Help - yr1 or 7+ or 11+

[itsmehere1]

We’re trying to decide what’s best for our DD who is currently in reception at an outstanding-rated state school with a class size of 24. She’s happy there, though we feel she could be more challenged.

Our original plan was to move her to a private school at 7+, but we’ve now received an in-year offer for Year 1. The cost would be around extra £2k per month, not a financial strain, but a significant amount that could instead be saved for her future.

Our main reason for considering private school was to avoid the intense 11+ pressure. We’ve heard a lot about how stressful the process can be, and we’d prefer to bypass that if possible.

Given our situation, what would you do?

1. Accept the Year 1 offer now.
2. Stick with the plan and try for 7+, seeing if she gets an offer.
3. Keep her in state school and prepare for 11+.

Anyone please?

I wouldn’t move her mid year in reception. She is happy, she doesn’t need to be challenged in reception. Move her at 7+.

we are currently preparing for 11+, it’s not too stressful yet but it is a lot of work and prep and I am regretting we didn’t move my DD ro private before. Not because of 11+ but because now (Y5) we are very unhappy w her school and she really isn’t stretched at all. Behaviour is also a huge issue and it’s affecting her negatively in class(can’t focus).

7+ is horrible, assuming genuinely competitive, if you can avoid it then do.

Unless you're going to an all through school you'll have to prep for 11+ anyhow.

What are the other perks of the private school that she won't get where she currently is?

This is our worry. We are in London and seeing it all unfold first hand.

Yes that’s the case, it’s not an all though state school (only primary). We also don’t have good secondary state schools nearby and the one grammar school is highly selective. There are no major pros of primary private for us other than an assured place in their senior school.

North London? Definitely take the place now.

Just to throw another one in there, we’ve done 9 plus. I actively chose not to do 7+ as the requirements for a relatively young child are pretty intense. My child was a bit older and could understand the link between work and a school place. It was a massive gamble though as there don’t tend to be many places. I was going to ride it out until 11 plus but got fed up.

Advantage of leaving it a bit later was mainly financial plus having a clearer view of strengths and weaknesses plus having had a chance to look around senior schools and having a clear set of preferences.

If you’re questioning things in reception, the chances are you’ll be raising more issues further up the school. Reception doesn’t really give a true reflection- most people love reception and things often get a bit stickier in year 1 and then in juniors. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I’d moved my daughter at 7plus but I’m not sure the testing regime would have been great for her at that age and I’m not sure if she’d have got in then. I think you’re realistically balancing up an easy place for year 1 versus having to work on 7 plus prep at home.

We have a dd in a N London prep and I'd say if it's one of the top tier all-throughs,, and you're certain she'd be happy to stay for secondary, take the Yr 1 place. If it's a lower ranking school you might find yourself going for 11+ (or 7+) anyway, which would be harder in an all-through school as they don't prep for 11+.

I'd also consider how well that specific school fits with her personality, because that's the advantage of leaving it until 11+ - even amongst the best schools, they have different strengths which suit different children. E.g. if the private school is mixed, she might prefer single sex later on, or one with more resources for certain arts or sports. The 11+ threads here are useful for reading how parents have decided which offers to accept.

We've been happy with our prep and feel it offers enough over the local outstanding state primaries. Class sizes are much smaller, the extracurriculars, sports, communication, behaviour and engaged community. I don't think you'd regret moving in Yr1 if you did it - you'd notice the differences once you were there.

Great points! There's a lot to think about. It’s challenging to choose a school based on her current personality, and even if we have a clearer understanding later, there’s no guarantee she’ll secure a spot at the best-fit school.

This seems like a good option. From what I can see, only one school on my list offers a 9+. I’m unsure if admission to the others is still up to chance and whether it’s worth the risk to wait, as you said it’s a gamble.

