State primary school >>>>> private secondary school?

[grrd]

Did your child attend a state primary school and then manage to get into an independent secondary school?

Does visiting a private primary school education make it easier to get a place in private secondary education?

How do primary schools (state and private) prep the kids to get into private secondary schools?

Are you planning to enrol in a state primary school and then hope that your child will get into private secondary school?

I would be very grateful for your experiences!

Have a lovely day, A

Plenty of state school children can't tie their own shoe laces at 18, or do their own homework, perhaps somebody ought t conduct a survey and put together a presentation or we could just conclude that all people mature at different rates and some take longer to settle at uni than others.

It's hard to know or tell exactly even with kids going to the same school sometimes, as you don't know exacly at what level they are at, what their "potential" is, how they perform on the day, what the school is really looking for beyond what they publish on the admissions' material, etc etc

Also factor in the fact that some parents will tell you their children were not tutored/helped/prepared at all and just breezed through the exam, which may not always be entirely truthful! Finally, some parents will not be advertising the fact that they children have failed the entrance exams, so you don't really get the full picture!

The thing is it really, really depends on the quality of schools - state and independent- in your area doesn't it?

If your child is not of the calibre for the independent secondary, they will not gain a place in the school for Y6- in our area it seems common to selective independent schools to inform parents in Y4 that their children will need to find an appropriate secondary place so that there is plenty of time to do so.

Ishani, surely it would be more fair to say that plenty of children can't tie their own laces at 18, or do their own homework? Or do you think this is a particular problem in the state sector, where there is a clear failure on the part of schools to have shoelace tying lessons?

It definitely depends on your area. In my town we have lots of independent prep schools and only 2 that also have secondary. The secondary independents are definitely second choice to the state grammars. It is thus relatively easy to get an independent place at 11. My dd got one from a state primary with no additional tuition (we have however turned it down as she also got a grammar place)

Independents vary enormously, some are a lot more selective than others (some not at all) so it depends on the school you are looking at.

Ishani, I wasn't attacking anyone in my previous post Just stating a personal experience (as I said, probably meaningless as it is only ONE example) that meant that State Education needn't mean a child finds it harder to cope later on.

Also agree that it totally depends on the area, the schools, the children. In our area, there are independent schools that are extremely academic, moderately academic, and a couple that are known not to select on an academic basis at all.

They all have varying reputations in terms of what they tend to support/produce.

The local state primaries are all good, we are lucky - but the local secondary has major problems that are only now being tackled. The result is, round here, people tend to leave state education early - if they can - as they are worried about secondary. It pushes the competition up for independent selection at secondary level, obviously - and feels quite odd, because frankly I'm not sure some of the local Independent secondaries would have any competition if the state secondary was half way decent

Does anyone have experience of the secondary transfer and shift from state to independent around North London (Islington)? It seems that private secondaries are all fiercely competitive....

I don't see the need for you to apologise, Elibean. Either private school children have the wheels oiled for them or they don't. If they do, then it stands to reason that the state school applicants who achieve what their privately educated contemporaries have, have sometimes had to be more resourceful, hard working and independent (or generally more clever) to achieve the same thing without the oil. Such people may well therefore find a fair proportion of their privately educated peers to be a bit deficient in these skills in comparison when they meet them at university. It doesn't mean their privately educated peers can't catch up...

I think there are plenty of crappy not desperately academic private schools which exist to turn children into young gentlemen/ladies and it is just as much of an achievement for a child at one of those schools to make it to uni as it is for a child who goes to a decent comprehensive.

I think you are right, mumonahottinroof! Some don't even manage to turn their children into gentlemen or ladies, then they really are a waste of money, unless you wish to be halfway educated and halfway towards being genteel.

I am the product of a small, not very academic girls' independent: definitely not genteel, and flunked my A levels in spite of being a promising easy-high achiever at a younger age

Though family circumstances de-railed me as much if not more than uninspiring school. I did quite enjoy school, if that counts....and eventually made it to Uni and a good degree in spite of it.

Thanks, Rabbit, maybe I hit a nerve. Unintentional. Your logic is impeccable though - if wheels are oiled, perhaps un-oiled journeying through education is going to be all the harder for it, at least to start with.

OP one of the things you need to consider is at what age the independent secondary take their pupils.

At eleven there is huge movement from state to private so cleary los of children manage the entrance exams perfectly well.

However at 13, there is very little movement between state and independent because the entrance exams have their own curriculuum and it would be a push to prep for them whilst keeping up with ongoing school work.