Help for private school for kids

[worriedtwinsmum]

I have twins - girl and boy who are in Year 6 in a state school.
I live in hounslow and I am concerned about the lack of good secondary schools in the area.
I applied to hampton boys and LEH and, KGS but the kids didnt get through.
The last year has been somewhat difficult as I unexpectedly fell pregnant and, both my inlaws were very ill through the year. They both passed away in december - during the days of the private school entrance exams.
I am desperate to get my kids into a good school as them being in a class of 30 children is not helping.
Please advise how I can get them into a good school or private school for Year 7 in Sept this year.
I know its late in the day but just need some advice and guidance as to what I can do now.
Thank you in advance.

no school will take the place of parent.

I understand that, but if a school provides varied sports etc and the children are in smaller groups then that helps.
In the current school, the kids only managed to get into one after school club in the last three years!

Hi, The fact you ds didn't pass Hampton and KGS doesn't mean he is not smart. Those exams are highly competitive and he would have been up against pupils who had a lot of tutoring in exam technique ( not all admittedly).
Do you think you have a reasonable chance with the state schools you have put down. I.e. Are you close to Lampton or Isleworth and Sion. Do you meet the faith criteria for Green Schools or have you just picked the best schools in Hounslow? Do kids from you road go to those schools?
St Catherine's in Twickenham might be worth contacting for your dd. As it is smaller but as the exams have past you might be too late. Prep schools for 2 years are also worth trying especially for your son. Not all take girls at 11. However they may well have a longer school day that would suit you.
If you are OK with them travelling into London and you are near the Piccadilly line Hill House maybe worth looking at

It's difficult to make private school suggestions, because it's the peak of their admissions rounds and the exams have been and gone (except perhaps for a few late sits) and it's quite unlikely that London schools will be short of candidates. And although some might make exceptional arrangements for those who have good reason for a late application (eg unexpected relocation) there's likely to be less chance willingness for others.

Are your DC currently at a prep? In which case you need to have the head hitting the phones to see if the schools made proper allowance for the special circumstances of the bereavement (ie that exam oerformance does not match what they know of their real level of performance). They will also have good links to at least some of the schools in your area and know which might be willing to take on an extra candidate now. Though if course, you'll have missed all the open days etc, so it'll be that much harder for you to know if the school is a good fit.

If not at a prep, you'll just have to make a list of all schools that can be reached without a hellish school run and hit the phones yourself.

Or, as previous posters have said, try a prep for two years. But think now about where they could go at year 9.

I have friends with boys at Isleworth & Syon (2 in Y10/1 in Y9) and they are all really pleased with it and a friend with a daughter at The Green School in Y13 who has just had offers from two excellent Medical Schools for medicine. I&S is pretty sporty (Mo Farah was there) and it seems to have a really good and encouraging ethos with lots of music and drama too.

Not sure how you can be worried about a school which, in the case of the Green School for Boys, hasn't yet opened. You are supposed to put 6 schools on the form though and you've only given Hounslow 3 choices so if you don't fit admission criteria for any of those you may find yourself offered another school that you didn't choose.

I recieved the letter from St Catherine's and my daughter didnt get a place.

For the state schools I applied for Green School, lampton, heathlands, Reach academy, brentford girls school - on the basis she would have got a place in a private.

Maybe I need a good tutor who can give her one to one and then we re apply in Yr 9?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a tutor?
I am so worried and near enough begging schools to give her a chance.
I know my son will be ok in a state school but my daughter needs to be taught in smaller groups.

What private schools have you phoned?

The private schools around here are crap struggling to stay afloat so would welcome new applicants at any time throughout the year.

I presume you can afford the fees?

I called st benedicts in Ealing, callled LeH again and st Catherine's.
Tried calling Radnor house
I can afford one child's fee for the moment

rollon - the super selective West London schools don't have any problem whatsoever filling their places two or three times over (as you will see from other threads where parents are desperate because they are on waiting lists) and unfortunately the OP's children didn't actually pass the exams so aren't even on the waiting lists in the first place.

OP - don't always assume that private school = smaller class sizes. Notting Hill & Ealing has larger classes than my ds's Hounslow borough state school because they like to keep class sizes to 24 and NH&E have 30 in a class - and dare I ask what you are going to do if they don't get in at Y9? Most of the girls schools do not even have Y9 entrance anyway. You may have to face the fact that you have no choice but to make use of the Hounslow state schools you seem to have written off. You can then save the money you would have paid out on fees (especially as you can only afford one lot of fees anyway) and pay for extra input in the form of tutoring and experiences which will improve your children's learning anyway.

Have you tried Kew House.
Have you tried St Augustines priory, I think they are less selective but you might be too late sapriory.com/admissions/admissions-process/
Have you contacted any prep schools. I know often only boys to 13.
You may well be pleasantly surprised by state secondary as there is likely to be more settling etc. Often there is more in the way of learning support.Appreciate not all schools set in year 7

Honestly I think you should be thinking about state schools. The class sizes are generally not that different, only marginally larger.

Even the likes of Kew House that some people have suggested are unlikely to be able to help you at this point. They have run their exam process and have a bunch of kids of their waitlist so they aren't going to struggle to fill their year, even though they are generally not first choice for most parents.

Having just gone through the exam process for the likes of St C's, KH and SHS, I haven't seen that much at the mid-tier private schools to make me think my daughter will get so much better education there that I am willing to pay £18k per year - after tax- versus at a decent local comp.

OP, try your best to contact those private schools, but it will be fine even if your DD doesn't get a place. Without the need to pay for private school, you can find the tutors to do some after school tutoring for the subjects your DD is weak, that's one to one attention. Work part time, hire cleaners, so you can have time to bring your DC to after school activities. And you mentioned you can only provide fees for one child, if you don't pay, the money saved can benefit both your DS and DD.

I always think private education is a plus, but not a necessary. As long as DC has the determination to do better, then whatever the school, with your support, they will sucess.

Hello everyone,
firstly thank you all for all the suggestions you gave when I first started on mumsnet.

I wanted to let you know that my son got Isleworth and syon school for boys and my daughter got Brentford School for girls.