Private primary then grammar?

[Jasminetealeaf]

I know there were lots of similar posts here already but hope you wouldn't mind giving me some advice regarding my own situation.

My DD is going to be 3 years old. We have a good local infant state school but the junior school is not that great. Since we luckily live in the catchment area of a great super selective grammar school, our plan is to get her to private primary then hopefully she can get to the grammar after 11+. I'm not sure if we can afford to carry on private all the way through to 18.

We called all the private primary schools locally and can you believe all of them except one were fully booked! It's too late to look for a private school at 2 and half years old!

So, the one still have space is a house school with impressive grammar entry result. But considering it has no land and most activities have to be outside of school, it's really over priced! Plus I'm wondering why it is still not fully booked.......

We can try another private school near work, with all land and great facilities but I'm worried they might not be interested to prepare children for grammar exam because the school is up to 4 to 18+

It's nearly the decision time because the house school need to start at 3.
So confused!

Also, it's strange that the school are basing their Science teaching on what has been covered in your local private schools but not your local state schools so that some of the state school children are struggling. Surely a good school would take into account the previous experience of the children and base the teaching on that. They could set them if need be. Sounds like they are falling a bit short in their teaching there!

You know, I would look at all the schools available to you, state and private, and choose the best fit.

Frankly, I think a school with no outside space sounds utterly dreary.

Many schools that prep for grammars do so by strongly encouraging additional paid-for tutoring from year 4 onwards. They will not tell you this when your child enters the school, and by the time they are in year 4, you won't want to disrupt their education. And will, of course, have paid for at least 4 years of private schooling anyway.

That's not to say a private school might not be a good fit for your child, but don't get too excited about their leavers lists. All may not be as it seems.

Hi Alexander, it is just talking to the parents. I know a good variety of those who've been in indie sector and also the local state schools. So it is just observation by proxy by these parents. The school liaise with parents on interventions that can be done to get some upto speed and we haven't had to have those but all bar one who has a science teacher as a parent from the state school children have. So the school have handled it well in my experience not holding some back and also giving extra for those who hadn't so it will only be a temporary phenomenon that means no one set of children are left behind.

You know the ins and outs of 150 children.

The areas you mention such as working in a laboratory are a piece of piss to pick up if bright.

Lots of the children I know who went to CCHS or KEGS went to the private preps in Chelmsford that do prepare for the 11+ (eg. St Cedds) with a back up plan to attend one of the independent schools in the area if they didn't get in. Several families have one at grammar and one at private school.

However, just as many went to local state primary schools with additional tutoring. Good tutors usually have a waiting list, so you would probably need to consider general maths and English tutoring from about year 4 to be sure of securing a good tutor for the 11+. CCHS is a real hothouse so you need to be sure that it would suit your DD - I don't think you can judge that yet. Bear in mind that there are several good state secondary schools in the area.

2sleepingdogs - have you had a child at CCHS? We certainly didn't find it to be a hothouse. My dd had a ball there - indeed my dm commented that it didn't seem normal to have so much fun at school

MrsB - I know several girls who were quite unhappy at CCHS and others who have absolutely loved it - I think it depends on the individual which was the point I was making to the OP. FWIW, DD went to KEGS in the 6th form and had 2 very happy years there, but would not have coped at CCHS aged 11.

Green that is really rather unkind. I never said I knew the ins and outs of 150 children. I said I had had found a general trend and then answered Alexander's query about the basis of my experience which I think is fair. How do you know how many children are in my DC's year anyway. Your number is not the same as my daughters' school and nor have I have said I know all the experiences, only some. I have never claimed to know every single experience even, just picked out those who I know in the aim to be helpful. As I said the opportunities in a grammar with good teaching mean that is not a bar to picking up the as per your statement that "as working in a laboratory are a piece of piss to pick up if bright" - my comment was that it was something theat some had an advantage in but not that it was a bar long term, that it helped with the transition to secondary school if it was known, not that it was a barrier for the longer term. That is why we were happy for DD to be at this school as it excellent at these transitions regardless of background.

2sleepingdogs - I was asking if you had a child of your own at CCHS because you had said that it was a hothouse and it always seems to be parents who don't have children at the school who say that. They take in bright girls and so they get good results - there is no hothousing. I have been in talks with the head where she has told parents to make sure that their dc don't do too much work as it is not good for them. I agree that the school would not be for everyone and this is why parents need to be sure that there child is working at the right level to thrive there.

Ds is at Kegs and I have found Kegs to be more pushy than CCHS, however that might be more down to having had a very motivated dd at CCHS and a ds at Kegs who would rather play his electric guitar than do his homework

This is an odd discussion - my children are at private primary schools because I like all the extra things you get and the smaller class sizes (for our area) - but academically - how do you know with a pre school age child?

I would hope that once we know how academic they are, we can choose an appropriate secondary school, because being bottom of the class isn't going to help anyone's self esteem... the choice of private or state is surely about whether you can afford it and if you can, whether you value the extra things on offer? You can force someone's level of intellect?

Or perhaps I am talking nonsense...