Private for sixth form - would you?

[Smurfma]

We had always thought we would do private sixth form for our children. We have very good local state options but as we were both privately educated we thought that it might be nice for them to experience both sectors of education.
We recently visited two private options and were both surprised by how we felt. Disappointed I think is the closest to it. One felt very fuddy duddy and the academics felt very dry compared to what our eldest has experienced at our local state. The second one had very good sports facilities but again the academics felt very lack lustre and even the art department which I had led to believe from marketing would be amazing, just didn’t have the vibe of the art department of our state option.
Our eldest has good GCSE predictions, plays competitive sport to a high level outside of school and has a really fantastic group of friends as well as friends from sport and other extra curricular.
I am left wondering what the benefit could be apart from less ferrying around to extra curricular - also Saturday school matches would mean she couldn’t play her club matches which are a much higher standard. Just not sure I can see £5.5k term (school 1) or £7k term (school 2) difference.

Stick or twist, what would you do?

@Hollyhead Yes I think I agree with you. I got the feeling that the privates we saw were a bubble world- very lovely I am sure in lots of ways, but then you do have to come out of that bubble to join the real world. My DC have thrived at big bustling state schools and it has taught them resilience, perseverance, made them self starting and dedicated to choosing to work beyond annoying distraction. I think if they had any issues with their state schools I would feel different and crave that bubble for them.

@Janieread I think discriminate is the wrong word. They look at context, consider where a pupil's A levels were achieved. The state school pupils are absolutely stellar and go on to do amazing things at University. Our state schools don't get contextual offers as we live in a very middle class area and there is a high quota of children who go on to further education and have masses of support at home and tutoring, so no need for contextual offers.

Ours doesn’t get contextual offers either, the results are better than most private schools apart from the really top ones so no chance, quite rightly, of any contextual offers, hence sending DD private for 6th form really won’t go against her and our reasons for moving was pastoral not academic. Eldest went through the state school and left with offers from unis no lower than AAB and got AAA which obviously amazing but not outstanding amongst his cohort

Discrimination against private schools in favour of grammars is inaccurate. My DC went/go to high performing state grammars. Their A level results are contextualised against a very high performing cohort and rightly so. Such schools and a lot of good comprehensives would not qualify for contextual offers. Also Oxbridge never give contextual offers. State school pupils have to achieve the same top grades to take up their places.