Did you go to private or grammar and are sending your child to state school?

[TheWoodenSpoonOfMischief]

How do you feel about it?
Dh and I went to private and grammar respectively but ds1 will go to the local comprehensive. I hope he'll be fine there but I feel a bit sad that we can't offer him the same type of education we had.
I obviously don't want to offend anyone with my remarks and I know lots of children do well in state.
Just want to hear from anyone who's done the same.

Nicole: you did suggest that private ed buys a route out from children who make teaching and learning harder...implying a social reason for buying private ed - to escape these children.

Perhaps I live in a less wealthy area, but not one child in DC's class left primary to go to private school - the secondary has the complete academic range including some children who were doing L8 maths in Yr 8.

The money spent per head - that is a huge difference. Does it include Pupil Premuim? Because many London schools have high levels of FSM?I guess London weighting on teachers salaries, and higher land and overheads would account for some - but who decides, and why such discrepancies?

(I do live in a borough which is on average very much 'not wealthy', and has some of the poorest wards in the country)

I live in the third poorest ward of a borough which is in the bottom third for deprivation in London. It is very rough. It seems to me that locally, a high proportion of m/c family with enough disposable income to go private for secondary choose to do just that. The make up of local primaries is markedly different from that of local secondaries. I have ended up sending my own DC to comps out of borough which are more representative of the wider community in London. It makes me sad that my DC can't continue locally in the sort of classes that they were in in primary, which have the full spread of ability and social background.

Should add that the two nearest comps are both OFSTED rated 'good' with excellent value added.

In the private school where I work fees have increased on average by 5% for the last few years - well above the average wage rise.

Page 6 of this report
www.killik.com/site/assets/files/30055/seq620_killik_privateeducationreport_2col_0614.pdf
Show how much private school fees have risen above inflation since 1990.

I went to a crap comprehensive. Dds realistic choice of state school comprehensive was a different one, but with the same shit leadership, ethos and teaching. Therefore she's at independent. Wouldn't have gone through the whole scholarship/ bursary process, or for that matter scrimped to pay full fees if I was a bit better off, if the local state alternatives were any good. However buying into catchment for the good ones, or a decade of fake religion wasn't an option.

Does buying a house in the catchment area of a good school really cost all that much in (possibly non-London) places? I live in the catchment area of the local desirable comprehensive, but most of the rest of the local secondary schools are very good, too, and houses in this area aren't more expensive than in other areas of similar niceness and convenience out of catchment.

I went to private (secondary - well, come to think of it primary too, but that was abroad so different) and will almost certainly send my child to state. A number of reasons for this. I enjoyed my time at school but with hindsights there were many drawbacks and it was a very limiting experience in many ways. Partly, having gone into the arts, I am unlikely to be able to afford it - but even if I could, I would be looking at our excellent local grammar or outstanding state schools first rather than the private school my brother went to.

I went to private (secondary - well, come to think of it primary too, but that was abroad so different) and will almost certainly send my child to state. A number of reasons for this. I enjoyed my time at school but with hindsights there were many drawbacks and it was a very limiting experience in many ways. Partly, having gone into the arts, I am unlikely to be able to afford it - but even if I could, I would be looking at our excellent local grammar or outstanding state schools first rather than the private school my brother went to.

Jasper
Does buying a house in the catchment area of a good school really cost all that much
I cannot afford to buy the house I live in
in a shitty catchment.
To get a house in a decent catchment would cost 25% more
which I still cannot afford.

Houses are many many times average salaries : only those in the top 20% of earnings can afford to buy at all at the moment.

I went to a private girls school, as did my 3 siblings. Although we all went to uni only one of us 'excelled' at it and has a good career probably from it. A few girls in my year still ended up as teenage mothers so I don't think that's statistically much different from our local HS which has a good reputation. DH and I can't afford private and I really don't think it's worth it - the DDs will just need to work hard and if I feel they are struggling in a subject I plan to get a private tutor- still much cheaper than private school.

Jasper I am in one of the catchments mentioned in this article. Premium for house in catchment is estimated at 200%+. It's ludicrous.
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/news/10789846/Popular-state-schools-creating-mini-house-bubble.html

But the first school on that list that actually admits on proximity rather than selective results is Holland Park at no 4 and then the next 'proximity' admission at no 6
is Graveney, both with a house prices which ate actually lower than the surrounding area. Likewise the Oratory commands low (sic) local
prices, which is hardly surprising because where you live has absolutely no bearing on your chances of a place at the school.

