Explaining school selection process to a four year old

[Cll]

My (only just) four year old dd has a load of "selection interviews" for various private schools in January. I know it's hideous, but it's just the way it is round here. I have no qualms about doint the "tests" - just doing some puzzles in a group environment and chatting informally to the teacher, in fact I'm sure she'll quite enjoy it, I just wonder what to say to her as to WHY she's doing it. There's no way I can say "you're going to play at a school to see if you like it" as a) it's so competitive she probably won't get in and would then be disappointed if she had liked it and I'd have to explain why she wasn't going and b) she's going to about 4 schools and is perfectly capable of announcing to one that actually she doesn't like this school and prefers another one (because it has a pink door or something equally important. Obviously I absolutely don't want her to know she's being tested in any way, but she's too bright to be fobbed off with "lets go and play somewhere new for an hour" Anyone been through this and have any advice?
Thanks

What I meant was that the teaching in several of the private schools I marked this year had been appauling! There were whole groups of pupils writing the same wrong answers to the same question, in many cases using the same phrases! Now that is BAD teaching, and to think you have paid a lot of money for that is ridiculous! In fact, the school I marked that did worst overall was a private school.
Just because you are paying for it doesn't meean that the education they are getting is any better than a state school. Where are the guarantees? I won't turn this into a state/private debate, but I do disagree with Croppy - I would rather spend my money on frequent travelling etc than a private education. Luckily it isn't an issue for us as our local comprehensive is superb in every way!

Maybe I'm biased too: our local state education is excellent as well. But I think that one of the benefits is mixing with everyone, rich and poor - and people like us who are well educated but living on a wage that doesn't leave any surplus at all (foreign holday, what's that?). I just think that this is a good in itself: no segregation by income, class, religion - I'm still a believer in aiming for a fairer society. I know I am fortunate in having excellent state provision available - but everyone ought to have access to it.

But that's the point isn't it? Of course its no contest if you have a decent local state school. If the alternative is however to condemn your child to a school where classes are overcrowded, where bullying is rife, academic results apalling and absenteeism the norm, then what would you do? Could you really indulge yourself on holidays and so rather than using your money to secure your child a better education?

This is one of the biggest bones of contention between me and dh. I went to a wonderful village primary, and a small mining community comp. I received an excellent education, and actually got far better results than the majority of pupils at dh's v. expensive public school. I really believe in State Education, if all the parents who care about their kids education send them to either the best state school in the area or private ed then the less desirable schools end up only with the pupils whose parents don't give a damn and get into a never ending downward spiral.
At least thats what I thought before I realised that my nearest school had over 50% of pupils who did not speak English as a first language. I have nothing against multiculturalism - in fact I want dd to experience different cultures - but a friend who works in the reception class there admitted that they have to spend so much time teaching kids to speak English that the ones that already can get left to their own devices a bit. I am now having problems reconciling my moral beliefs with my wish for dd to get a good education, so we are considering moving to the catchment area of a decent state school.

Prufrock sounds like you are in the same boat as me. At our local school, it is around 45% for whom English isn't their first language. I have a friend who sent her 2 little girls there. In each case they were one of 5 white students out of a class of 30 or so and were completely and utterly ostracized as a result and ended up miserable. In many areas of London, there simply isn't a sufficient proportion of "caring" parents to improve a school. In any case, I'm not convinced I could justify using my son in this way when clearly, the way things are at the moment, he would lose out.

But when I wasn't a parent I bemoaned all those people out there who "selfishlY" put their own kids needs before society as a whole. My how I've changed

I know it is moving on from the original theme but one thing that occurred to me yesterday when the govt announced its proposals for headteachers to fine parents of persistent truancers(sp?) - where is the obligation on schools to deal with some of the problems of truancy? In particular, surely headteachers should not be allowed to fine the parents of children who do not go to school because they are regularly bullied at school and the school does not deal with the issue.

I am not into 'teacher or school bashing' but reading some of the threads on mumsnet has made me realise how helpless parents can be when their children are being bullied (by teachers as well as other children) but the school does not acknowledge that there is a problem or does not deal with it effectively.