camden state primaries to private secondaries - advice please

[LouYK]

What are your experiences of children going from state primaries to private secondaries? I understand it is essential to do extra work and tutoring but is the state curriculum vastly different to private primaries? What about the senior schools, do they openly favour the feeder schools meaning there is a heavily reduced chance for the state educated? Are there any state primaries in Camden which feed into the privates? If I am set on a private secondary education should I not even be considering a state primary? Any comments, points of view etc much appreciated. Thanks!

Hello I'm in neighbouring borough and kids only now in primary school so can't speak with any authority, but there are far more children in private secondary schools than in private primaries so statistically it's evident that many kids go from state to private. You can ask secondary schools how many kids they take from which sector. Eg I know that City boys takes over half from state schools at their 10+ and 11+ entries. Schools which have their main intake at 13+ are obviously not gunning for state educated kids.
People will tell you that unless you go private from 2 your kids have no chance. I'm presuming that this isn't the case and I don't have any evidence to suggest otherwise.
As to feeder schools, selective secondaries want the cleverest kids or ones with most potential - they won't care where from.

We're in another London borough but I think about 25 out of 30 in the class at DDs state primary are going to Private Secondaries in September. Most of them had some sort of tutoring I expect but a large number do go to private each year.

Should say that it is an OFSTED 'outstanding' primary but not one that features in the best schools lists etc etc- just a nice little school really.

We've done this in a different bit of London, to a selective secondary. For the big, good, independents, they will make every effort to level the playing field and it is not a fact-based curriculum. So the exams should be based on the NC, but your dc will need practise probably, either with you or through tutors, as they may not have covered the relevant maths say by the times the exams are, and will certainly not have had the chance to do timed papers of that sort. If you visit the schools in the autumn, you can ask them about proportion coming from the state sector, and will probably be reassured, and also about the content of the exams. There may also be info on the websites.

But don't worry - have watched this and done it for several years now and have come to the conclusion that bright children from decent state primaries who have done sensible amount of prep at home (not rocket science, you can do it with books from WH Smiths) have as good as, if not better, chances than those from preps. And the prep children will, IME, have been doing shedloads of past papers at home as well.

You mention Camden, so I'd hazard a guess that you're looking for schools for boys. You do not say and it may be too early to know if you're looking for highly selective places.

Senior school 13+ entrants lists will show you which preps to start looking at. You may have the choice of 11+ or 8+ entry, in the latter case you may have to register early. If your boy is academically able, switching at 11+ will be ample time to prepare for 13+ entry tests at Eton/Winchester or St Paul's/ Westminster. Early registration is also unnecessary if you're confident about the brute force of his intellect getting him through the 11+ entry exams at highly selective preps. Your local, UCS, is good, but many London day schools are logistically do-able at 11+ if it suits.

IME highly selective preps will take anyone at 11+ with just what they've spent their lives up to then absorbing. They will spot potential, welcome you and deliver the goods. Good but less academically-selective ones will also match your boy/s to suitable senior schools. If you switch at 11+ an experienced prep will do this well, so the best place to start to look is at the senior school entrants list. Senior schools may try to encourage siblings and other relatives, but mostly they go for the teachable and fee certainty, regardless of how venerable they appear. You won't be disadvantaged coming from a Camden primary if 11+ prep entry is what you settle for. Feeders are factual. If you home prep for 13+ [very rare but not unheard of] you'll be a feeder school if he gets in.

As for home support for prep entry, visiting or talking to the schools will steer you towards what you're happy to do and what they need. Camden primaries are not renown as dens of anti-learning, so I'd guess any extra support you need to give will be limited. The best guidance is the school you've set your sights on. They know best, they've seen more boys than individual parents can produce, and they know what they can/not deliver at 13+. If you choose your school well, you will probably get good news in the Spring.

Advice from other angst ridden parents, whose boys are not yours, is often irrelevant, even though it's good sport sometimes.

Thank you for all your helpful comments. I never thought of swiching to a prep at 11 for 13+ preparation. Was thinking of 11+ entry to avoid too many changes. Anyway, I want to get him down for the good primaries in any eventuality so need to get on to that first. Argh! Schools, I had no idea it would be such a minefield!