My daughter is currently at a prep pre school, which is attached to the prep school we had planned to send her (and her brother, once old enough) to. I haven't been massively blown away by the pre-school prep, which she's attended since she was 2.5. Communication isn't great. Rarely get any real updates on what they've been up to, perhaps one photo a week. Very generic feed back. They've lost her school coat and entire spare uniform set countless times since she's been there. Just a bit scatty and not what I'd expected.
The private school itself is known locally to have been on shaky ground financially, selling off all of its surplus land at bargain values and even then to buyers that will use the land for controversial uses in close proximity to the school (basically anything to get the cash in). Selling other land at an undervalue to school governors, which then was investigated. The latest academic reports carried out at the most recent assessment isn't fantastic and is on a par with the state schools in our area. So despite the intention always being that we'd educate our kids privately (for personal reasons which are beyond the purpose of this thread), we've started to look at state for primary and putting them back into the private system for secondary onwards.
Does anyone have any experience of this and what are your views? My concern is that I won't be able to get the kids back to secondary private school because they'll want to go wherever their mates go. My other concern is that whilst the academic report for the private school aren't amazing, their class sizes are 15. The state school groups two year groups together and has 27-30 in a class. Also very aware that you don't just go to private school for the education, it's for the extra curricular and the other kids they'd mix with. But how much does that count between the ages of 4-12.
My other slight guilt is that my daughter has made absolute best buddies with three other little girls her age, they are joined at the hip. All of those girls will stay in the private system and their parents have no plans to move them out. Feeling very guilty about taking my daughter out and those then forming a lifelong friendship which my daughter would miss out on, by not really having the same primary and secondary friends- a bond which is very special. She'd be coming back into the private system at 12 years old and forming new bonds then, leaving behind her state school primary friends.
Any advice gratefully received.