Admissions for private primaries soaring

[Clusterduck]

Every school I’ve contacted has a record number of applications - including my DS’s junior school which is quite competitive and even the non-selective other ones. This is at 7+ and above level. Is anyone else finding this? The feedback I’m getting is that demand has soared since lockdown.

The fact is sending your child to private isn't as hugely draining as some might imagine. All private schools offer bursaries for lower income families and this includes ( in London anyway) family income of up to 100K for some schools. It tends to be the super elite schools that offer the very high benchmark (i.e St Pauls, but even lower tier schools don't cut off to at least 65K

So often a middling family on say 65K a year might get help with fees. Then further to that, there's the equity in property, paying in instalments monthly, downsizing ones outgoings, no more holidays abroad, no more flash cars, less on clothes and eating out. I've known one family who literally sold up everything and moved into rented accomodation. and have now been offered a nice housing association terraced 4 bed house at very low rent, 3 kids at private school on 50% fees.

Take out the fees, and a lot of costs are similar to state- one doesn't have to say yes to every exotic , far flung school trip, or expensive activity. It's cheaper in fact, as wearing second hand uniform doesn't seem as looked down upon compared to state school.

I’m not sure about private schools but to get into one of the outstanding primaries near me you now have to live within a .25 mile distance. Selection by mortgage.

DS’s school has soared in demand recently but the local girls school is struggling. In basic terms, the private schools that offered a good provision during covid are very popular and the ones which were poor have seen parents vote with their feet.

In terms of affording it, no big holidays for us and we’ve put the initial plan we had to do the two storey extension on hold indefinitely. We drive a 10yo Fiat Punto. Secondhand uniform shop at the school is great and not looked down on at all. This isn’t a major name school though, no MPs went there!

Good thing you're not saying that, as I'm the non-white child of immigrants. 😁

@tryandcountsheep

I've known one family who literally sold up everything and moved into rented accomodation. and have now been offered a nice housing association terraced 4 bed house at very low rent, 3 kids at private school on 50% fees.

Wow. I think that is a very, very poor decision on their part.

They were gaming the school bursary set up, going into rented accomodation and burying their equity into pensions they can't touch until their 55, it massively increased their bursary allowance ( for that particular school).

For them, investing in their children's education is priceless anyway, and a housing association house the part of London where they live, paying the rent their on, well put it like this, I'd swap with them with my huge mortgage and smaller house in a heartbeat.

True they no longer own property, but they effectively do as their kids can live in a huge house in central London, at below market rent and their parents still have substantial pensions to help them out.

Home schooling was a wake up call for many parents witnessing first hand how bad the teaching are in some schools.

I should add the kids effectively 'inherit' a huge house when the parents die through succession -

*how bad the teaching CAN be in some schools

Including independent schools.

@tryandcountsheep
should add the kids effectively 'inherit' a huge house when the parents die through succession

What, so all three of the grown up children and their families can share the house? Sounds great...

Unless you plan to hand over a six figure deposit to each of your 3 kids AFTER supporting them through private school and university , what on Earth are your kids going to do ??

I suspect anyone who has a property will have their kids around at least for a few years after university while they make their way into the world. The point is after those parents have died, they have the keys to a 4 bed house with a small rent (compared to market).

They also inherit the six figures buried in pensions of the parents.

Compared to a family who were paying 50% more in school fees for YEARS, they may not even be in a position to own their home, having to re-mortgage over the years to keep the family afloat, something I've seen.

Your flippant answers show you have no real experience what real parents do to get their kids privately educated, but then again, your one of those idealists who simultaneously complains about the class system while living in a society built on one.

Well here in the NE our local private girls school reportedly only had an intake of 2 into the reception class this year. They are running increasingly desperate ad campaigns (your girls high school needs YOU!!) for admissions to all years at any time of year.

State provision within reasonable commuting distance of the school is fairly good so I guess that's a factor. Plus the private boys school has just gone co Ed (thought to be reflective of their own falling rolls)

@tryandcountsheep
Unless you plan to hand over a six figure deposit to each of your 3 kids AFTER supporting them through private school and university , what on Earth are your kids going to do ??

What on earth makes you think i would send my kids to private school? It's a colossal waste of money.

My priority will always be my child getting any advantage in life that I can provide - whether that's private education, extra curricular, healthy food at home, travel...

I find it very strange that anyone wouldn't prioritise their child's future.

