First time mum - private school information (Cambridge)

[JinAndJuice]

Hello all,

I posted this yesterday and I think I posted it a tad late to get replies. Kindly one person did reply, but I thought I would post it again to get a few more responses.

I'm a first time mum and I'm looking to send my little ones (not of school age as of yet) to private school in Cambridge. A few my husband and I have taken a keen interest in,
are, St Faiths, The Leys and Perse.

We are both keen on a school environment where a child can explore and learn in different ways rather than just being glued to booked and are expected to sit for hours. We also want a school that has a good sports facilities and will push children who are good at sports.

A few things we don't want.

• All the children come from snooty parents (good and bad everywhere re parents).We want him to see people from different walks of life and not be in an environment that moulds children to judge others and whilst we can't control who are children are friends with, it's nice to have a variety
•Very strict teaching in the sense one soze fits all education
•Lack of sports facilities

What age also would be best to apply? I heard mixed things about what age to apply, some being when the woman is pregnant 😶

Thanks for your help!

You don't need to repeat your post. Just bump your original one. Plus the private school board is very new so the replies are slow

Ahhh! Lovely, you can tell I'm new here.

One thing to consider is whether you want an “all through school” (usually 4 to 18) or whether you want a separate prep and senior school. Out of the ones you’ve mentioned, the Perse is an all through school and has a very academic reputation but also has excellent sports facilities. St Faith’s is a prep school (Reception to Year 8) and The Leys is a senior school (Year 9 is most common entry point but there is a small year 7 and 8 cohort). St Faith’s and The Leys are in the same foundation but there isn’t automatic progression between the two. The Leys is also a boarding school with some day places whereas the others are day schools. Entry wise look at the schools’ websites - it’s open day season so you could always go look around.

Kindly, OP, you aren’t going to get parents from all walks of life at a private school. You are going to get parents who, for the most part, have high incomes or family wealth or both.

AFAIK, you would apply in the school year before you wanted them to start. That’s certainly the case for secondary schools

The Perse has a reputation as an academic hot house. It’s a good school, but very sink or swim.

You could look at The Stephen Perse (which is the old Perse Girls) in Cambridge which has a reputation for producing more “rounded” pupils or if you like a sporty/arty school King’s Ely is a 15 min train ride from Cambridge.

All walks of life is great, because it exposes children's to people from different backgrounds. Thanks 😊

I'll look into Stephen Perse, because I do like St Faiths. Pearse I have heard mixed reviews and I believe not one teaching style fits all. I'll look at Kings Ely too! Thanks for your comment.x

“We want him to see people from different walks of life.”

I’m afraid this is a contradiction in terms if you’re looking at private schools.

I missread someones comment. However, I am aware there are also parents who do save to send their children to private school (and good for them), so this may expose children to people from somewhat different backgrounds, not every background but some.

I went to private secondary back in the 80/90s when with one child, a scholarship and your parents being prepared to always be overdrawn, you could go to private school.

Even then there would be one poor kid per class who stood out like a sore thumb.

Nowadays when private school costs have risen exponentially, despite earning several times more than my parents, I'd never afford to send a child to private school.

It won't be 'all walks of life' - it'll be people with money who are focussed on education.

Completely agree with AnnaM - we have two high salaries and we wouldn’t start our boys now at private school with the recent rises and then the additional cost of VAT. And we are amongst the less rich parents (we are still v well off!)

I posted separately but I thought this would be a good place to ask too - does anyone have any insight into the Kings Ely admissions process for entry in year 7? The website says they are 'selective but not elitist' which could basically mean anything :)

They do sit an English and Maths test plus a Cat4 type test. There’s also an interview with head of school.

My understanding is that as long as they are at expected or above they should get in. The key seems to be how soon you register as if more children pass the requirements than places available it will be offered on the basis of who registered earlier.

Perse is very very academic. St Faith's good for kids who are compliant, resilient and neurotypical. St John's more nurturing.

As a mother of three in Cambridge's private school scene, I've observed that the differences between schools are often subtle, with marketing strategies being a key differentiator. They are businesses after all.

Given the city's transient nature, with many families moving in and out, it's common for children to change classmates frequently.

All private schools in Cambridge follow a similar curriculum, and with the influx of international families, there's a unique opportunity for children to experience diverse cultures and adaptability.

Sorry for the delay but thank you for you reply and help.

Ah that's good to know! Thanks.

Have you checked fees?

You will get families from different backgrounds and maybe ethnicities. But it has already been pointed out that at private school everyone has to either earn enough to pay the fees or have family who can help out. When DS was at private school there were families who were struggling to pay the fees and even one family who had taken out a second mortgage but this is less likely these days. I’m not sure what the point of paying is, if you don’t want them in an academic environment .

The Perse actually has a high percentage of kids on full bursary so you may find more of a mix of socio economic background. Also many of the kids are first generation privately educated families where The Leys has more of a legacy feel. King's Ely is able to be more selective than historically as they get the overspill from Cambridge. Historically their pupils were from wealthy farming families and again young professionals as well as a growing international intake.

Jumping back into this thread to say DD is starting at King’s Ely (Prep) in September. She was also offered a place at Stephen Perse but we decided the logistics of getting to and from school each day were too much, plus DD preferred KEP.

I’ve been really impressed with how supportive the school have been so far. She’s the only child from her school going so doesn’t know anyone that will be in her year - she knows a few older children via clubs, etc. When she couldn’t make it to the Move Up Day a few weeks ago due to a residential trip they made a point of inviting her to come to the school for lunch one day and buddied her up with 2 girls who are in her form in September so she had a few familiar faces. She also met her Form Tutor and House Mistress and had a chance to see her form room. It’s made her feel much happier about the transition.

Affordability-wise, we would fall into the “professional” bracket rather than “wealthy”. We both have well-paying jobs but would only just manage fees purely out of monthly income. We had an inheritance a few years ago that we invested and using that and adding with our own savings we have put aside enough to pay school fees plus extras for DD right through to 6th form. We are now putting the money aside to pay for DS when he starts in 3 years time.

Kings Ely is lovely, and even at the pre-prep you can use the minibuses from Cambridge (although it may be from Yr 1 on wards). Very nurturing ethos with emphasis on letting children be children. Parents that we know are great, mainly all professionals with a couple of farming families and business owners too, and decent stretch of nationalities. So whilst you're not going to get much breadth in terms of income, you get a good range of cultures, which I really appreciate.

Your idea of “all walks of life” is very narrow indeed!

Honestly, why bothering commenting if you've got nothing to add?