need some perspective on state vs private for primary school

[jesska]

A disclaimer first - we have a choice between two good options for DS1, and are very lucky to be in this position, so apologies in advance for even asking the question. I know lots of people have been disappointed by the school admissions process so I don't mean to sound like a moaner whose "issue" is actually quite small...

DS1 has been offered a place at the very well-regarded state primary down the road from us for entry into reception in September. We moved to London in October and this past year he has been in kindergarten at a very good independent pre-prep nearby. Now, my dilemma, if you can call it that, is whether to send him to the state school or keep him where he is (his current school goes up to Year 2 only). We are very lucky in that we can afford to keep him the independent school if we choose to do that. In all likelihood, we would be looking to place him again in an independent school after year 2.

I know this all sounds pretty ridiculous and surely he will be fine in either school, but for that very reason I'm finding it very hard to decide. I also have some concerns about all the budget cuts and their possible effects...unfortunately I don't know enough mums yet with experience of both schools who could help me decide. I know of at least one other mum from DS' class who has a similar dilemma (although I haven't heard if her DS got into the state school)...

For anyone in SE london, the schools in question are Dulwich Village Infants and Herne Hill.

Are you looking to move him at Y2 even if he goes to the state primary?

If yes, why don't you just move him to the new school where he will eventually go after Y2?

But mostly it's about what your values are and what you believe is good for kids - not about the schools.

I should have clarified - the state school is split into the infants' school (up to year 2) and then the Junior school across the road. The Junior school used to have a good reputation but now is not considered as good as the infants' school, if you see what I mean. So yes, we would probably not put him down for the junior school (which you have to apply for all over again - admission isn't automatic).

After year 2, he could go to Dulwich college junior school, (or DCPS) but these are boys only, so my plan was to keep him in mixed-sex education as long as I can. There is also Alleyn's school, which we tried to get him into for reception, but it is wildly competitive and he was not accepted. We will try him again in year 2, but HH and the infants school are what we thought were the best co-ed schools.

Indigobell - I agree with you, but it's hard for me to judge in a way because I wasn't educated in the UK, and went to state schools in a very rural place, so my perspective is very different. I know his current school is very nurturing and he's been very happy there, so part of me thinks why take him out. We've moved a lot in the last few years also and it might be nice for him not to have to start all over again for once. But of course his school won't be as diverse as the local school.

Well if either choice necessitates a change at Y2 then you need to consider if you definitely want him to go into the independent sector at that point. If he missed out on a place at Alleyn's and you are still very keen he's tries for there again at 7yrs then I'd keep him in the pre-prep otherwise the gap will get wider. Not because the infant school isn't very good but it will not be moving at the pace of the PP.
I'm assuming the pre-prep doesn't feed through to a prep so where do the boys tend to go onto at 7yrs? Standalone pre-preps rely entirely on their reputation and so they probably make it their business to make sure as many children as possible get into their chosen prep.

I would keep him there for less disruption or better still find a school that is coed from reception to Y6.

I wasn't educated in the UK either and I was in a similar position to you. We sent our DS to a nursery within a prep school from 2.5years and we didn't know what to do when it was time for reception.

I have no bad words to say about our local state schools but we chose to keep him at the prep and its working well for us Mind you, he has been given a sports scholarship for Y3 so thats makes things easier!

DD is 4, due to satrt recepetion in Sept and again, we are keeping her at the prep as it suits her personality as she is a very shy little girl. She would freeze in a class of 30 or more.

Its about whats best for your child.

That's a very good point - I've heard that the infants' school reception repeats most of what DS is doing now, so that is a consideration. After year 2 most nearly all of the kids go on to other local preps - Alleyn's, Dulwich college, DCPS, Rosemead, and then JAPS and Sydenham high Junior school for girls. For the boys, though, it is overwhelmingly DC and Alleyn's. So in an ideal world, we could get him into Alleyn's at 7yo, so he could stay in a mixed school (but this assumes he can do very well, I am sure it is still very competitive).

I had exactly the same dilemma a few years back. I chose to go state, because I had always wanted the DCs to go to a state primary and DS seemed well suited to state schools, so although Herne Hill was lovely, we stuck to our original plan.

However, I would have used the Juniors too ( have since moved). If you are planning to go private anyway, I'd be inclined to stick to HH. As MrsWitcher said, their job is to prep children for entry into the private schools and if that is the plan anyway at 7 IMO you are better off staying put.