Private school class sizes

[Sniffingtheair]

We are currently looking at a few private schools for DC and wondered what the ‘norm’ was for KS1 and KS2 class sizes?

Max 18 is the norm around here - country preps. Most classes at our school have around 14-15 at the moment (x2 classes per year group) It's good if it's evenly balanced but we're currently quite girl heavy in my daughter's year group which is fine for her, but less fine for the boys who are outnumbered at about one third boys to two thirds girls. Tiny classes aren't great because of limits to the friendship pool but 15-18 works.

Depends on your area, I would say 16-18 but I know some areas it's more like 20-22 and others as low as 12.

Some schools also have a particular number they will split the class at (e.g. 25) so one year might have 1 class of 24 and the year above has 2 classes of 13 because they have 2 extra pupils.

Personally I would say you want at least 16 in the early years for friendship purposes but lower can be ok if there multiple classes in the same year and they interact together.

At the other end, I would be wary of classes over 21/22 pupils at most.

14/15 and then 18 here (city) in single sex. I would be wary of very small classes if it's mixed as can be more difficult with friendships/ socially.

The schools we are looking at have 20+ in most classes.

Max 18 in London, many have two forms

I’d ask about staffing levels.

My DD’s private London prep lower school class has 24 in the class which on first glance is very high, but it has one teacher and two full time TAs (plus specialist music, PE, dance etc. staff), so I’m not bothered about the relatively high number of pupils.

I think the number of TAs drops off in the junior school but all the feedback from other parents has been that it’s still highly individualised.

22 max at our prep
20 max at the selective independent he’s moving to.

23 in ours. Very high performing school - 8th in the country in the most recent Times Parent Power. So the number obviously works in our particular school.

Less than 15 at ours.

If the schools you’re looking at are 20 plus is it that they have a teacher and a teaching assistant and split into smaller groups for tracing? Tbh Maximum in state schools is 30 (at least for KS1 I think) so I wouldn’t be impressed to pay fees and have 20plus.

My DD’s private London prep lower school class has 24 in the class which on first glance is very high, but it has one teacher and two full time TAs (plus specialist music, PE, dance etc. staff), so I’m not bothered about the relatively high number of pupils.

Same in our NW school (with 23 in class).

Number of pupils in class is obviously important to know, but results, student experience, and other factors are equally, if not more important.

@Namechangedyetagainandagain

I’d ask about staffing levels.

My DD’s private London prep lower school class has 24 in the class which on first glance is very high, but it has one teacher and two full time TAs (plus specialist music, PE, dance etc. staff), so I’m not bothered about the relatively high number of pupils.

I think the number of TAs drops off in the junior school but all the feedback from other parents has been that it’s still highly individualised.

One school is quite cagey about staffing. The other option has one TA across two classes in KS1. Then floating TAs in KS2.

DD/DD2 and DS at different preps and year groups have ranged from 18-24. 24 seems to be maximum most places.

Ours has max 15 per class, one class per year. I was concerned initially thinking it would cause issues with friendship/ socialisation but I have definitely come round to the benefits. Socialisation is great
and my child's learning has increased exponentially (was at state in class of 30 until last October) and the small classes are amazing for one to one learning with the teacher.

24 in each class at our prep, two form, which feels large but the school is well known and ranked highly so it's working. Other prep is 18 max per class and often smaller (down to 10) before the 7+ intake. Downside is smaller social circle but it's also two form so there are 20+ kids still to socialise with.

Class size is a big part of the reason why we go private so it's important to me. 20 at current prep which to me is the maximum I'd be happy with. DS 1 starts a new prep in Sept where class sizes are lower than that but fees are much higher.

Mine go to two different indies that run through from Reception to Y13.

Reception-Y2 have 18 per class plus TA.

Y3-6 have 22-24 per class, no TA.
However, the classes are timetabled into smaller groups for certain subjects, such as comprehension, maths, music, French. E.g half would do English whilst the other half do music and then swap.
This seems to work well, as larger groups work well for some topics/projects, allowing for dynamic discussions, and also for sports, music/drama where larger numbers allow for A, B, C etc teams and orchestra/ensembles/performances.

Larger classes also allow for a bigger pool from which to have friends.

Max 16 in preprep with teacher and FT TA

Yr 3-4 max 20 with teacher and FT TA

Yr 5 -7 max 20, still some TA input

Yr 8 two classes (1 scholarship) so about 10 ish in each, combined for some lessons

This is frequently debated but isn't as clear cut as small class = better learning. It all depends on the quality of the teaching and in some smaller private schools the training opportunities are limited and teaching practice is therefore less good. There are some state schools with large classes achieving stellar results because the teaching is so good.

www.tes.com/news/class-size-smaller-really-better