So, a press release written by the Good Schools Guide and Estate Agents.

I am sure many schools targeted as THE school to go to by middle class families do affect house prices , but there are also countless excellent schools where people just happen to live.

Ooh, I'm in one of those catchment areas, too. Houses in my street are pretty cheap, though, by local standards.

I went to a state then a grammar school. Both had their issues. The big city secondary - poverty, low expectations and limited provisions for talented kids.

The small town grammar - mostly made up of wealthier kids who mocked me for being poor, higher expectations but with that came higher prices for materials/trips etc, talented kids were the norm so education suited. A few teachers did spot potential and extra need and provided support/extra tuition.

Mine will go to which ever one can provide him the best support for his SEN/SN and usually its not always grammar schools but state and I am OK with that. Extra tuition plus music lessons will be budgeted for as and when to keep him on track

nicole, if you live in such a deprived borough it is hard to see how th existence of private schools makes much diffence to you, as presumably not many children in the borough are even going to independent schools.

One of the reasons for better schools is ...

... that you get loads of cash thrown at you.

the City of London getting the most at £8,595 ahead of Tower Hamlets (£7,014) and Hackney (£6,680.05) ... At the other end of the scale, Cambridgeshire is the worst funded per-pupil at £3,950, followed by South Gloucestershire (£3,969) and Leicestershire (£3,995)

^

This. We live in Cambridgeshire, and our local primary schools are (1) over subscribed (the new one they haven't even finished building yet is already full) (2) not exactly stellar (if I'm being generous). At secondary, the position is horrific (only 36% of students got 5A* to C at GCSE inc Maths and English this year - last year was a whopping 38%!).

OP - your child(ren) will be fine, so long as you do your homework on which of the local schools would be best for them, and manage to get them into a decent and supportive school. If, on the other hand, your local school's OFSTED reports, results and the atmosphere you experience when visiting the school make you worried, then you may want to consider other options (including moving).

The schools in my area aren't bad. The local catchment school gets around 64% A-C at GCSE. It's not the best in the area by a long shot but it's the one my dcs are likely to get into.
I think we re lucky because it's a super selective grammar school area and obviously not everyone can get in, so there are lots of kids in the local schools that are bright or have been tutored and have parents that push them to do well.

I went to a grammar school and my son is at a comp. Well it's not quite like that here as we're in an 11 plus area so the comps have very few grammar-achieving children as part of the mix.

The first school he wasat was dreadful and he was very unhappy, so we moved him over in Y7 and he's in another comp now.

He loves it as his first criterion is a happy social set up and it's got that. He's not very academic but that doesn't matter as he tries hard, and is happy. The HT likes the children; this matters enormously.

The HT at the previous school didn't seem to like children very much. That was never going to work out.

My second baby is highly academic and I imagine will go to a grammar, probably a super selective, though he's only just 8 - I am fairly sure he'd pass the 11 plus if he took it now tbh.

Different schools uit different children. Have a very good look around and try to choose the one you feel happiest about.

I have to admit I like the idea of my children being in that 'safe and privileged' environment but you have to be realistic. Ds1 was never going to manage it; he is dyslexic and his brain just doesn't work that way. So it was a case of finding a school where he'd be happy and finally we have done that.

Private and state grammar - (me/their father); children private. That is working for us but as can be seen above plenty of parents go the state route and the children do fine.

On the other way round...
Same here. DH & I had mediocre education in state schools.
Our DC were not unhappy at the local outstanding primary, but were bored - much happier when moved to local selective prep.
Where we live the primaries are generally good (leafy London suburb) , but until recently the secondaries have been very poor (look at the comparisons of 'expected progress' on the Dfe website - shocking) and the nearest is still dire, despite employing glossy PR people to talk it up.
DH and I feel that it is the 'ride'; that matters, more than the 'destination', so although we have earned a lot of money, and so have had a good 'outcome', we want out DC to have happy and stimulating school life, which would not be possible at the local secondary.

The Tiffin 'catchment' is vastly bigger than 14k! Kids come from as far away as Portsmouth (60+ miles away) - no cut-off on distance.