would this be completely mad?

[corian123]

Namechanged. Please be kind because this is a situation I didn't expect to be in - exploring options and feeling very stressed right now.

My DD is in year 7 at a very competitive independent. She has been the same school since reception (they have new intakes at 7plus and 11plus) - it's a wonderful school, she has great friends, she is very academic and does brilliantly there etc.

For reasons I won't bore everyone with, money is becoming an issue and we are unlikely to be able to manage once VAT is added to fees (not a case of 'if' but 'when'). The bursar has been very sympathetic, but various factors mean any type of bursary or discount isn't available for us.

One thing they have kindly offered is that if we felt we had no choice but to withdraw DD for a period of time, she has an open door to come back...

Sixth form state options are excellent, so going state for sixth form is a no brainer is a route we will explore - but that is a long time away...Pre-GCSE local option is good, but not great - I know families at the school and it's certainly fine, but the GCSE results are understandably not a patch on her current school.

Would it be utterly crazy if DD were to attend the local state school for years 8 and 9, and then return to her current school for years 10 and 11?! She is socially quite robust, the kind of child who makes friends wherever she goes - however, it would be quite a change and I worry it would be so disruptive. She also has extremely close friends at her current school who she would miss (but as they all live locally I am sure she would still see them).

Thoughts?

@Utyses - yes agree. The state school which could be an option for us is generally perceived to be a good one - but it does have some issues with disruptive behaviour, understaffing and stretched budgets. Those things would likely have a detrimental effect on learning - of course, pupils still can and do brilliantly, despite those challenges. But to suggest it's EXACTLY THE SAME outcome if the child is bright enough isn't entirely right.

Did you get to the stage of checking if the state school had a space in the school year you require? I live somewhere with good state options and in the past an acquaintance in a similar situation to you assumed that they would be able to slot their child into a state school (and in their case arrogantly thought the state school would be so delighted to have her) . When they actually contacted the school they were informed that there were no spaces in the year group. They could have gone on a waiting list but because of the normal criterias applying they would only have been eligible on distance and hence would sit about 12th on the list.

This worked out for someone at my DS’s highly selective grammar school - joined years 10/11 got all 9s and moved again for 6th form. They were very confident socially and used to moving around, so that helped transitions. However I would say if your DD is bright, getting top grades in GSCEs isn’t that hard, especially if you can tutor too. My DD got all 9 + 1 8 at a very mixed secondary (very committed teachers though!) with no tutoring and is by no means a genius. The other thing to bear in mind is that GCSEs are not that important, compared to A level grades, in terms of university admissions, if that is the route they are going. I would go to local comp and see how they settle/what teaching is like, but you always have option to move back if necessary…