Small non-selective preps worth it?

[my7yearold]

Our DD attends a state primary, Y2, and is coasting. During parents evening the school gush how great she is, but we do a lot of maths and English with her,

There's a non-selective prep 5 mins drive away from us that we are considering. At her current state primary there are around 25 kids in her class , from what she tells me , a lot of the kids are very disruptive - I've seen this at the many birthday parties she goes to.

At the school, I think DD is counted as 'one of the good ones' and pretty much left alone, a few times she's told me she starts to help the other kids because she's bored.

The small prep is at the other extreme -small classes, but much more interaction with the teachers and TA's. They have good leavers destination too. Although the facilities aren't amazing , they do lots of things I have to DIY at DD's current school- language, swimming, music lessons, all done at weekends or after school which is a real pain.

Has anyone sent their DC to small preps with very small classes ( around 10 kids a class) Does it work?

Yep our son's school goes up to 11 but we're one of the few taking him out early as he is academically strong. The school is brilliant and has helped him be this way. It has my vote - I just didn't want to do 11+ as it sounds insanely competitive @my7yearold

Congrats! If you can secure your DS in a great school that's all the way to 18, at 7+ go for it, must be a big weight off your mind.😃

Thank you @my7yearold - it's a huge load off that we won't have to do 11/13+ and I honestly give the school he's in so much credit for how awesome they have been at getting him academically ahead. If the school you are referring to is in Blackheath, please PM me as I suspect it's the same school you are talking about if so

I honestly wouldn’t touch a standalone prep at the moment unless it was a big name and incredibly financially secure. I have moved a child from a state to a selective through school and the difference is quite significant but the benefit has actually been a larger year group and access to the facilities and specialists from the senior school. There is real strength and depth in sports teams, drama, music etc because there are more kids. It’s really changed my view on size. I always thought small was better but I’ve pivoted entirely.

Thanks @Bunnycat101 There is a lovely all through private girls school down the road from us, but it doesn't appeal as it 'locks in' DD to their senior school, or lots of tutoring and leaving most of her friends in the all through.

We want to keep our options open and a standalone prep seems the best way to go for that.

We almost moved our daughter to a small prep school; we looked at three non-selective and one selective. We are in an area with a high concentration of private schools and a grammar area. All the preps we looked at were grammar crammers stopping at year 6; half of kids leaving for grammar, half to private usually with a scholarship. One prep offered us a large discount on the fees. She is at a good primary school but is utterly unchallenged.

We decided not to as we knew we were aiming for super-selective grammar at 11+ and we knew we would get a tutor. We decided we didn't think we needed the prep to get her into the grammar and that the money saved could enrich her life in other ways. We kept topping up state with tutoring, workbooks and extracurricular and she's looking forward to starting at our target grammar school in September when we are sure she'll be finally be challenged.

@my7yearoldjust a thought- you say that your daughter will have to leave behind friends if she goes to the all through school and then move at y6 but she’ll have to leave friends behind when she finishes primary anyway. I would focus on the best school for her in the here and now. Moving to an all through school now doesn’t mean you have to commit to her staying there till she’s 18. Plenty of children move to state after y6 as there are many people who believe in private for primary but not for secondary. I’d go and look round the stand alone prep and get a feel for the class. Is there a good boy/girl ratio? Do you think she would fit in with the class? Could she do a taster day? The stakes are high when the class size is so small because if she doesn’t find her people within that small group, she will struggle

8-10 in a class is absolutely awful for friendships! And sport, music and just about everything else, including school finances.

Your primary sounds awful. Have you asked about extension work? Explaining to others is a learning method by the way. No dc should be bored - have you ever asked to see her assessment data and asked the school how they are meeting her needs?

Don't assume a little prep school isn’t held full of SEN dc either. They tend to be haven schools. We have one near us. Sc have quite a limited curriculum.

Our other prep is non selective but is amazing. Great academics but also sport, drama, music, trips, art and specialist teachers. Loads of after school clubs and it’s just worth the money! It’s more money but you can see why! 18 ish in a class.

@OhDear111yes you raise another good point re SEN. The school we had experience of had low numbers overall but a third of the school had SEN. In small classes, this can have a big impact