Help! Backup place at independent school - let it go and take the risk??

[kipsy]

Apologies for the over-long, very involved post, but facing a complicated problem. Any thoughts/advice will be really appreciated.

My DC was offered a place at 2 independent schools at 4+ (NW London) - not the top ones, but we'll be happy for our DC to go at either one.

The catch is, we can't really afford it, and are REALLY MADLY PRAYING we get a place at the outstanding STATE school near us. We are in the catchment of said preferred state school, but there is really no guarantee we will get a place there this year. The second choice primary state school is the pits.

The plan was to:

1. accept the independent school place, pay the deposit
2. wait for state school places to be announced
3. if she gets a place at our preferred state school, then withdraw the acceptance
4. if she doesn't get a place, start scrounging around and send her to the independent school.

Devious I know , but what else to do?

We were okay with losing the deposit (not a small amount, £600 at one and £1500 at the other).

But I just realized, looking at the terms, that I will need to withdraw the acceptance BEFORE April 18, which is when the state school places results will be announced, or we will be liable to pay the first term's fees. (£3000!!)

Basically, either we forego both places and PRAY LIKE HELL (I'm sure my hair will turn grey by Apr 18) or just be prepared to lose the £3000.

What do I do??? Would independent school places be available later in the year if we forego the place? Both independent schools are not top rung, btw, and I don't believe there will be an over-long waiting list, though one, to my mind, is decidedly the better one (the one with the £1500 deposit obviously)

Phone the registrars at each of the indie schools and explain the situation. Ask for more time. See what they say. You won't be the first set of parents in this situation.

But it isn't unusual to forego a deposit or two in independent schooling.

Can you find out whether they have places available at the independent schools (get a friend to phone and ask). In ds's school there were places in yr 1 and above because of parents relocating but the reception year was absolutely rammed.

I would have thought that if you get accepted at the state school you will still be better off even if you lose your deposit. If you can't afford to lose a term's fees how are you going to pay for four years worth of fees(maybe six years if A levels too)?

Squeegle I don't think the OP's dc is waiting for a place at secondary school. Not unless he/she is a child genius at the age of 4.

Can you capture a geek and bribe them (for < £3k) to hack into the LA admissions office and find out before usual notification date whether you'll be getting an acceptable place in the state sector?

The independent schools will have set their accept by dates deliberately. They want parents who are committed to their school, and to have a definite list as soon as possible. Those schools are, in effect, competing for parents who will pay and may therefore be unwilling to tie up slots for "maybes" if they have a waiting list - for fear that those on their waiting list will also be on other lists and will go to other independents who can sort their places faster.

We were in a similar circumstance, we figured heart rendering as it was to pay a term's fees and withdraw that was the best option. In an effort to alleviate the pain, we told ourselves we were "saving" all those future school fees, thus putting us £6-10,000 ahead by the end of the school year... say it quickly and it doesn't sound as bad!

But certainly decide on the IND school you want before paying a term's fees!

ah yes, apologies-11 years of fees! £3k cheap at the price!

Having just moved my DD to an independent school in the area I can tell you that there are year 1 places in all the less selective schools I rang where as the decent state schools all have huge waiting lists. I would be reasonably confident that if you turned down the place and had to take a less than ideal state school you could find a good independent place at a later date without too much trouble.

The other option, which may or may not appeal to you, is withdraw from the ££ schools. Wait for a place. If you get allocated the state school you don't want, accept it but get on the waiting list for the fab school. There may be a lot of movement before the term starts and you could well end up with the fab state school by then.

Thanks a bunch, ladies! Lots of excellent advice there...

Love Edith's idea.... DH and I are both computer geeks, but unfortunately too stupid law-abiding to hack into the LA's website

squeegle, this is meant as a temporary (1-2 years) backup - definitely cannot sustain the fees for 11 years! (Unless DH gets a raise and I get off my backside and start working again!)

As Maybetimeforachange points out, it's quite likely that a place will be available for YR at the independent school (decided on one of them now) even if we wait, but too chicken to wait and see.

So it looks like we are going to "invest" £3000 as "insurance", as Jenny did.

Is the second school really the pits? Have you been to look at it? My dcs school was allegedly the pits and then went i went to see it I discovered it was lovely - three years on it has become super desirable. If you have looked then ignore that comment but I'm amazed at how many people go on ofsted reports and hearsay without checking out schools in person.

If it really is rubbish then you will have to prepare yourself to lose a deposit. I'd estimate we've lost nearly £6k in deposits through putting dc down for private schools, then deciding to keep them at their state primary. But that is less than one term's fees for two dc, so extremely annoying as it may be, it's still worth it for peace of mind.

Just an update to say ... we did get the outstanding state school near us, the one we wanted. Got the result a couple of hours back!

We will end up forking out £3000+ to the private school, but can't complain really! Just immensely relieved that we don't have to pay that 3 times a year. Thanks to everyone, x.