anyone currently have one child at state and other at private school?

[rinol]

Have 2 dd;1 at NLCS age 9(been there since 4) and the second age 4 just started(2 weeks) at NLCS but about to take her out as can't afford the fees.Just got a place at a local primary school and they want us to start next week! or we will lose place!DH lost his job 6 months ago and we were hoping that he would have another by now!...Hoping to be at primary school for just 2 years and then attempt 7+.....

We took our DD out of private school into a church primary school fairly close to where we live. So far, so good but it's still early days. It is a very difference experience for DD, everyone is local, no big 4x4s dropping off each morning and there is quite a wide social spectrum. However, I have met some lovely parents and I think that as long as we keep an eye on what she is learning, it will be fine.

We have kept DS at the private school, he is in Year 6 and so he will transfer to state secondary next year. We thought two transfers in a short period of time would be unfair on him, plus we couldn't get him into the same school as DD...and we are having some help with the fees.
I am hoping that he will get into a grammar school next year which is just as good as private imo.

Good luck with the transfer.

I don't but would certainly not rule it out if one school suited one and not the other.

However, there are quite a few children at our school (state) with siblings at private schools such as Habs and NLCS including a couple of sets of twins where one is private and one isn't. I really don't see the problem with it so long as the state option you have been offered is a good school.

Our state school is a very middle class catchment with lots of nice cars / nice holidays etc so I don't think that the kind of children differ hugely from those at NLCS.

Schools such as NLCS have incredible facilities which state schools can generally only dream about and whilst you'll no doubt see some differences in the academic levels simply because of where you're used to I think you may be pleasantly suprised how small some of those differences are.

I do. DS has just started at Pre-prep, but DD is still in Y1 at the local village school. He needed a smaller class, slightly less rough and tumble (he's young and small for his year), whereas to move her at the same time as him starting there seemed silly when she is happy, has nice friends, and is doing well. Its only an infants school, so in theory our plan is to move her when she goes to Y3 or before if there seems to be any issues arising.

I still feel guilty about it. But hopefully they are both in the best places, and it maybe later along the line he cd go to grammar school but she goes to private secondary (once I've sold my internal organs to pay for it, obviously).

What are your alternatives? Is your dd down for any state schools? Do you live around Edgware?

Having just moved to the area, I've had a nightmare finding a Yr 1 place for my dd and had to accept a school way, way down on my list of possible schools because there are very few places available.

You should get on a waiting list ASAP because places may now be offered around to waiting lists two weeks after school began (at least, that's how it works in Harrow - in barnet the schools do their own).

Alternatively, you could look at the cheaper privates like St Martins and Holland House (around 6k a year) - alhough the facilities will be nothing like NLCS.