We did the opposite and removed our children from an independent school they had attended for years.
The school started off as quite small and had alot of character about it. It then grew in numbers and the staff weren't keeping on top of matters at all , the place felt like chaos . Communication was non existent and it became impersonal.

Paying thousands for the teacher to play a kahoot quiz during lockdown was the final straw.

@roarfeckingroarr

My priority will always be my child getting any advantage in life that I can provide - whether that's private education, extra curricular, healthy food at home, travel...I find it very strange that anyone wouldn't prioritise their child's future.

Of course I prioritise my children's future, and yes, that includes healthy food, travel, a good family environment, extracurricular activities, and a secure home.

It doesn't include what has been described here, which is sacrificing all of those things in order to get just one, the private education. See for example the people who say they've given up all travel, or sold their home. In my view that's doing the exact opposite of prioritising their children's future.

No great surprise really - I know the local independents around us are very busy indeed.

This is what happens when the independent sector rose to the challenge of covid and remote learning with Teams, remote lessons etc all while the state argued about whether some children should have a free laptop and whether teachers should do anything because the unions said otherwise.

I really wish I had the funds to send our two to the local independent but it sadly can't happen.

Not all private schools provided online lessons. The parents at our childs previous school had to fight to get them. Even then some teachers were not turning up for the allotted times.

Prior to COVID, we visited our local state and independent options with an open mind. We fit into the category of those who can afford independent education but with sacrifices in both the medium and long term. We looked at the cost vs what our states offered and had firmly decided on a state education supplemented by extras that I would be able to provide by working very part time and therefore taking children to and from.

Then COVID hit and the difference was stark. As PP have described, from the moment we locked down in 2020, the privates immediately implemented online learning. They continued their curriculum as normal. When schools reopened in June 2020 for R and Y6 only, one of the preps we visited opened for all children, facilitating the move by providing the majority of learning outdoors. The unions were still arguing about COVID safety for state sector even though one of our local states had access to an equivalent amount of land for their pupils.

At this point, we decided to apply DD for selective prep schools for R in Autumn 2021 entry; the selection processes continued despite lockdown in Jan 2021, the schools worked around it. We have not looked back since she stated; online learning has been provided for all children isolating, whether that was because they were in contact with positive case earlier in the year or because they had COVID themselves (as long as well). The small class sizes are fantastic - her teacher knows her inside out and she has the time to spend with each child.

We do not have sights set on Oxford/Cambridge or equivalent but are just delighted she is able to get an uninterrupted education in private. We will reconsider at 11 whether she should remain or move to the state sector

Agree with so many points here - even with @CorpseReviver that private school can sometimes be a waste of money - particularly if you have a great state school that does differentiated learning and where your child thrives.

I can think of one super selective junior girls’ school that had utterly woeful provision during lockdown! Parents were furious. Our own state school had a few online links with pre-recorded lessons (intro from the teacher tagged onto Oak Academy or White Rose maths) but refused to do in person teaching online. This was because most of the teachers were in school teaching vulnerable kids and key worker DC in person. Most schools had TAs in doing that, allowing the teachers to concentrate on proper live lessons. I don’t think six hours of live teaching a day would have been feasible but just one or two hours would have saved so many battles and headaches. I’m sure home schooling shaved years off my life!

On a wider note, I thought this article resonated with my experience: www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-curious-social-backlash-that-comes-with-private-education

How is your point relevant to the OP?

And if your point is you don't wish to give your children unfair advantages in life, that's very noble of you, for the rest of us its fantasy.

If you believe private education has no advantages for your children, probably the greatest advantage one can bestow on their children , then it flies in the face of almost every study on education in the past 100 years

www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Elitist-Britain-2019-Summary-Report.pdf

In defence of @CorpseReviver , I think many of us have private misgivings about going private and the unfairness of it. But as the article I linked to concluded, sometimes there is something bluntly honest about writing a cheque rather than hiding your advantage.

@tryandcountsheep You also have a point when referring to Sutton Trust reports etc. I recently read a book about how public schools had ‘f&cked up’ Britain. It actually reinforced my decision to do everything I could to get my DC into decent private schools if I couldn’t get them into great state schools.

Every boss I have ever had in this country has been privately educated. At one firm.
almost everyone had been to boarding school. As an immigrant, I’m actually able to not be pigeon holed too much in class terms but if I had been born here, I’m sure I would have suffered less social mobility.