ShouLd my son change schools in Year 10 ? Isn't it too late / disruptive?

[Suley98cat]

Hi,
I am new to mumsnet so apologies if this is not the way to start a new question!
My son is 13 years and is due to start Year 10 in September
He has never really been happy at his boys school but he and I have been reluctant to change as he has really good friends,does well academically and he has never been really unhappy with any aspect of the school.
He is now adamant he wants to change schools as he dislikes many things mainly teachers ( the way they teach ) some activities the school makes them do,singing,meditation and he hates that there are no girls !
He is a happy boy and has many friends but I know he has never been truly happy or settled at his school and with their style of teaching but I am scared to approach schools as I am worried he won't settle there either.Also I am pretty sure no private school will take someone in the midst of their GCSES starting.
Any advice?

My DD switched private schools at the start of Y10 - no problems.

The receiving school will have no qualms if he passes the entrance exam (if any) and they have a space.

There may be some issues if they have already started GCSE courses and your son hasn't, but with linear qualifications now, that should be much of an issue.

You need to get your skates on as is is the last week for many schools.

Thank you really worried as its such a big risk.

Is there a suitable UTC near you?

Some of these have their first year of entry at year 10 so all the children would be new starters!

There are schools who will take him in year 10. We moved DD half way through year 9 & a year later we realised we picked the wrong school. We decided keeping her where she was was the best option, however had we known what we did earlier, we would have moved her. Does this help OP? Probably not, but in your position I would certainly explore the alternative options.

Was going to change name for this but couldn't be bothered.
We moved one child at the end of y9 (literally decided 2 days before the end of term), from one fee paying to another. He was really unhappy at school A and doing badly in all respects, academic, social, behavioural.
School B has been a total success story for him, got excellent GCSE's, plays first team rugby, and has just been made head boy
when i think about the unhappy grumpy boy he was before we moved him i kick myself for not acting sooner.
Not really blaming school A either, as have left some dc there, but it was wrong for him.

dd changed school at the start of year 10 and it worked well. The desire to impress new teachers made her work extra hard so she achieved really good year 10 module results.

I am thinking about moving my girls too, one is at end of year 9. Am finding it a very difficult position but just trying to focus on what is best for them.

If he really wants to move, and isn't the kind of boy who will want this today and feel the opposite by the end of the week, then I think his chances of doing well at a new school he's been involved in choosing are better than his chances of doing well somewhere he really doesn't want to be.

I wouldn't move a child at this age on a whim, but if he's never felt settled there, then that's an important factor. His "buy-in" to the school he goes to will be a big factor in him putting the effort into doing well.

Our school is very small and often parents choose it because their children need a calm nurturing environment. As a result sometimes kids come in the middle of the week in the middle of a term in the middle of a year - you can't predict when a crisis comes and you can't always wait until the end of term/year to get your child out of what might have been a damaging environment. If there is a space and you have passed either the entrance exam for Y& and Y8 or the CE for the other years and they think the child will suit the school and the school will suit the child - they will do what needs doing to the best of their ability.

A couple of years ago a girl came at the start of Y11 having had a really bad experience at her old school. The exam boards for some of her subjects were different but the school gave her lunchtime lessons for the extra bits and she got all As and Bs in her gcse

Getting the right environment is crucial - look around at what is out there before making any decision and ask your ds what school he would rather be at. It could easily be hormones kicking in when everything has a negative connotation attached to it and in reality he would be fine staying put