Not all private schools are academically selective,my ds2 goes to a school which has a fairly high proportion of children with SEN and yet 90% got 5 grade A to C GSCEs this year.Our local catchment school,in a very middle class area with fewer SEN children as a proportion only got 60 % with the same results,their A level results are fantastic but this is only because anyone who struggles has left at 16.This school is hailed as a leading light in the State sector.My ds struggles academically,given that we are very lucky and can afford the fees,what choice would you make?
I would love to be able to send him to my local school with local friends etc but no amount of local belonging will make up for the fact that in the bottom set he is unlikely to do well there and in todays society you need those qualifications .It makes me very angry that this school is lauded when it fails such a high proportion of its intake,the next nearest state school is 6 miles away so most people have no choice but to go there.