Private Prep - State Sec anyone?

[Acinonyx]

Dd (yr 1) is at a state infants school and we are happy with that school. The secondary seems OK - good reputation anyway. But the juniors is not so good and even going downhill. Now that we are getting closer to that transition it is bothering me more than I expected.

I am in the process of sorting out my own professional life and I'm considering whether I should be factoring in private prep fees for dd. For various reasons, it is likely she would have to go to state secondary afterwards.

Is it sensible to mix the systems like this? Will she fit in OK afterwards?

Has anyone done this and is it worth it?

The decision will impact what I try to do workwise and whether I go PT - although it looks to me as though I will only have the choice of no job or FT anyway.

Whether she'll fit in or cope with the changes will be down to her personality.

Going from prep to state secondary will be fine in the sense that the secondary will take kids from a wider area and most people become new friends with people they were not at primary school with. The issue will be whether any friends from prep will also go to the state secondary. Will she be expecting to go with them etc.

You need to consider what it is you're worried about too. Is is affording it or moving her. Is the junior school that bad? Have you visited? Will your DD get more out of you being p/t or is she the kind of girl who would spend all day and night at school if she could? All things to consider.

Is it common for parents near you to use prep then state secondary. In some areas that's quite common either because they have a grammar system or because they are just too far geographically from a good independent senior school.

I doubt whether many of the prep kids will go to the state secondary.

I'm not sure myself if going FT just to pay the school fees would be worth it - but it's not looking as though that's a choice I will have anyway. I think I will have to go FT or not work at all (and that's not an option). In which case, the prep afterschool care is also better.

A few of the parents are talking about doing this - but they have chosen different preps (we can't, again for logistical work/commuting reasons) but I wouldn't say it's common.

In some ways the money is the simple issue. Either I will get a job and afford it or I won't - there's no middle option. But moving her - that I'm unsure about.

I suspect I will never really no for sure how bad the jnr is until we actually go there.

know, even

one of the kids from our prep school went state secondary in sept

he is doing extremely well according to his mum

no problems

as long as your DD won't be upset that she ends up going to a different school than her friends (because 90%+ will continue privately)

It's no impossible that she could continue - but it would be best not to assume it.

Where I live in Bucks lots of children go to prep school and then state grammar school. In fact the grammar schools are so good there are fewer independent senior schools than in other areas, but lots of prep schools.

DD went to a private primary. Of her cohort, half went on to state secondaries - some GS, some church, some comp. (No-one who got a GS place turned it down in favour of private)

AFAIK everyone is doing fine.

2 other girls from DDs school went to her GS - neither in her class. Not a problem, they all make new friends.

So long as the 'prep' doesn't turn out snobby up-themselves brats there should be no problem at all.

If she goes to a private school it is a good idea to attend out of school activities (ballet tennis beavers/brownies etc.) in the community to make sure she has a good group of local friends. Some of these children will go to the local school and she may well have a few friends when she transfers.

My son moved from private prep to state secondary and has made the transition fine.

I asked him the other day if he got any stick from the kids having come from private and he said no because he hasn't mentioned it and they haven't asked. Also the fact that he's relatively well spoken and well-behaved has meant that he's bonded with other 'nice' lads and is keeping clear of the inevitable rougher types.

Choose the best school for your children and circumstances and you'll be fine

About 20% of the pupils at DDs state school come from the private sector. No problems fitting in socially but a couple in DDS year 7 found it hard to adapt to a larger class numbers.

I think it's very possible that no-one from her prep would go on to the same secondary.

'So long as the 'prep' doesn't turn out snobby up-themselves brats..' That could indeed be an issue .

If I were working FT it could be very difficult to do any out of school activities locally (we are in a village, prep is in town). I do wonder if where we live is really compatible with her going to the prep.

Only 1 girl from my son's prep went on to his secondary, and she wasn't one of his friends.

He went from a year of 20 kids (2 classes) to a year of 240 kids (8 classes) and has been fine, even though he's painfully shy.

But our prep is a small friendly place populated by kids from relatively normal backgrounds, mostly 2 working parents, not your ultra-rich trust fund types so probably not typical.

I went to a prep then state secondary. Most of my year went onto indie or public schools. Only 3 of us went to the local state school and whilst we were looked down on by our prep peers, at the state school no-one bothered mentioning what school anyone had come from.