Has anyone done state till eight?

[lifesobeautiful]

My DH and I are currently trying to decide what schooling route to take - state or private. I wondered if anyone had tried the state till eight thing - and if so how did it go? I also wondered if I could hear from anyone who was privately educated, but decided to send their kids to state schools - and how they found that.

I seem to be going round and round in circles! One minute thinking we should try the little local state school, then thinking no because of no playing fields etc (we're in central london). Then thinking yes, because we'll have more money for holidays and he'll meet a more diverse social crowd...then changing my mind..AARRRGH.

Any experiences/thoughts would be gratefully received.

[SoupDragon]

...and intend them to go to the 'Outstanding'[at present] comp where dd is teaching.

Would they feel the same if their local secondary schools were not outstanding?

Why are so many of the state schools on this thread 'little'?

The state primary all three of my children attend/ed is a 3 form intake "outstanding" school so not little.

[SoupDragon]

"little" can equate to "good" because of small class sizes - something that is considered a plus of private schools.

[meditrina]

I think OP might have had a specific (small, no playing fields) school in mind when she said "little".

[merrymouse]

bonsoir, I am sure many people at private schools are fluent in many languages. The thing I am disputing is that they learnt them at school. (Unless maybe they went to a welsh language school).

[Bonsoir]

No-one learns a language entirely at school, IME. But certain schools support language learning much better than others. Including supporting the maintenance of other languages spoken within the family.

[Elibean]

I can only tell you our experiences, OP, it is a hard choice for anyone (who has a choice) to choose their child's school - state or private or both one after the other - especially the first time around

We're in London. We looked at state and private primaries, and chose the school we felt had the best pastoral care, the happiest kids, and the most engaged. It happened to be a state primary. I felt happy that my girls (who are pretty privileged) would have a great social mix to learn and play with, but that's not why we chose it.

It didn't have the top academic stats in the Borough (and it is a top performing Borough, so that doesn't mean all that much - this school had a different intake to the other local primaries). It wasn't shiny, though it's getting shinier by the year. It does have a big playing field and lots of space.

But it was the people who work there who did it for me. The way they worked together, what they modelled to their pupils, the way they knew and cared about the children in their care. And the kids, who ran up to the then Head and the Deputy to tell them what they were doing, and couldn't wait to tell us, visiting strangers, what they were learning.

There is always a bunch of kids who leave at 7-8. Every year. Mostly because their parents are terrified they won't be able to get them into a decent secondary school unless they are prepped at private schools from 8-11. And fair enough, I understand that.

We had to make the decision for dd1, and it would have torn her apart to leave her school - she was so happy, and doing well. She's now in Y5, and is doing so well (we've filled in one small gap with maths confidence by giving her a term's worth of maths tutoring once a week) that I think she stands as good a chance of getting into a good selective indie as her peers who left at the end of Y2. But it did feel like a gamble at the time, admittedly. I know it was right for her, though.

dd2 is in Y2 now, and I think we'll keep her in - though all her best friends are leaving for private schools (siblings there, or parents who teach there) or to go back to Oz or wherever. But the school has grown academically as well as in other ways, since dd1 started there - and what will be will be. I'm not worried.

I suppose...it all depends on a) the child b) the school c) your priorities. Good luck deciding, I honestly don't think there's a right answer!

[Elibean]

Oh - on the language front: my two are bilingual, but all the kids learn a language at their school. dd1 hardly remembers a word of it, dd2 has learned a lot - same teacher, different kids

[lifesobeautiful]

Haven't had a chance to read through all the posts yet - thank you so much everyone - will do when DS is in bed! But just noticed the 'little' - I don't actually know if it's little...it just looks little in that it doesn't have any playing fields. Ie it looks little compared to the prep schools I've looked at. I need to go and see it again!

[lifesobeautiful]

Right, I've read through all of the posts. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for your input, particularly those that really took the time to answer the question. (Though it was interesting to hear the political side of it, as it wasn't something I'd ever really thought about before and it's good to be in the know obviously!)

I saw a couple of schools in Dulwich with big playing fields, in answer to that question.

Anyway, I think we're going to try the local school and see how it goes. And add in extra sports clubs. What's done it for me is the thought of a long commute both ways, which isn't happy for anyone. And the fact I'd like to know local parents. And the thought that we'd be a lot more skint! And if he thrives and is happy, we'll keep him there. If he doesn't and isn't - we'll take him out. And I do know how lucky I am to even court the idea of private school.

Thank you again everybody.

[missinglalaland]

I hope your little one is happy and thrives there. Like you say, nothing is set in stone; you are lucky to have options. Neighbourhood friends and no commute is really nice when they are little.

[lifesobeautiful]

Thank you missinglaland and for your incredibly sensible and considered post above. Much appreciated and has given me confidence in my decision.

[mrsshackleton]

OP, brilliant decision, local friends, no commute and extra cash swung it for us and they are incredibly important factors. I'm sure you'll have no regrets.

[teacherwith2kids]

Absolutely trivial point here, but if you are looking for 'self confidence', I find it interesting that my children have got it through "performing arts" rather than directly from their schools (they are state educated).

When I see DD (who dances) on stage or backstage, with her group of privately and state educated dancing friends, there is no difference at all in 'shiny self confidence' between the girls educated in the two systems, although all are more self-confident than DD's non dancing school friends.

Ditto DS and his jazz-playing friends, another mixed state / private bunch.

So perhaps if it is that self confidence and 'knowing how to present yourself' that is something you value, that might be an alternative avenue to explore.

[teatimesthree]

Re self-confidence. I work with a lot of privately educated young people. It is true that many of them are extremely confident. However, this self-confidence is often out of proportion to their actual skills and abilities. I personally would not want to encourage that in my own child. But each to their own.