The low level disruption would be very difficult to cope with at best, possibly being bullied because they are "different" at worst.

JacquesHammer

If your DD goes to prep do you mind me asking if there are children from less affluent backgrounds? As I wouldn’t want DD to feel like she didn’t fit in if there are a lot of wealthy parents.

And yep it is nice to be able to walk to/ from school with friends and things. I remember having lovely friends at primary but then again I didn’t carry any of those friendships into secondary anyway. Then there’s always extra curricular activities for socialising.

This is quite common and both dc's prep.

The fee's are significantly cheaper in the early years and you can use the free hours government scheme towards fees also.

I sometimes think it's to entice people in.

I'd be very surprised if any private school was that cheap. It can also be difficult to find holiday care in the gap between the private school breaking up and the state school getting off.

If your DD goes to prep do you mind me asking if there are children from less affluent backgrounds? As I wouldn’t want DD to feel like she didn’t fit in if there are a lot of wealthy parents

DD has left now, but amongst her class mates there was a wide variety of families! Parental jobs included dentists, painter/decorator, lecturers, tech roles, small business owners, solicitors. Houses ranged from terraces to semis to detached.

I/we’re not rich (although privileged enough to be able to afford fees), I’m a single parent and was substantially younger than the other parents. I never felt out of place

BottleofJameson

£7,500 - £9,000 pa is the going rate in our area (north west) from nursery to year 6.

You seem to have contradicted yourself in your latest post. Are you now saying it doesn't cost the same?

In that case surely your question is a different one, only about the possible effects to moving to state for secondary.

Personally I wouldn't make a decision based on anecdotes from parents whose dc went to different schools to yours.

I'd find out as much as I could about the secondaries and try and find parents local to me who've done the same.

it isn’t that straightforward caught. I’m really wondering if it’s advantageous for my child or not.

This is a thing in Northern Ireland. Many of the big grammar schools have their own private preps at around 3.5-4.5k - year.

My only concern reading some of these responses is the size of some of these small schools they are just too small IMO and that can give you problems later on if not at the time with friendships . At the private school mine went to there were 12 children in each reception class and then 2 classes moving up the school so 18 / 20 in each with a bit of movement . That sets children up for real life in a state school .

seriously, I wouldn't. DS works in education and deals often with private schools. She said a huge amount of teachers (at least in the cheaper schools) don't have any teaching qualifications. She recently had a case where the teacher didn't even have A-levels. Apparently, it is much cheaper and more profitable for private school to employ unqualified staff.