Am visiting a potential indie school for my DS tomoro - what should I ask the Head?

[stillenacht]

The school is 5-18. Accepting boys in senior school for first time in 2010. DS is currently in year 5 (in state primary) but thinking of getting him to repeat a year either to do year 5 again or finish at current state primary and do year 6 again and then entry into year 7 until year 11 (straight thru in indie school). Thats the plan anyway. Trouble is....money - do you think they will be crying out for our cash (will be paid for on equity of house) and do you think we can ask for a bursary/discount at this time and if it will be favourable received. I have been saving for last 2 years and have managed to save enough for 2 terms (!) fees so we will remortgage. The school has vacancies within his year group.I am very nervous and out of my comfort zone (I am a teacher even!). Any words of advice/tips? Thanks

I am a peri and a class teacher (and curtseys to those higher and mightier)

INdie, is just a word, a shortened version that parents and teachers use when talikng about their schools, especially on forums and for people like me who can't spell independant ent whatever properly.

I guess you shouldn't have defended it, sn. Now you own it!

Are there many girls' schools opening to boys now? IME it's mostly boys' schools that go co-ed.

One local girls' school dropped its few junior boys a few years ago (now picked up by the boys' school who have opened an 'infants' section)

AAARGGH!

When I hear Indy, I just think of that awful not-quite-Formula-1 racing that comes from Indianapolis. This is so far removed from a traditional British public school. Perhaps that is what irks me when you try to match the two. Shudder.

but its indie not indy

A very common nickname amongst teacher round here

I work in the music dept of a prep school. We call our peripatetic music teachers peris.

A friend has just started in the music dept of the senior school. She wasdelighted to learn the term peris, having problems with pronunciation and spelling of the alternative.

So completely understand- hence my remark.

Aah, you see my children don;t go to a "traditional British public school". They go to a fab prep school that is the junior department of what used to be a highly esteemed grammar school that went independant when their status was abolished.

If I find it amaul typing independnat and prefer to shorten it to indy its a bit the same as me typing dd or dh instead fo my daugjher etc.

scienceteacher - my main job (4 days a week is as a classroom teacher 11-18 in GS) not just a peri as you imply.

My dh is a peri too. I have called peris peris since I was 12 year old and had lessons from one myself

islandofsodor i am totally at one with you on this one!

We have boys in our pre-prep but I think that has been going on for at least 30 years, perhaps forever.

A lot depends on the provision generally in your local area.

I teach in a Catholic school and the local boys' Catholic school is 7+, so there is a gap in the market for us. There are another couple of boys' preps that are 7+, so there are more places available in schools with pre-preps, which are either co-ed or girls', not boys'.

Actually my typing is getting awful, not quite as bad as cod standards yet though !!!!

peri peris, pre Nandos? Amazing.

Yes the repeat of the year is a very good idea for my DS due to many family reasons - its the main reason i would say why we need to take him out of the state system...and oh yes the comps near us are pants (have taught in them) cos of the 11plus system.

I would check about the cost of everything. I have a prep school in mind for the DSs; the tracksuit required for sport costs £75.... child's name on back, initials on front, in house colours etc etc. No second hand school uniform sale can really help you with that sort of requirement.

SO baxk to the original post

A bit of cold water here I'm afraid

Firstly indePENDENT schools generally IME do not like children out of chronological age for their year. DO not know why you are considering repeatimg year but you need to clarify this at the outset.

But the biggest alarm bell ringing for me is about your financial position. You say you have enough for 2 TERMS..[hmmm]IS that including uniform trips and other extras which will run into the many hundreds of pounds PER TERM. Does that include fee inflation that WILL happen both because schools are now being required to provide more bursaries and because they will lose pupils because of the financial climate (and this is probably the reason it is going co-ed in the first place, to widen the potential scope for recruitment).

Then you say you will remortgage. HAve you seen the news in the last few months at all? Unless you have over 50% equity forget it and the rates will be high. Will you really raise enough to cover the cost of the entire 7 years? Will you really be able to afford the repayments? Are your jobs really secure enough for you to take on this kind of borrowing? Bursaries are available but unless your household income is quite low you may not qualify. Scholarships are generaly only nominal sums (its all for kudos)eg £1000 per year (so will cover the cost of one school trip and a bit of uniform!)

I'm sorry to pour cold water here but as someone with financial experience, a Governor at an independent school and parent of 2 in a (different) private school I speak from experience and from the experience of friends

I have been and the Head is fine with him out of year group (there are other children in same position in the school for similar reasons - family turmoil due to severely disbled sibling) - he is less than 2 weeks away in age from being in that year group anyway.

It was an extremely pleasant chat and i am very excited that he is going to be joining them in 2010 in year 6.

At that point i will have saved enough for his years 6,7 and mid way thru year 8. The remaining years will go on our equity. Yes we have over 50% equity - we don't spend on ourselves or the house at all - he is my priority utterly.

willali - yes i have seen the news over the last few months

I went to an independent school myself and saw how my parents struggled to afford it.They were not doctors, lawyers but middle management and my dad took on extra jobs which is what i am doing. We will do anything we can to help him - we can't help the other DS as he is severely mentally impaired. We will do everything it takes.

Be careful though Stillenacht. I appreciate what you are saying about your child being your main priority - but it does sound like a massive financial stretch.

That's me told then

Just the same I do think some people wildly underestimate the financial burden of private education so it's worth pointing out the downsides especially in the climate we have now (and will continue to "enjoy" for at least the next year or so). Our household income is well into 6 figures but we could not pay for school fees without family help. Finding up to £20,000 per child per year out of taxed income on top of everything else is not easy....

Of course you can pay for school fees on an income of six figures - how ridiculous. Our family are not going to help us (my father has told me that already - he said he supports our decision but thats it - why should you rely on family handouts?).Our combined salary is about £60k now (admittedly only one child to put thru though) The answer maybe that you find a cheaper alternative to the 20K a year schools.

I fully realise how scary it is. It angers me that independent education is out of the reach of well educated teachers by and large. Bloody lawyers, city 'whizz kids', bankers et al....

Of course it isn't in the interests of any private school, even in these straitened times, to make their places totally "affordable." In the same way you don't find cheap cheese in Waitrose.