Moving from state to prep junior age

[Seahorseraces]

Does anyone have any experience of moving a child from state to prep for y4, y5 or y6? Our child is doing really well academically at state school but social opportunities aren’t great as very small school. He seems ok but as we are considering private for y7 I wondered if it would be worth moving for last bit of juniors /prep so he’s settled for secondary (run through school). Or would it be better to wait for y7 and natural transition?

My DS moved from state to prep at the start of year 4. I hadn't planned to move him until year 7, but he was struggling socially at the state school and was bored academically too.

18 month on and it has been a resounding success. The new start socially helped him make friends, and he's not bored academically any more. It was absolutely the right thing for him to move.

Finding three extra years of fees hasn't been easy though!

Sounds just like our situation. Same situation with the fees as well. Worst change for us would be the commute I think.

The other thing to bear jn mind is whether the secondary school is selective.

At DS's prep they spend one afternoon a week during the whole of summer term and autumn term prepping for the secondary school entrance exams. That's a lot of guided preparation! My older son moved at Yr 7 entry and passed the exams (by the skin of his teeth) with no prep, but obviously chances are better if they've had two terms of specific preparation!

Stupid question but do they prep for the entrance exam from y5? I’m not too worried about the entrance exam for y7 because my son is really clever so I think he’d be ok with it if we do a bit of practice at home. But it would be more familiar with school practice I suppose. We aren’t in London and the school is ‘selective’ but not to the extreme.

Yes, for us the senior entrance exam is in January of Year 6. So they prep for it Summer term of Yr 5 and Autumn term Yr 6.

I moved my child from state to private school in Year 4. Academically, my child was at the top of the class, but academic talent was not particularly recognised or celebrated there, and they often went unnoticed.

Since joining the prep school, my child has made lots of friends and shares common interests with many peers in sports, arts, and academics. They have become more confident and articulate. The school did not prep for 11+ but we did not care about that aspect.

For the secondary stage, we are considering a grammar school for academic development reasons. We have gained what we valued most from prep education - confidence development.

If I had my time again I would say moving to a 4-18 all-through-school at the start of y5 is the best time. y5 and y6 in a mixed ability state school can often be very dull for a bright child, though it depends very much on the school.

Gosh this is so similar to us. Unfortunately we don’t have grammars so if we move now then we are really committing to staying until 16/18, which is a huge financial commitment. I am concerned his self esteem and confidence is being eroded though.

Can I ask how you knew the private school was the right fit?

We visited the schools near us to get a feel for them and did a taster day of the preferred one (the one is the least favoured one based on desk research, but visits and interactions with schools changed our mind). If it's not the right fit, you can always change your mind and move (with 1-term notice)