@itsmehere1 stay in the primary school she is happy with. 11+ can be challenging, but its not impossible. If your dc is capable and you prepare, it is possible from state schools. You can also wait and see how your dd is academically further down the line. Reception is way too young to tell. I have a dd age 13 and ds 11. Both got into great private secondary schools. My advice would be let her enjoy her primary time where she is happy. See what schools you want to do at 11+ and prep for them.

Given that you’re in London (so much competition) and you can afford it, I’d take the Y1 place. If you decide later on that other schools might be a better fit, she can always apply at 11+.

If you can afford it with no financial strain I'd move her now as friendships are still very fluid in reception and year 1. We moved my daughter in year 3 and it's nearly Easter and she's still feeling socially like an outsider. Academically and with all the extra curricular she's loving it but still missing friends from her old school. If you have a social butterfly for a daughter this may not be an issue though!

Ah, opposing perspectives - that’s exactly what makes this a dilemma! Lots to think about…

Thanks everyone, look forward to hearing more views.

@itsmehere1 I will say it again, but if she is happy where she is, let her stay. Don't worry about entering school later down the line. I would just wait for 11+. However, if you plan to send her for 7+ anyway, then I would just transfer her now. It is competitive for 11+, but not impossible! We just did it twice and both my dc did well and it was fine...not stressful as some make it out to be. The great thing about being in primary is no one is stressed about 11+ At prep it is another story (have friends and family w kids in prep schools). My dc had a very relaxed 11+ experience.

Even at an all through school, transition at 11+ to senior school is not guaranteed. I worked at a very well known private school which took children from age 4 to 18. Approximately 5 to 8 children were ‘encouraged’ to leave at the end of year 6 (out of 50).

depends if the school is a top or high mid tier (eg NLCS, SHHS, PHS etc) or a mid/low tier (eg Queens College, Francis Holland etc) - if high mid - top tier I’ll switch now but if mid-low tier then I would leave her. Agree with a pp - they make friends easily at this age group

Thank you all for your insights. I’m reading through these and find all very helpful in making a decision.

Thanks so much! Can I please direct message you? Im interested in understanding how to approach 11+ process relatively stress free?

Sure, feel free to DM me.

We moved our DD2 at year 5 because (amongst other reasons) we found the 11+ entrance with DD1 fairly stressful and she's a compliant and diligent child, whereas DD2 makes a battle of anything extra she is asked to do.

She's loving her prep school - it is so much more interesting than her old state primary. The hardest thing is the social side, as she left friends she'd had from nursery. I think moving earlier would have been better.

We were lucky as her prep is keen to expand, so has plenty of spaces. If we were going for a competitive place, I'm not sure she would have got one as she has mild SEND that may make a non-SEND child an easier prospect.

We've moved to a prep that has a senior school but doesn't absolutely guarantee a place in it. At the very least, that will give us an idea of where else we should be looking if they warn us that she won't be offered a place. I'm ok with that as being the least able in a cohort at an academic secondary looks a bit miserable to me. I get the impression from DD1 that the requirements for prep kids to move into the senior school at her school (a different one to DD2) are less stringent than for external applicants. I think that is pretty common. It certainly seemed to be the case when I went to secondary school.

I think a lot depends on the individual child and also on your school options. If you have a banker school, either private or state, that you’d be happy with then there isn’t the same pressure. I know things can be very stressful for boys in north/central London because there just aren’t many options within a reasonable commuting time. Girls schools are a bit easier though.

I think it also depends on what your current school environment is like. We did the 11+ for dd and ds. Yes, dd had a few more options than ds. It felt a lot more competitive for the boy options. However, at their school there was no stress about it. Some children were doing the 11+ as well, but they were supportive of each other. The school was busy with SATs so dc did not feel any pressure for the 11+ I think at prep schools they feel the pressure more because they prep for it in school and a lot more people are doing it. I think I felt more of the stress myself the second time around because there was not many boy options. But I kept this to myself. We had no banker school options for ds or dd. But I did apply to a range of schools. The safer options were not banker schools though.