When to look at private senior schools? Year 3.

[freakazoidroid]

Daughter is in yr 3 . Would we look a bit daft looking at senior schools whilst she is only 7 ?

Yes , look in y5. You'll have a better idea of her strengths and interests and less likelihood of school heads changing in the interim. U.S. she already at a prep school as conversations started in y4 for suitable destinations.

I started to find out about the options in my area (west London) when DS was in year 4, how academic they were, what sports were strong, the logistics of getting to school, their reputation and what preparation was needed to pass the entrance exams etc and then at the end of year 4 I had a good idea of the academic potential of DS so I sorted the schools we liked into would be amazing to get in, likely to get in and dead certain. And from the beginning of y5 we embarked into a marathon of coaching and tutoring on top of what his prep school was doing, plus the bloody extra curricular so he could have something to talk about at interview and convince the schools that he would be an asset for them and make them shine in that domain. It was stressful, tiring, expensive, but it paid off as he got a scholarship in one of our favourite school. The oversubscribed schools will not let you come and visit before your DC is in year 5, smaller schools are more friendly and flexible.

I would look at a range of private schools in year 4, assuming you have that much choice near you - we do. Then in year 5 I would look again at the favourites to make a short list. Bear in mind that for some schools you will need to have registered early as entrance exams are often towards the beginning of year 6.

Depends whether any have entry exams / requirements. A number of private schools have junior schools attached to them and there is automatic transfer to senior school from the junior school. The entrance requirements at Year 4 and Year 5 are slightly less stringent / testing than for entry at Year 7. So a couple of DS' friends (now Year 6) moved in Year 4 or 5.

If you are considering boarding in any fashion, I would recommend looking early. Some boarding schools close their lists some time in advance. For these few schools, Y3 is definitely not too early.