Opt for a school that goes straight through to A levels or one that goes until 11+?

[Nyclondel]

My DD has an offer from a very reputable London independent school that goes all the way with excellent results and another offer from a reputable school (not as well rated as the other one) that goes until 11+ with excellent leavers destinations. We will need to move for the school that goes all the way so in a bit of a conundrum. Any advice from parents who might have gone through the 11+ exam stress vs. Parents who chose to go with schools that go all the way through? Thanks in advance for your time and help.

all the way, no doubt about it. 11+ is hideous and to be avoided if possible. what are the schools?

All through schools are a Godsend!

I would worry that a school that suits a child at 3/4 may not necessarily be right at 11, so it may need to change later on.
Also check that it is definitely all-through. Many schools do weed out pupils at 11 if they feel that they are not meeting the school's standards.

All through schools can be fine, however things change. A change in Headteacher for example can make a major difference to the ethos of a school. (I know, have lived through a couple with my DD's school career). So you can find yourself in the Lost cost fallacy. My DD went at 11 to an all through school; I know some kids left the primary part at 11 and others left at 16 for a different 6th form college.

My advice is go with your gut and if that's the All through school fine, but keep an open mind. The school needs to be good for the child. And if things aren't going well, change the school and don't expect the child to fit

@bluefolder I just PMed you.

@Dpotter and @seeline I couldn't agree more... It all depends on what fits the child... The best schools may not be able to bring out the best in a child if the fit is not right. But at this stage, as parents I guess all of us just want to be able to make the best decision possible hence the dilemma. Even with the all through schools you have to meet certain standards to be able to stay which I am hoping for our DD should not be a problem as we are told by her current nursery she is quite bright and ahead of most in class but obviously there are no gaurantees on what happens in the future.

Check whether progress from junior to senior is a given or if some get "managed out" beforehand. There is certainly a bond between those who attend prep together but many argue you can outgrow the ethos and structure after 7 years ( children and parents) in which case a change can be positive all round.

Without knowing the child or the schools, it’s tricky to advise.
That said - for primary I would look at proximity as a relevant factor.
I sent my young DD to a local through school which has an academic reputation but we moved her at 11+ for a new challenge. If you have a guaranteed place at a good school as backup at 11+, you should not find it a stressful process as you have a good choice in the bag. It’s a good place to be.

So what suits a child at 4 might be the diametric opposite of what suits at 11. As has been remarked a change in leadership can make a huge difference as well. The 11+ is a pain but you are not totally avoiding pain by adopting all through. You could end up being weeded out prior to the automatic transfer stage for a start. Second, the all through can fail to provide proper tuition for entrance exams elsewhere, or play nasty games with the timing or other aspects of the year 6-7 transfer process in order to positively undermine attempts to leave. After what we have experienced moving from all through to elsewhere I think the one thing we would change about our kids’ education would be to avoid an all through if at all possible and select a prep whose business interests are aligned with doing the best they can for your child and helping you choose the most appropriate senior destination. All through schools do not have that alignment of interests. I’d get a written statement of policy on supporting kids who might later wish to move elsewhere before even considering one. If there is not supportive well mapped provision for this or idiotic responses like “most parents want their kids to stay” give it a miss. The 11/13+ stress does pass and in the long run is a minor hassle compared to the upside of making sure your child is in the right place for 11/13-18.

Having gone through 11 plus definitely choose the all through

If all else is equal then definitely all through - those parents & pupils I know that are at schools finishing at 7+/11+ are under lots of pressure: tutoring, music exams, sports coaching etc.
Competition is fierce and the seemingly perfect school for your child may not select them, which must be tough to take and worse still for the child.

As PPs have said, keep an open mind to consider changing schools if the fit is not right further down the line but without the pressure of having to, IYSWIM.

Is money a factor in your decisions for secondary? My dd is at a very good prep and I have no doubt that at 13 the prep would get her into a very appropriate school. The problem is we can afford exactly 1 school out of the dozens of options our prep sends to. The one school is a very academic school with a junior department, so we will be trying our best to get dd into the school as soon as possible as I don't want the 11 or even 13+ stress. But we would be much more relaxed if money would be no option and we could even consider boarding as a fall back option.

As others have said entry into the senior school may not be a given and it's highly likely that if it's a very desirable school they will still need to sit the entrance exam. At my extremely academic highly regarded school which I attended from 4 -18 girls were weeded out at 7, 11 and 16. Prior to sitting the entrance exam for 11+ entry certain parents were sent letters advising 'you may wish to consider other schools for your daughter'.

Where I am in London the schools are expanding the preps and cutting numbers at 11+. I think this is an unfortunate trend as I think the bigger issue for your DC may be that they change over time, schools change over time, and also - I would argue it's positive for children to have adapted to different environments prior to adulthood. Especially if the school is small, with a quite closed environment, the child may become a bit institutionalised and find it harder to adapt to the change that uni might bring. It all depends on the sort of school environment. At DDs school they threaten clear outs at 11+ but in practice, the numbers leaving aren't high (yet.) It also seems linked as much to pupil behaviour as academic ability. I do know other schools that have clear outs after GCSEs, which you'd want to be mindful of.

Despite the stress of the 11+ even with hindsight, I wouldn't have picked a 'through' school.