Admissions to Independent/Public Schools and out of year

[HumphryCushion]

Hello
It is possible that my dyspraxic and loveable but socially immature child may be out of year when it comes to apply to senior schools. Can I have your experiences on this?

Many thanks

There's no one answer.

Some schools (eg Eton) have a specified window of flexibility (for summer borns), many will consider on a case-by-case basis, some will not consider it at all.

Have you asked the school/s you are interested in how they go about it?

IME, it works find the DC is a near miss for the main age of the cohort (so only a few weeks older or younger than the oldest/youngest in the normal age range). I don't really know anyone who has had a larger gap.

I haven't yet asked any schools yet, still very early in the process. But would like to have a clear view on what might happen if we do defer. My son is bright, but given the dyspraxia it may be preferable for him to repeat a year

You do need to find this out early, because you need to see if there are any school/s in your area that would consider an out-of-cohort pupil. And if not, then you'll have to decide when you transfer - doing it at 11+ when still in year 5 will bring challenges. Staying at prep and trying a 13+ when still in year 7 is another option). Or if you have to leave current school at end of year 6, then you might need to look for an ad hoc year 8 place, which is fine in places where schools aren't too full, but riskier in hotspots.

I am thinking of common entrance and 13 plus entry. So my son would stay at his prep another year.

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My son is out of year, now in Year 9. He went from Y2 to Y1 when moving schools and it has been so successful. We looked at lots of senior school and it wasn't a problem at all, big names and smaller local schools included. I would phone the schools you are interested in and ask.
At his prep school there are a fair few children up/down year groups, it isn't unusual in the independent sector.

Lots of independent schools do this, especially for children for whom English is a second language and a few immature summer borns.

However, do your homework on the school to ensure it will nurture and educate him. My DD's prep school tended to have a couple down a year so are you repeating Y8 or is he down a year already? Your school should advise too. It is what you are paying for! They have contacts and must know where a good fit would be!

I considered this with my DD. I phoned around and all but one of the selective independents I spoke to said no - they would assess based on age rather than school year.

One registrar told me that their reasoning was that entry was so competitive and in demand that if they started allowing people to apply out of their chronological year group then some parents would hold their kids back a year purely to try and gain an advantage on the 11+.

We are in London though and nearby independents are hugely oversubscribed and so able to be more demanding.

Lots of private schools do this. I think Prince Harry was out of year at Eton.

One of the preps my DS played at rugby had at least two out of year boys on their front row. One looked as if he would not be out of place in a 6 th form!

That is reassuring. He is not out of year at the moment, but it has been suggested that this may be sensible given some of the "challenges" he has