reasons to go private at reception age??

[MissChief]

interested in why people go private - driven to it thro perceived lack of alternative or automatic choice as no faith in state sch system etc etc?
We originally planned to go for state option as automatic choice - since then first choice rejected and having checked out prospectus & ofsted report, not overly impressed with school's quality either. think the area we're in (just moved) seems to be one where people go private where poss. I now think I'd actually prefer to make financial sacrifice of sending ds private in order to ensure he's in class of manageable size with good discipline, good moral ethos, decent food, daily sports etc. Not having been to private school myself though, perhaps I'm just being naive - is it really so much better (or have the various heads I've met done a good sales job on me!)

dino, i agree with you re the money. i too earn what most people would consider a good salary and i don't see how we could afford it for 2 kids. i suspect we will have to just find a way at 11 though

Dino - sadly out of earnings!!

Yes it is a fair whack - £1500 a month for both of ours and that will rise a lot as they move up the school. Then you add uniforms at £200 a go, school lunches, trips, clubs etc etc etc.

Some parents at my DCs school clearly struggle to meet the costs but they must think it is worth it!

Maybe I should start a separate thread for my question rather than hijacking this one...

Uniforms at £200 a go! Whaaaaaat?

Dino, you might be interested in our position as we are both public sector workers on modest-ish salaries. We pay for it all ourselves and it hurts less than we thought it would because it is approximately 60% of one child's nursery fees, month by month. Once you've had to shell out for this type of cost, school fees (for our little non-selective, non-ritzy choice) are actually a slight relief.
I'd be lying if I said we didn't struggle financially. We have an old but perfectly good car, a slightly battered but structurally sound house, and we take one inexpensive holiday in the UK per annum. We drink little, don't often go out, and have economised on clothes and spending on ourselves generally.
I'm not complaining at all. We are completely thrilled with how happy ds is at school and how nice it is there. But those are the costs we have cut.

MissChief,

St George's is excellent, as is Upton. I know kids in both and the families are all very happy with them. My Godson started at Upton, went onto St George's and is now in his first year at Eton.

My kids are at a prep school just outside Windsor.

Um, and for comparison purposes only, our uniforms and fees seem to be cheaper than Soapbox's for example.

Ah well you see, I've never paid nursery costs - because I'm the only one of us who works...

Well, atm I am delighted with DS1's progress at his state school, so I hope that it will not become an issue for us...

As most of you probably know, I am dead against private education (although have no intention of starting a fight over it) but if my DS1 (high-functioning autism - therefore more prone to be bullied) has a very hard time in the state system then obviously I'm not going to be leaving him there to be victimised.

Anyway, I am hijacking now...

Dinosaur,

Theoretically, we can afford the fees out of DH's salary, but every so often I have to write a cheque out of our mortgage reserve account. I'm not worried about it .

We only have 2 of our kids in the independent sector at the moment, but we are trying to find a way to get the other three in. I am looking at going back to work.

We have quite a few families who have opted for our school for those reasons dinosaur (after giving the state sector a go).

Really Marina - I thought they were all much of a muchness round here!

That does include the PE kit and swimming kit, book bags etc. I have to admit to cheating and buying my DS's trousers in Marks as the school ones were itchy! Couldn't get away with it for the pinafores though as couldn;t find a close enough match

My DS is moving up to prep next year and rumour has it that the kilt they wear costs £80

Sorry - my DD is moving to prep - the boys don't really wear kilts

None of my business Ameriscot - but presumably if you're just near Windsor you are within Berks - where they still have grammar schools? My Dh went to Slough GS (I think it's called Upton Grammar now). Did that not dissuade you from bothering with private schools?

I paid about £110 to kit out both of my boys when they started at the school last year - from the second hand shop. I don't think my boys deserve new uniforms .

well, the primary school private fees around here would be less than nursery costs which we are already paying - even for the v. well known posh schools. so yes in theory we could afford it. but nursery is only for 3/4 yrs whereas the commitment to private school is 14yrs (most people will have to go secondary as well) - plus the fees are more at secondary level.

No second hand shop unfortunately!

I do pass on a lot of DD's stuff though, to the mums who I know are struggling

What a terrifying thought, bk.

against private education in principle (had hoped the govt would lump a huge tax burden on them in budget & reinvest this in struggling state education) and burden of our nursery fees for both our daughters (more than our mortgage) has just thankfully been reduced thanks to dd1 going to local catholic primary. also the money we "save" goes towards us having nice holidays (one in europe, one in uk) this year and hopefully buying a house (currently live in a flat that is too small) but that also depends on whether we can find another good school as i'm pretty sure we can't find a property near enough to dd1's school that we can afford

Dinosaur,

We're over the border in Surrey. DS will be going to a senior school in Surrey, but one or two kids from his prep school go onto Berkshire grammar schools each year - they live within the catchment areas - so the school is able to prep them for these schools as well as independent. We moved into the area too late to catch Windsor Boys School's pre-testing.

Thanks. God, I'm nosey.

Soapbox - I'd have agreed with you there, but from what you say we are paying a little less. Our uniform clearly also offers a lot more scope for cheating and hitting the High Street Is that really true about the kilt that's a new one on me!
Bk - if we thought we were tying ourselves in to 14 years I think we would have decided against it too. We are extremely fortunate to be near several different types of very good state secondary school, both grammar and comprehensive. About 75% of the children from our school go on to the state sector.

RTKangaMummy, are you not worried about difficulties going from state primary to private secondary? I'm asking as I am planning to send dd and ds to local state primary, small friendly school, 18 in reception class. However, t
he private secondary has a primary attached to it and I fear ds will struggle against those children.

Eh, Bundle? How does taxing private schools help the state sector? Most private schools only just manage to balance the books, and taxing them would probably cause a lot to close. That means that there would be an influx of children into the state sector (and no tax revenue)...

Most prep schools are not that well resourced. You don't see many interactive whiteboards, for example.

Parents have a choice in education - you've exercised yours. Please allow us to exercise ours.

further to the Berks debate - why is it that so many seem to go private early then go for schools such as Windsor Boys/girls?? I'm guessing that these are generally well-reputed unlike the first/middle schools and that parents therefore opt for private first, if they can, going to state for secondary. Surprised as opposite situation in most of London where primaries often good (at least where we were) with often dire secondaries

are you telling me that private schools are not created to make a profit?