Whole School Education (7 to 18 yrs)

[lottysmum]

I was thinking about this last night because we have quite a number of independent schools in our town which cater for children from 7 years until 18 years.....

State schools as far as I know dont operate this way ....and I wondered if our children would benefit from say going into a Pre School until they were 7 and then going on to a school that would cater for their education until they left school.... ?

I think this all through education always seems appealing when children are very young (less stressful for the child etc) but less so as they get older and I think you need to enter it with the following provisos in mind. Even if the senior part of the selected school is very good it may not suit your child later. These schools have no invested interest in advising and preparing your child for alternative schools so parents who want / need a choice have to do much of the legwork themselves.
Also, unless there is a large influx of children at various stages, they may actually get rather bored of their cohort by 13 or 16. If your child wins a scholarship later on, that sometimes ties them to staying to the end of sixth form removing choice to move at 16.

Here they are very much on separate sites due to totally separate 3-11 and 11-18 schools joining forces.

We have very good state primaries, so new DCs join at 11 and a lot of borders don't turn up until seniors.

I agree an isolated 3-18 day school would be very insular.

I was brought up in a rural area and having many if the same DFs from 4.5 (2.5 for my BF) to 18 is nice, it does mean you take all the bullying, jokes and stereotypes all the way through too.

DD1 has grown up enormously and hopes to go to a different sixth form, where they don't think of her as the dizzy misfit with no friends. I never had that choice.

I've been researching this alot recently, and have come across a load of useful information and articles, but this one caught my eye the most: Here

Give it a read, I've still not made my decision concerning my own daughter, but this definitely a step in the right direction!

G

Since that last post is unrelated to the OP, it must be another not so subtle marketing ploy from a certain school.

It definitely isn't going to help with the pros and cons of a through school!

Although through schools have no vested interest in preparing polls for entrance to other schools, neither are they (generally) silly enough to impede it either. They knowit's in no-one's interest to keep pupils who want to move on. It's a point to check. But if the overall ethos of the school suits your ideas, your DC settles there in the prep years, and most/all friends will be going to the senior department then it is very likely that staying put would be your genuine firt choice.

And even if it wasn't, having a safety net would take a huge amount of stress out of selection procedures for other schools.

DD went to a 4-18 very academic girls school. The junior/senior was one site but separate buildings/teachers/assemblies/lunch time etc so never mix. Starting in the seniors at 11 was like staring a new school as while 50 girls moved up from juniors, 50 also joined from a huge number of other schools.
It wouldn't have made much difference where she went for juniors but it was easier and less hassle. At age 10 we knew she would suit the seniors so there was no question of moving, a few did move and the school supported them in the move. Others then moved at 16. The sixth form was again fairly separate and different from seniors, so another change. Of the 40 parents who began with their DC at the school age 4 I think there was about 20 of us still there at the end of sixth form.
If it was more 'all through' with less segregation of junior/seniors then I would be less keen, I think change is very good for children and if she was in that same class that she was in from R-Y6 aged 18 then it would have been incredibly unhealthy and bubble like.
It was a good experience for us and no problems because of the clear divide/new start at 11 and then again at 16.