To think buying into a catchment area is false economy?

[Southwest22]

South West London, after some years of fertility treatments earlier this year we finally had our little one. As a result, we have been looking to buy a 3/4 bed terraced house, offered, lost to more aggressive buyers, saw prices continue to go up in 4 different catchment areas with very performing schools. Tens of viewings and a dozen offers.
Our budget expectations has increased to £1.2m and we will soon be priced out of the most expensive area. We will not go for a 2nd child. Most people we know go private. Is the premium worth it or should we just save time and energy and just go private?

I was thinking about this some more.

There really aren't any bad primary schools in the areas you are looking. You may not want to be in a couple of the schools in the council estates, but they have good teaching.

I'd say that buying into a catchment area for a primary doesn't really make sense. However I'd add that as our children have grown up we have realised that some schools are better for our children than others. E.g: playground space to run, how strict a school is, the general demographic of parents as a match for our family. But in-year transfers can solve that in the local area.

Buying into a state secondary school catchment is an interesting thing in that area of SW London.

You wouldn't buy a specific area in Putney or Southfields as far as I can see (Ashcroft is outstanding but the catchment is quite wide and has the odd ability group allocation).

Barnes kids usually go private, religious or to RPA so no real catchment to buy into there either.
Richmond has Greycourt and Christ's which do have a catchment area so if you wanted to future proof you could look at buying near them.

Wimbledon I know less well - but Ursuline has a great reputation and a catchment if you have a daughter.

However your unborn child is 11 years off worrying about secondary and many things can change in that time.

False economy is the incorrect phrase, as this bog standard comprehensive educated poster is able to tell you. That means saving money, but getting something cheap and nasty in return then wishing you hadn't. I think a poor return on investment might be the phrase you are looking for.

The issue is with going for a house in catchment alongside loads of other families doing the same thing is the catchment can then change or you still don't get a place due to distance or whatever.

It's true houses appreciate and private school fees disappear.

But either way is a gamble.

You could end up buying in catchment and still needing to go private (or even wanting to) if you don't get in.

Not much help I know but it's the truth of the situation.

A ‘good’ school is a good school, by and large. I would just calm down and avoid the frenzy surrounding certain ‘outstanding’ schools popular with competitive middle classes. A nice house in an area you like, and a happy school with a nice atmosphere. That’s all you need at primary.

IF there is some problem with your DC’s progress or meeting milestones then you will be able to afford a tutor.

@SuperCamp i am an outsider (went through a completely different system abroad), so a reality check is more than welcome. I’d like to chose an option that will allow my child to achieve his potential and be happy without panicking too much
@itsgettingweird that’s exactly my dilemma
@Rosehugger i meant that it looks cheap but when you consider everything it’s not
@Rollercoaster1920 you raise an important point. When you say no bad primary in the area, are you saying that the same child with the same amount of tutoring will have equal chances of getting into a good private secondary whether he goes to a primary with 15% high achievers or 30%? And is there a real difference with what private primaries achieve? I.e. are hotham, brandlehow and merlin providing the same platform?

What if the schools gets worse by the time your child is school age?

I know this area specifically and yes i would chose a school for senior school catchments.

Putney/barnes doesn't have great state senior schools to choose from.

Twickenham/teddington has some great ones.

80%of primary schools will be fine but senior schools are trickier!

@maxelly the baby is going to nursery in a few weeks so too early to judge what the best fit.
@Kfjsjdbd what school in new Malden please?
@Littlemissprosecco How many hours of support would you expect from the parents in primary and private please?
@ClottedCreamAndStrawberries I knew someone was going to say it :)
@IrisVersicolor if I understood correctly, they also manage the underperforming children out…personally I find it a bit dangerous to the child’s confidence
@ulhuilay8947r very important, thank you

if I understood correctly, they also manage the underperforming children out…personally I find it a bit dangerous to the child’s confidence

Not sure what that’s referring to.

a friend recently moved to New Malden or Worcester Park. She wanted to be near Tiffen & the Sutton grammars plus I think there is a very good catholic secondary.

