I’m going to move my child from private to state mid way through the year, any advice?

[Blondmuminlondon]

Hello,
My boy is a family member who lives me me, I have full parental rights. He needs a lot of structure and he has been at an amazing nurturing private school with a small class size. However I can no longer afford it as I’m a single parent. I’m now going to move him to a state school, mid year, when a space becomes available. It’s an academic state school and he is almost 13. Has anyone else done this and how did your child adapt? Any tips?

I don't have the experience but this is a scenario I have accounted for when we chose my child's independent school. If ever I am unable to afford the school tuition, I'll just move her to the best place possible, and that's life. It's not going to be easy but you gave your son what you thought was the best at a time, now is just the time to shift the focus to something else that you could give. Going to a state school will also give him a perspective on the school experience the majority of people go through, it's not all bad, could potentially be an even better thing to have happened when you look back later.
Children are so adaptable and with good parental support, they will not break. He seems old enough, great that he has been able to benefit from his education so far. The state schools will also have their ways to support children needing more structure, and if it doesn't feel sufficient, you can get involved more.

Good luck!!

Does he know it's coming?

Apologies if this sounds like a stupid question but have you managed to get him a place at the state school?

As the kid in this scenario, I coped very badly indeed but masked it to my parents because I didn’t want to make them feel bad when I knew they couldn’t fix it. So be aware that he may not let you know about any negatives that crop up.

Have you spoken to the school to see if they can help at all? Sometimes (not often these days) there’s a hardship bursary, at least to finish out the year or the term.

Moving at the end/beginning of the year would be easier for navigating curricula and friendships. I’ve done both btw - start of year and halfway through.

If it was my kid I would consider home educating until the new academic year but I appreciate that may not be possible with your work.

Have you spoken to the school about possible bursaries or scholarships?

When I was in this situation, I spoke to the school and was offered a 50% reduction in fees.

Also, usually you need to give at least a term's notice / be liable for 1 term's fees before leaving. Just a heads up.

Good luck

Have you had to pay fees in advance? My friend was looking at a mid year move but would have lost at least a terms worth of fees due to the notice period so ended up waiting until the next academic year.

Thanks for everyone’s advice. Even with a bursary I can’t afford it, I’ve had a part bursary but with the cost of living and next year being a year of the 13+ exams where he would need the extra tuition on top of school fees etc. It’s just impossible with my income right now.

I’ve spoken to him about it and he’s fine, I’ve also heard great things about the school he will be going to. Obviously it’s not going to have the benefits of his prep school, the small classes and exceptional teachers. But it’s an outstanding state school with proactive parents, a good ethos and predominately hardworking well behaved kids, if he is in a state school I can afford a private tutor here and there so hopefully things will work out.

The most important thing is he needs to be happy to learn and that I won’t know until he gets there.

I’ll keep you posted.