Move a bright, happy child at 7+ or wait until 11+?

[rubyred22]

DS is 6 and in a lovely local, non-selective prep school. He is happy and thriving and it turns out he is extremely bright (appreciate am biased but he is noticeably more academic/far quicker than my other 2 DC, and his school reports are outstanding). He is also very sensitive and reflective - surprisingly so for his young age.

We are in London and I am struggling a lot with the decision of whether I should get him to sit 7+ and move to a through school, or keep him where he is and thus he will sit the 11+.

As I see it:

Pros of moving him:

• avoid 11+ - everyone says I should! Is 11+ that bad??
• he may be more stretched in a more academic, selective school - for a very bright child is there a benefit to a more selective environment?
• easier to prep for 7+ than 11+ (already started the prep and he's finding it easy)

Pros of keeping him where he is:

• at 11+ we will know more about his character and which schools would suit him whereas if we move him at 7+ it's very early to choose a school for the next 11 years
• he is a sensitive little chap and wonder whether a big through school could be too much for him right now
• confidence - it's nice to be a very bright child in a small school, moving him to a selective environment may squash that confidence very early
• more school choices would open up as right now I wouldn't want my 7 year old to be commuting an hour each way on the tube but when he is 11/12 I'd be okay with this so schools like City become an option
• I love being able to walk him to school and have him close by and I get a good few more years being able to do this (older DD is at a through school and have to pack her up in the car at 7.30am and feels like she really grew up fast when we started doing this)
• he is happy and settled - "think twice before moving a happy child"
• keeping him local and in a small prep I think will prolong his childhood in a lot of ways

For context, right now we'd be looking at Highgate or UCS, if we waited until 11+ then would be looking at Highgate, UCS, City and poss Westminster.

Highgate seems the more academic, but may be too "alpha" for him? UCS seems kinder but not that academic? Am I wrong?? Feels very early to make this decision hence am leaning towards not moving him.

Really, really struggling with what to do. We've already started 7+ prep "in case" and he's finding it fine but my heart isn't 100% in it.

Any thoughts greatly welcomed 😊

The only schools worth considering are Kings, St Pauls, Highgate, and Westminster

I assume this is a joke…

OP have you seen the schools? Go and have a look. If one of them feels “right” then go for it. If not then stick it out till 11+.

My suggestion is to go for the school that you think your son will be happiest in - not the one the best Oxbridge / A Level results. Results are great at all the schools you mentioned and if he is really bright then 11+ isn’t a going to be problem for him (the stress will be all yours as other parents make comments like the one above…)

Go for the schools that have the best Oxbridge results, as they are all good and expensive schools and most children are happy at any one. I personally don't think people should pay 30k to go to a school below City.

@javaprogrammer what do you mean by a school "below City"?

We are in London although we have girls, and we have kept our eldest in a 4-11 prep, our youngest is in nursery and we plan to keep her in the prep until 11 too. In our school only one child in the year left at 7+, most of them continue until 11. For us it's a very local school (5 min walk) and we love the small family feel to it, and the dds feel secure there, in a way they wouldn't if they went to a big all-through school. If he is bright and academic, the 11+ won't be a nightmare, and the prep will provide plenty of support. For a boy, I'd want to keep the options open for schools like City and Westminster at 11+.

If the prepping for 7+ is easy for him and not cutting into free time, then just sit for a couple of schools and see what offers you get and make the decision then. There is no point stressing over the decision much yet as he may not get offers even if he is very bright.

It's true that theres a lot of pressure on the 11+, and that taking the 7+ and getting in earlier does take some of that off. Especially with the schools you're looking at- they prep students nicely for 11+, or feed into their own senior schools. That being said, 7+ does still require some work as well! I've coached quite a few families through the 7+ and 11+ (for those schools) and I'd honestly say that its great if he naturally enjoys learning at this age and is happy to prep outside of school, then 7+ is prep can feel a little more seamless. As for the schools, I would recommend attending their opening days, as whilst they are academically strong, they each have different values and are often focused around areas of confidence building, etc. I hope that helps! 😀

DD went to a pre-prep in Hampstead and I don't remember 7+ being a walk in the park, children were doing quite a few sheets of prep every day in the year before the exam. It was a few years ago though and may be easier for some schools now (I don't think Highgate/Hampstead set have any problem paying 30K+ so top schools are less affected by VAT).

By 11+ time, the gap between laid back preps and hothouses widens significantly. What does your current prep do for 11+ prep? What's their track record of sending DCs to top schools? Would you need to top up with tutors?

If your DS finds 7+ prep easy, why not giving it a go and then decide based on offers? Nothing to lose and you would get an idea where your DS stands in a cohort of hothoused children - if he gets top offers with minimal prep, that would probably mean he stands a chance at Westminster later on. My DD sat for a top 5 private school and Henrietta Barnett even though I was 100% sure we would not accept their offers as it wasn't the right fit for us - I just needed a relatively objective measurement of her academic potential and performance under exam conditions. If you keep it low key, it's not stressful. 11+ is literally the last chance for many, that's why the level of stress is insane.
Personally, I would move as early as possible for peace of mind, but I totally get your points.

My DCs changed a LOT between 7 and 11 in capability, personality and likes/dislikes. We also discovered neurodiversity! And so did my choice of school. My DC is at a very sought after all through school and I don’t think it’s the best choice to continue. There is no clear answer but I think you’ll be able to make a more informed choice at 11+ both in terms of suitability for your DS as well as brand/value for money etc.