Private or state?

[mrsshears]

hi everyone
I thought i would start a new thread for this,we may be in a position soon where a move to private could be an option for dd,other than finacial implications what other things should i consider if we decide to move dd?
I also have a few questions, if anyone can help i would be really greatful
.Is private always better than state? are there bad private schools?
.Is diversity an issue? (sorry if that sounds offensive to anyone but i hate to think dd may be the poor child surrounded by wealthy children).
.Has anyone moved to the private sector and regretted it?

Thanks in advance

Along with a foreign language if you happen to be bilingual (though that is more understandable).

Do you not think the reason they now require 10/11/12+ GCSEs for competitive courses is because everyone is now getting great grades? Along with STEP papers or other PRE-U papers.

Though to be fair if you had dyscalculia or a real problem with maths and a poor teacher you may find other subjects easier. Maths is the subject seemingly most frequently mentioned for being taken early and a lot of schools take it 1 or 2 years early as standard.

I don't know were you get your stats. from iggy2 but maths and physics GCSE's and A levels are certainly not easy/easiest subjects to gain Aor A* respectively and and both are required for degree in Medicine, Bio-Chemistry, Bio-Engineering and any other Science based degree, it is not very useful to dumb down current system of education in which our children are currently making the way for themselves, and not all schools are requiring 12 GCSE's, minimum requirement is seven I believe, the fact is selectiveness is all around in the private sector as well as state, we either conform to it or not, choice is ours.

Long term though it is not doing bright children any favours as they will be getting 95-100% on these papers and getting an A others will be getting near to 80% and getting the same grade (if GCSE). The Universities can not tell the difference between the 100% and the struggling and getting 80%. I know so many straight A/A candidates not getting the course they want .

I have not dumbed down the system.

Physics and maths can be well taught for an exam (probably more so than essay based subjects) and this is what private school (can be) good at doing so just seeing a set of good results may not say much about the child that has got them.

There's good and bad schools in the private sector, as well as in the state. Ds has been to a few private schools. The first was lovely until the head sold the school. The new head took a dislike to parents who didn't follow his ethos (upper middle class, two parents, catholic) so weeded a fair few out, including ds. The second was just odd. I'm not in favour of a school which encourages the pupils to think that they are better then everyone else. The teachers actually watched and said nothing as I was forced off the path and onto a road of oncoming traffic as the boys were unable to walk in a straight line. I moved him to the local state school in the hope that he'd make some friends that he could see during the holidays and weekends but he was bullied. Bullying happens at every school but if the head refuses to admit that it happens then it's a lost cause. He was also bored rigid, his 'harder work' was filling in questions on the back of the photocopied sheet, then helping the teacher collect work in. I pulled him out after a term and a half and placed him into a private church school. They were lovely and nurturing and he achieved level 6s in his year 6 sats (teacher marked him as this, he was recorded as level 5s). He's now at a top independent secondary. He finds the work challenging but still whizzes through it. He enjoys languages (Latin, Spanish, German, French) and is very good at them. He wouldn't have these opportunities at a state school as they don't teach all of this.

" these days any good school worth their weight is insisting on at least eleven GCSEs"

Disagree- that's what exam factories ar insisting on.

What is it that state schools don't teach, ladysybil? I agree that most don't teach Latin but neither do many independents. And I honestly don't understand why so many people judge schools on whether or not Latin is offered! I suppose in the days where all good universities and the professions all demanded it, but now? Why?

The state schools here don't teach the three sciences, they don't teach Spanish or Latin, they don't teach Drama either, nor do they teach classics or have extra curricular activities every lunch time. Latin is useful for Medicine and Law. Ds seems to enjoy it so I don't really care what use it is to be honest.

Not to swerve too much of the OP, and I agree with you in the respect of differentiation within grades, I agree it is unfair, but perhaps worth remembering is, no candidate will be offered a place at Uni based only on grades, majority if not all of them require very comprehensive interview if not two with prospective student, top students will shine or get a chance to shine and hopefully get the place they are after(I have all of that to come next year)
On the more positive note, the way I see it these kids have to work hard and go after what they really want in life, helping them achieve their goals and chase their dreams, we parents are only very important helpers in the whole scenario, so yes choosing a right schooling from very age is one way of making sure or trying to ensure better future/easier one.

If none of the state schools teach three sciences, Sapnish or Drama, and have no extra curricular activities then you must live in a very unusual area!

My state school (grammar) taught Latin , Greek, Classics, Spanish, separate sciences (did need negotiation on that one, so may not now- but could do them at A level).

Latin is hardly useful for medicine/veterinary and certainly not required (Greek maybe more useful actually).

Sorry OP, more answers for you

.Is diversity an issue? (sorry if that sounds offensive to anyone but i hate to think dd may be the poor child surrounded by wealthy children).

No. Ds's school is very mixed. I'd say there's more asian families there but it's an inner city school. Ds's first prep had more white upper middle class families (95%) but it was the head doing the admissions so he could cherry pick the families he wanted.
.Has anyone moved to the private sector and regretted it? No, not for a second.

I do Seeker. Would you like to visit?

he achieved level 6s in his year 6 sats (teacher marked him as this, he was recorded as level 5s).

Ha ha.

And that's funny because...?

He got level 5s, but you're making it sound as though the actual mark is of no real significance, because his private school teacher told you he got level 6.

Yes, the marked scores when he sat the tests only go up to level 5. The mock SATS he sat in year 3 gave him a level 5 score also. I'm not here to gloat about my son's achievements, I'm answering the OPs questions.

The SATs papers only go up to level 5- it's impossible to get level 6s on them, although this year the is, i think , going to be a level 6 paper available as a trial in some schools.It sounds as though your ds, like my dd, got level 6s very soon after starting secondary school.

He was year 6 two years ago, in year 8 now. I'm not sure when they do the next set of SATS.

They don't. Year 9 SATs don't exist anymore, but many secondary schools still use NC levels to mark work.

Ah. That's useful to know. I don't know what level he's working at but it's pitched to his level and he's given extension work for most lessons.

Useful to know the NC levels- just so you can keep track.

Well i have had 3 replies out of the 5 schools we have applied to,which was only in the last few days,they are all very positive too which is good (i made it clear when i contacted them that we were looking to go down the bursary/scholarship route).
I'm going to visit the first one on friday,do you think it wise to be open with each school about the fact we have approached others?