moving from private to state - should we and how is it done?

[yogabird]

i have received a form for dd2 to apply for state school, she should start next january, (march birthday) she's currently doing well and is happy at the local pre-prep, as is dd1 who is in Y1 there. The classes are small - too small really and it's very expensive and dh & i were both state educated and we are considering moving them both. What do you think and how do i go about it?

You would need to apply for dd2, in our area you'd state 3 preferences on the LEA form, and then see if the same school she is allocated would have a space for dd1 (they may have a waiting list already). How would dd1 feel about moving , I guess it is more significant to her. If you mvoed dd1 first then dd2 may get priority as a sibling if the first choice school is oversubscribed but I fear it is probably too late for you to do that in time for it to make a difference. Have you visited any state schools yet (which might give you an opprotuntiy to ask re dd1)?

getting visiting next week. Saw some when dd1 was due to start and i was pregnant with no 3. got her a place but then miscarried and in the aftermath decided to leave her where she was cos more affordable if only 2 kids and it was a mistake. Can't see getting dd1 A place before 25 january when dd2 application is due dd1 won't be keen and is shy but i feel that she will do better with lots more in the class and have a chance of making more, firmer friends. Maybe she'll ...shit is that the time got to go out more later

a bit off topic cos I see your talking about primary, not secondary, but we've just moved ds from private secondary to local state school. It's the best thing we've ever done! Ds was a chorister but finished in the choir and dh teaches at the private school so we hadn't been paying much in the way of fees anyway. When ds left the choir he was desperate to move schools and he hasnt looked back! He is Year 9 so is in sets for most subjects (he's bright so top sets for all subjects), yes the classes are bigger but he reports back that the work is more challenging and the behaviour is better than at the private school . Did make me wonder what we were spending our money on! Anyway he settled in without a backward glance and has found the larger scale of things a postive benefit rather than a problem. He says the ability range is wider but that the brightest kids are brighter than anyone he met at his private school. DH and I were also state educated and did ok (he got a 1st class degree and i have a higher degree) so we have no hang ups about private being better. Oh and btw dh has got a promotion back into the state sector! As you can tell I'm fairly pro state education! Hope that helps.

alfiesbabe thanks so much that really has helped, and your ds's experience doesn't really surprise me ( iteach in an indep secondary) which is a good school but i know of several others that are less so. My instinct all says yes do it and that the class size is a positive bonus for a diversity of people to mix with - the world is, after all comprehensive! but the tiny niggle is about managing the change for dd1 who has already moved once when we moved house 200 miles away. Off to the phones now to find out more and to book appointments with schools, will post later

Please just be aware that not everyone's experiences of moving from private to state are good. I did it, and it transformed me from a confident, intelligent child to one who did everything they could to eradicate all reference to that 'previous life' so as not to provide the scornful, bitchy girls with any more fodder for tormenting me. Even teachers had their bit to say to me - the barbed comments about my privileged upbringing and even my family's financial status. I was almost ashamed at where I had come from, and that's no exaggeration. Eventually I settled down, but underachieved fabulously, ending up going to another school and putting in an extra year of 6th form to do more O-levels before sitting my A-levels (all of which I passed )

i'm glad it worked for you in the end. Perhaps with dd's being so young it will matter less, i think/hope?

Of course there are going to be individuals who have different experiences. Fortunately our local comprehensive is an excellent state school (Ofsted outstanding, good facilities etc and has a 6th form so attractive option for teachers). If it were a sink school then, yeah, I'd have serious doubts. Your school sounds awful, Grumpy! I think the achievement thing is interesting, because generally speaking I think state schools do expect more in the way of students taking responsibility for independent learning. Personally I think self motivation is a really important quality to develop in life, so this appealed to me. One of the things ds didnt like about the private school was actually the fact that he saw kids being spoonfed through exams rather than being inspired. I definitely think that a good comprehensive is likely to be better value overall than private, unless there is something really exceptional (eg sport,music) which only the private school can offer.