State to Private

[thejadedone]

Our daughter is starting at a state primary school in September. Our long term plan is to eventually move her to a private school.

Which year would be the best time to make this move? I was thinking at the start of Y4 so she would be settled before starting at the senior school, but would welcome some feedback from anybody who has also done this.

I have heard the expression state 'til 8 and teacher friends tell me that it is in Y4 /5 that private education outpaces state. Just wondering if this was true?

I think it depends on the child and the form and amount of competion for the secondary schools you are looking at.

If you have a clever child and are looking at a competitive, over subscribed school at 11 then a move in Y4 or Y5 makes sense. Although do bear in mind that many competitive private secondaries reserve places for children coming from the state sector, so you can also get in with private tutoring which is cheaper than school fees.

If youare looking at less competitive schools I would not bother with private education at primary level - especially with a bright child. If you are worried about MFL for example you can tutor at home - although any private school worth the money should cater for students joining with no previous knowledge. Bright children will catch up quickly.

Depends on why you are going private and what your state options are. Year 3 is actually a common formal entry point for private prep schools.

A lot of private schools have fairly limited co-curricular opportunities for reception, year 1 and year 2 as the kids are so little still so if that's what you are most keen on waiting can make sense. Also, 11+ is probably the most common entry in the private education. Most people who attend private school only do so for secondary.

I wouldn't assume that private will ever "outpace" state tbh. Bright kids in a decent state sector school are rarely behind their private counterparts imo.

Mine moved year 3
it was ok
ideelly would have been reception obviously as so many do and friendships established
but all good eventually
Actually better than good. I am over the moon with the school and the move (to be fair she was in a superb state before)

precisely
cream will rise to the top on any scenario

private is particularly superb for those that aren’t particularly “bright”, of which there are many many many in our education system

And the teacher correct
Year 4 at my school is all doing year 6 work

The common entrance taken at 13 is GCSE level

Lots of schools have an intake in Y3 so I would suggest that, to give you more options and your daughter the smoothest start.

I would say year 3 or 4. By year 5 they are getting a lot more bang for the buck in terms of specialist teaching and enrichment but before that its not too different to state. Definitely before yr 6 when they start doing entrance exams for senior I would say.

You need to look at the private schools in your area, see which ones you like, then decide based on their specific entry points. Also keep in the back of your mind whether you’re considering 11+ or 13+ senior schools so that your choice of prep lines up with that. As for what age it’s ‘worth it’ there’s no one answer. That depends on your child, your reasons for going private and the specific schools.

It depends where you are and what senior schools you will be looking at.

however, if you are coming in after reception I would look at Y3. A lot of indies are split into Pre Prep (R - Y2) and Prep (Y3 - Y6 (girls) and Y8 (boys)).

Yes, I agree that there are more benefits for kids who are less bright and/or less self motivated.

Also those very sporty and creative

Hmm what subject are you talking about? This is certainly not true of maths.

Best take it up with head of school and head of maths!

advised that maths common entrance is gcse standard

I mean just comparing the papers, anyone can see that CE is not GCSE standard.

ah are you “in the system?”

in any event, surely depends on which level paper you are taking at gcse… whether the higher or the lower one (where highest grade possible is limited)

Very bright children do better in selective schools. There have been studies on it. My view is that a gifted child will do better in a highly academic school all things being equal. A child with SEN will do better in a private school that's supportive (not all are) if the state options can't provide appropriate support.

Beyond, that it's not about state versus private but rather the personality of the child and the actual state and private school options available. There are great and mediocre schools in both sectors.

Can you link to those studies, please? I would like to understand exactly what is meant by "doing better".

Neither my dsis nor I went to selective schools, and nor did our dc. On paper, none of us could have done any better academically, but I think we all gained a great deal from mixing with people who were not necessarily academic but had different strengths. So I'm curious as to what would have been "better" for us in a selective school.

The positive impact on high achieving pupils in attending a selective school has mostly been researched for grammars and streaming. What's been found is that high achieving students get better grades than children of a similar ability nationally in comprehensive schools.

epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/grammar-schools-8-conclusions-data/

I haven't seen any research on SEN. That's was just my personal view based on what I've seen in life.

UCL researchers also published a study on the academic attainment benefits of private education more broadly.

cls.ucl.ac.uk/rich-resources-of-private-schools-give-pupils-advantage-at-a-level-new-research-shows/

Well yes, if you mean CE is equivalent to taking GCSE maths but not doing very well at it, that makes more sense. Not sure I would really call that being the same standard though.

I wouldn’t regard a b at gcse as not doing very well
i believe that’s the max for the lower tier

How come you’ve seen ce and gcse papers out of pure nosiness!

Cream will not always rise to the top. Maybe if you’re white!

Sadly, a very good point