Did you send your children to a private primary despite having good state options nearby? Did you send your children to a state primary even though you could have afforded a private primary? Why and why?

[WellWeathered]

What swayed it for you in the end?

Are you happy with the choice you made? Which aspects have lived-up to expectations and which haven't?

I'm currently very torn and would appreciate the experience and opinions (that's lucky then this been Mumsnet) of others.

mrsshackleton We have just decided on a girls prep school despite having good schools in our area.
We looked at all the schools available to us and simply picked the one that felt right for dd. I have seen some of the boys preps in our area and i'm not sure they will be right for ds when the time comes. Alot of our friends are asking what we'll do with him when the time comes (he's nearly 2) and my answer is, find the right school for him be that state, private, mixed, single sex.

I think its a bit like buying a house you know when it feels right, I feel entirely happy with my descision now its made. The only thing i hate is that alot of (mum)friends have been a bit sneery about it. I keep finding myself trying to justify it when really it isn't anyones business.
As it happened our dd didn't get her first choice but did get her 3rd which has a really good ofsted but just isn't for her.

DD1 was in a great state primary in Reception. She thrived, had lots of friends. Because of the area, all the parents were middle-class professionals- in fact, the joke was that they were the public sector face of the private school market. It was intensely competitive, everyone seemed to be sizing each other up. I got sneered at about my 'little house' and some twits bragged about their postcodes: 'the best and we're all Labour voters in my street.' There was very little diversity in income or lifestyle. Anyone claiming that school represented the real world needed a serious talking to!
Then we relocated, and for several reasons, she went into an equally great, but tiny, prep. There is much less competitiveness, the ethos is inclusive (basically, we've all sold out, so why bother bragging?).
I would say the serious down side of private for the moment is the insecurity: it's a very real prospect that we might have to change schools simply because it might close down.