From Private school to State

[YuliaT]

For some reasons I'm thinking about transferring my DS from private primary to state school. Did anybody do the same for reasons other than financial? How it was? Was it any difference in teaching? Was your child well accepted or struggled to find friends? Any experience welcome:)

8 kids in DDs year and 7 in DSs year came in from private schools
they settle in pretty quick
lots more leave the private school for 6th form
it does not warrant much comment round here

Mine have both moved schools at primary age, and have in fact thrived (though they stayed in the independent sector). Ultimately it is down to the individual schools, whichever sector. For us, we had a better choice of schools in the indie sector as we weren't on the doorstep of a good state school, and we would have had to wait until Year 3 for a decent chance of getting a place on appeal.

Lots of children move school, and I don't think that the other children would take the slightest bit of notice as to which school they have come from. Teaching styles and methods will vary from school to school, and across the different ages, so you'll probably notice some changes. But they may suit your son better.

Definitely worth checking out which schools may have places in your yeargroup and having a look round.

I moved DS2 at the end of Y1. His class was just too small - no place to go friendship-wise. Also, I was driving past a well regarded State primary every day, 5 minutes walk from my house, where all the local kids were going (we had moved house) so it seemed stupid to pay. He loved the bigger school and thrived there, had no difficulty making friends and nobody thought us strange for moving him (and then we moved again - to Oz!).

Lots of kids have moved into DCs primary school and senior school from the private sector. The reasons have been various: moving home, money, not academic enough to get into very selective seniors etc. The only children I have known have real problems are those who were already having real problems, so if this is the case make sure the state school knows about it.

My DD moved from private primary to y7 of state secondary (comp) this year.

She has settled in really well and her classmates have been really friendly. The private school thing has not been an issue.

We do live in an affluent town with a high rate of private school use, though, so many of her classmates already have friends or even siblings at private schools. It might be more of an issue at an inner city comprehensive in a poorer area.

I think in the main though that if your DC does not make an issue of it, their classmates won't either.

The teaching has been very high quality, at least as good as her private primary (which was a very highly regarded selective) and DD has come home enthused by her day.

Total non-issue IME - apart from perhaps a temporary adjustment to larger class sizes. Teaching might be different, but that could apply private-private, state-state.

I know a girl who moved from a private pre-prep to a state school and really struggled (y3). However, I dont think it was the change from private to state per se, it was moving from that particular pre-prep to that particular state school (and partly just the wrench of movng from a school where she had been happy - even though there was no option to stay there because it finished after y2). She moved on to another state school after a year and is happy there. Incidentally, the parents struggled even more that she did - the pre-prep had very small class size with a teacher and a TA (sometimes 2 TAs), and the headmistress had a school of around 50 children to manage. Hence they moved from a school where the teacher and headmistress were very accessable on an informal basis, to a school where size meant it just couldn't work in the same way.

A couple of DD's friends moved to state school at the end of year 6.

They have all made the transition well. One of their Mums has some issues with class sizes and setting, but the girl seems happy.

Similar to CarrotsAreNot with DD1s move from private primary to state secondary as far as social issues and area concerned. DD1 now in year 10.

A shock to the system in coming across kids that did not want to learn, and class disruption - something she never came across in selective private.

Some educational issues in that she was so far ahead in most subjects she got away with coasting for 2 years. Then it was panic stations in year 9 when she realised she needed to put some work in and had forgotten how to.

And the class/tutor group sizes - going from 18-20 to 30ish.

In a large comp, it is very easy to ger 'lost' in that large middle group that behave well and will get their 5 A to C's.

Quite a few joined DD's senior school from local preps. As soon as they got used to larger class sizes, they were fine. There is also a lot of movement in the 6th form, again this works well for most pupils. They aren't seen as any different than the rest of their classmates.

DD's comp has streaming and setting from the word go. She came from a highly selective academic prep but has not been able to coast at all as she has been put in the top express stream which is full of very bright girls.

I think she may be a little ahead in French but in all other subjects she is being stretched.

Class sizes has not been such a big issue as her prep had class sizes of 24/25 and she now has a class size of 30, which is not such a big jump. She prefers larger class sizes if anything - more people to bounce ideas off in group activities.

Some comps do not stream at all in y7 and i think this results in some "coasting" for the brighter pupils, whether from state or private primaries.

Went to see DD perform in the school choir for the school open evening last night - great standard, easily as good as the choir at her prep, which was known for having a strong music dept.