Dd moving schools, current school wants her to stay until the end of this term

[lottielou7]

I posted a while back about the problems my dd has been having in her independent school and how I had decided to try to move her. These were issues affecting other people but having an impact on her, emotionally as there are only 20 students in the year. We went to look at one of the local schools which is very difficult to get a place at. All of our secondary schools are oversubscribed but this one is particularly so. She and I were both impressed with it when we had a tour and she was pleased with the art department too, which is important because she's exceptionally talented in that area. They have offered her a place to start after half term.

This has all come as a bit of a shock to her current school and I've been asked to go to a meeting with the head, but this will be after half term now. The head of year has said that moving dd after half term won't give her or her peers time to come to terms with the fact she's leaving.

It is a shame because she loves the teachers at this school (and was crying last night because she will miss them) but not the students so much. I think that speaks volumes though!

I feel it would be best for her to move after half term but I'm second guessing myself now because her current school wants her to stay at least until the end of term. Am I doing the right thing?

I've posted to ask advice and unfortunately all I've got in response is negative (irrelevant) information about one of the sister schools which is undersubscribed (the one my dd is going to is oversubscribed). And someone else telling me it was a terrible school back in the day when it was run by different people entirely and had different governors.

I think I know the school you are chatting about, having contributed to other thread! Ime students quickly settle in and make new friends, even when they know no one else. Schools buddy them up with the lovely kids and that school is very good now. She'll be fine!

I wouldn't have agreed for her to go there if I thought it was bad. We looked at Monmouth Girls school and dd preferred this one. Many of the schools which were 'desirable' when I was a child no longer are. So really I don't think a school depends as much on its catchment as the people running it.

I agree-hope your dd settles in well.

Thank you Haggis

Move her after half term, she'll be settled in for September then.

I'm shocked at a school needing time to come to terms with a pupil leaving. More like come to terms with losing your fees I guess.

I hope you fill in the old school fully on why your dd wasn't happy and the bullying of the SN pupil. It sounds awful.

I think moving her now is absolutely the right decision. Otherwise she has the whole 'new school' thing looming over the summer holidays. Plus it sounds very much as if her old school planned to work on her to get her to change her mind. Not impressive.