Hello everyone, I am a post-gcse student who has just finished their GCSE exams and is starting sixth form this September. I have seen some forums about private and state sixth forms on Mumsnet before, but I have never seen one specifically from a student's point of view, so I was wondering if you would be willing to give me advice on it. (I know that many mothers here may have had children who went to either type of school in the past.)
For the past year, i have been constantly contemplating on whether I should move to a comprehensive sixth form or a private one for my A Level studies, as I would like a fresh start from my old school that i did my gcses in. I applied to both of the schools and I got offers from both, however I declined the private school offer because I thought that I could do just as well without paying the money, at the comprehensive school. However, after attending the comprehensive school induction day and having met with some of the people at the private school a couple of weeks ago, I have been thinking about my decision, and whether it was the right thing to do. I am aware that if I do ask to go to the private school on results day, they may not take me in, but due to the nature of the school, i believe that they will still be willing to accept me, as long as the money is paid.
So, here is a pro and con list of the two schools:
Comprehensive School - Backwell School (anyone know?):
PRO - an environment I'm already used to (because it's comprehensive)
PRO - can do clubs that help charities, orchestras, etc
PRO - as it's a state school, perhaps unis will be more lenient toward them so improve my chances of getting into med school?
PRO - send a couple of people to Oxbridge every year - 1 person got into Oxford medical school last year (but there are around 300 students per year...)
CON - bigger class sizes (less chance of concentration, have to study more at home when I want to be doing other things like reading more around my subjects and doing hobbies, volunteering, work experience etc)
CON - total travel time of around 40 minutes each way depending on traffic
CON - when I went to the induction day, I realised that there was not much cultural diversity, and there were many 'chavs', which I don't know how comfortable I feel with because I came from quite a diverse school, and I am half Asian. In addition, I prefer being surrounded by people of different cultures.
Private School - Bristol Grammar School (anyone know?)
PRO - smaller class sizes, makes me more outspoken, discuss things further
PRO - many clubs, orchestras etc
PRO - more support for getting into the top unis and medicine
PRO - send more people to Oxbridge every year (CON - however, unis might be more willing to give places to state school pupils now because this year, 9 people got offers, whereas in the previous years, the number was around 15 people per year. The total number of people per year in the sixth form is around 170)
PRO - 20 minute walk each way, which would mean that, compared to the comprehensive school, I would be saving double the amount of time if I go to the private school.
CON - different environment to my old one. as I expect most ppl will have a lot of money, so perhaps its hard to fit in? But PRO - I get a wider perspective of the different people out there, and it makes me more confident as an individual. My brother went to the private school for sixth form, and I was amazed at how confident, articulate and passionate about his subjects he became. However, I am a completely different person to my brother as I feel that I already have a bit more of a natural work ethic, but besides that, I would say that I would like to be more of a leadership-type, confident person in the future.
CON - as I am predicted quite high grades in gcse and I personally feel that I have a good work ethic, perhaps I can do just as well in my A levels at the comprehensive school, even without having to pay 15,000 pounds a year?
I know it may be quite hard to compare the two, and I am aware that at the end of the day it is down to how hard the individual is willing to work, but does any one have any opinions on any of the pros/cons, or have any experience with their children shifting from state to private or vice versa, or is currently at either type of schools? If so, then any piece of advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! x