I am considering moving DC1 out of the state sector

[happynewyeartoall]

DC1 is in year one at our local state school and getting on really well, absolutely adores school, has great friends, teachers have nothing but praise for DC academically and socially and everyone is happy. The school is extremely local to us, friends are local and the school performs well in all areas. DC is extremely bright, already on level 10 reading books, can do complex numeracy work mentally and has a thirst for learning and constantly wants to learn more. Whilst we have tried to downplay his abilities and certainly don't think that he's a genius we simply don't think that the school are able to get the best from him and whilst we have tried to ignore it he's streets ahead of most of his peers at school. They do deal with him quite well but we feel that he'd thrive in a more competitive environment and cannot get rid of the niggling feeling that his current school just isn't ideal for him.

We have 2 options, one is to keep him where he is and make sure that we work with the school to keep him motivated but as we are keen for him to move into a private or grammar school at 11 we wonder if it would make more sense to move him into a prep school at 7 to make sure that he stands the best of chance of this happening? The school we have in mind have about a 95% success rate of getting children into their chosen schools at 11.

Our concerns are that the school is less local and he would lose the close friendships he has built up at his current school and if he joins the prep at 7 or 8 he would be one of the only new children where the others have been together for up to 4 years.

DC2 is much younger and at the moment we think that they'll be absolutely fine in the local school so it would only be DC1 who we would move. We could manage to pay the prep school fees without any problems and it would give us extremely good odds that we would be able to get him into the grammar at 11 or into the top stream of the local outstanding comprehensive both of which take lots of prep school children. We are in a very middle class area and the children in both the state and private schools are from very similar backgrounds. The prep schools fees are fine but we simply don't have £24K a year spare to put 2 children through private secondary school and feel that we need to earmark fees for DC2 as there are not such good state options for girls at secondary.

Quattro - my ds is bright but this may level out but I do believe he would have behaviour issues in a larger class. In his class of 15 he can't be overlooked at all which is good for him. I don't agree all bright children will do well wherever they are as their brightness can come with associated problems.
I also like the idea that his school leaves the curriculum and does it's own thing. When the children return from the Christmas break they will be making passports and arranging chairs so they will be 'flying' around the world with a parent who is a pilot coming in for a talk. They will spend 3 days in different countries experiencing and learning about that country. This is right up ds's street and he'll come homw telling me all the facts and figures and showing me on his globe where he's 'been'. Yes you can get some very good state schools (I have worked in both ends of the spectrum) but these weren't available to us as we didn't get into eiother of our choices. (0.4 and 0.5 miles away due to a planned school being cancelled and the 2 schools left being totally oversubscribed)

Muppet, DS's school have done something like that - it was fantastic for DC!

DS is currently in a class of 23 / 24 (state) which I think helps (better than 30!), but also means he has to learn that he must wait his turn, etc.