Moving from private primary to state primary

[f1silver]

Need to move house (SE London) and DH is recommending looking in the catchment of Outstanding/Good primary schools so we can switch our Year 1 and Year 3 boys out of private and spend that on the house! I don't completely disagree so looking to hear from parents who have managed to switch during the school year/non-intake year, private to state.

The reasons why we send them private is that we're not from here so don't know any better and are always afraid of bullying/racism. The class sizes are small and they get the personal attention we are not able to give very often. Both my husband and I work full time and long hours so the wraparound care and sports provision are a godsend.

I understand we might not get into our school of choice straightaway so we will try to stay within reasonable distance of their current school.

But the question remains if anyone has satisfactorily done it and don't regret it later? What are the questions we should be asking ourselves (other than the main existential ones )

It isn’t always about private v state but school and fit. DD was at a prep, she was bullied for liking school and not having designer bags, she is so much happier in her state secondary. In a locale like Crofton the diversity of intake makes the children so much more welcoming of each other from my understanding than some others. We wanted to move DD at end of Y2 to Crofton but despite being 0.2 miles away were a way down the list, if we’d waited we’d probably have got a place but we didn’t which is one regret of mine. A neighbour who moved locally did wait and got places for her two children but had to wait two terms, they went to another local school for the interim, but a car drive away and she was glad when they got to Crofton and were able to thrive rather than survive.

Totally agree with "PresentingPercy " post.
We moved a child from private to state school and found there was a huge improvement. The private school was trying cover far too much in the way of extra curricular activities whilst the academic work was abysmal . Realise now alot of it was just window dressing the school.

Just want to add, I appreciate there are some fantastic private school and poor state schools. It all depends on what peoples areas have to offer and peoples circumstances are

This was a rather unusual story about bullying in a private school and how the victim turned it into an interesting career. www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jodie-marshs-posh-past-millionaire-23200201.amp

Sadly bullying exists in all schools OP and the world beyond as well. Check out bullying policies and talk to current parents to get a feel for what was done. Kate Middleton was another child bullied at her private girls school but it probably gave her skills to deal with the bullying the royals get from the press.

All schools write Anti bullying and behaviour policies but making sure they are adhered to is quite a different matter. Schools need to act and review Data to see if the policies are working. Staff should be trained. Parents should be engaged in the policy review. Frequently independent schools think their pupils don’t bully so they have the policies in place but do nothing.

To be fair some schools take it seriously. It’s never been disclosed whether the Middletons complained to SMT at DH or not. Some parents don’t like to make a fuss and move on. Girls schools start at 11. Marlborough is 13 so a change was easy.

Agree , experienced an independent school with a high level of nepotism going on. Children being treated differently by teachers ( when they are friendly with some parents on a social level outside of the school) .
Look at the policies and they look fantastic in writing. But if you go into highlight concerns regarding pupil behaviour and bullying, parents were treated like they were making a fuss over nothing.

Usually money out into the school by parents colours views too. Everyone at DDs senior school knew a girl was smoking in her room. Everyone could smell it. Was anything done about it? No. Ultra rich parents and they wanted the money.

Bullying is actually much more rife in private than secondary. If the bully has a further 3 paying siblings, the school May actually down play it / turn a blind eye. Speaking from experience here, they crack down on it much better in state school.

@chillibeansauce

Bullying is actually much more rife in private than secondary. If the bully has a further 3 paying siblings, the school May actually down play it / turn a blind eye. Speaking from experience here, they crack down on it much better in state school.

Meant state, not secondary

Our two DDs were at a London state primary school and we recently moved them to a British private school abroad.

Our experience was/is that our older DD who is bright did well at her state primary and is doing great at the new private school.

Our younger DD is not as bright and had a very disruptive class (despite the school being classed as outstanding) and the move to a smaller private school has been much better for her. Having seen the difference, I wouldn't move her back to a state primary as I believe she needs smaller, quieter classes.

While I would move my elder DD back to a state school if I had to, I wouldn't choose to do so because (at this particular private school) the work is more challenging and stimulating and there are far more extra-curricular opportunities.

However, it is a very personal decision and difficult to generalise as much depends on the schools in question and most importantly, on the individual child.

Lots of varying experiences. I guess we’ll have to research the school well before taking the step. Thank you all.