We're not in London, but faced this choice as we have two extremely desirable and expensive catchment areas locally. We live in what we consider to be the nicer town, but our catchment area is not as good - most who can afford to go private. We could afford either option, but decided to stay in the area we prefer and pay for private school (for 3 dc - so a big decision). I think the difference in house prices is probably 50% more for a house in the desirable catchment areas.

As an aside, I went to such a school - the one that everyone tries to get their dc into with a premium on house prices in that area - and it in no way compared to my dc's independent school. The quality of education, co-curricular and pastoral care is significantly better.

I think the Catholic secondary in Kingston/ New Malden being referred to might be Richard Challenor?
in your situation @Southwest22 If you are Catholic I would personally choose a Catholic state primary on the list of almost guaranteed entry in to Richard Challenor so you can almost ‘Bank’ that or choose private at that stage 🤷‍♀️

Depends where in the country you are though, doesn't it? The best decision we ever made was to buy in Scotland in the catchment of one of the best state schools going. House prices have risen and there is even stronger demand for houses in catchment than there ever was.

I couldn’t agree more.

Your question to me is a bit like how long is a piece of string!
Obviously the more time you spend doing things with your children the more they will benefit, I don’t just mean academics but cooking, sewing, jigsaw puzzles, going to parks, exhibitions etc…. Educating children to be well rounded adults is a full time job and not the responsibility of the school alone.
As for how much academic time you should put in…..,
that’s down to what type of child you have and what it’s reasonable for them to achieve. For example if you have a child with dyslexic tendencies you may struggle to get the highest grades in English no matter how many hours you put in.
I also think it would be extremely unfair if you went for a school with the thought of constant after school tutoring!

@Littlemissprosecco your comment is fair, just wonder if I am just naive in thinking that a private primary can be compatible with a normally demanding career or if again I/Dh are taking an extra job on

@musicinspring1 catholic will happen only if they change positions regarding the treatment. Cannot possibly put my child at risk of being educated in a culture that believes the way he was conceived is a sin. COE has a different position but I guess we should have a conversion to qualify…

@littlepeas very interesting! Is the private you chose for your children supposed to be one of the best/very selective or a regular one?

I think the problem is that no school is perfect, and therefore there is always a compromise to be had. Trying to have it all, the child, career, house, perfect education just makes for a lot of stress. As I said, my children are almost out the other side, they’ve each had their own unexpected issues, and we’ve had to make some large adjustments along the way. But that’s just life, you really can’t plan for everything. Plan a little, and take life as it comes, being content is more important.
A happy child will succeed anywhere, and for a happy child you need happy parents!!

Haven't read the thread, so hope this isn't redundant...

Don't assume private school is an option just because you can afford it. Most private secondary schools in London have very competitive entry exams, with several children chasing each place. If your child is academically average there a good chance you won't be able to get them a place at all. There are many children who end up in state secondaries because even after thousands spent on private tutoring, they still didn't do well enough in entrance exams.

I have a vague notion that going to a private primary linked to a particular private secondary may be a workaround for this problem, but this isn't something I've looked into.

@Getoff not redundant at all. In fact, I was asking myself if we are doing our baby a disservice ruling private out. Or being moderately ambitious for him. Or being cynical about how much our academic achievement helped us create the life and career we wanted. Or being naive about how our academic achievement and the academic brands on our cv resulted in privilege/network/ positive peer pressure…how many would you say are left out from private secondary in %?

@Littlemissprosecco thank you for the wisdom, appreciate your perspective and it resonates

Wishing you all the best in your journey, try not to stress , and enjoy. It goes so fast. The only regret I have is one of time!!

I don't have any numbers for how many don't make it, I just know that it happens, even for children who've been tutored a lot. I have a daughter who worked her way up to average by the end of primary school, was tutored to an extreme degree, and only just made it. Of several selective schools she applied to, only one didn't outright reject her, and there she was wait-listed, and got in after others ahead of her dropped out. (To some extent the fact that there are several children chasing each place exaggerates the problem, because each child will be applying to more than one school.) (Luckily the school she got into was her first choice anyway. And she now seems to be getting slightly above-average grades there.)

We didn't even apply to our nearest private school, as the opening sentence on the admissions information page of their web site said they were looking for applicants who were top of their class in every subject....

(But that's a bit extreme, most schools aren't that demanding.)