State to private

[froomeonthebroom]

Does anyone have a child who has transferred from state to private school at the start of Y9?

We are looking into this for our DS and would welcome any advice. As I see it, the main barriers are the entrance exams as he doesn't seem to have covered a lot of the content.

What else do I need to think about?

He would need to be able to settle and integrate pretty quickly and have a fairly clear idea of what subjects he might pursue longer term, bearing in mind gcse options are often chosen early in year 9. How large is y9 intake and it will be predominantly pupils from prep schools joining.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not too worried about the integration aspect and he is pretty clear on what subjects to take I think!

I would say familiarise yourself with the entry requirements of the senior school you are looking at.

The kids from prep schools sit Common Entrance exams and depending on the senior school in question you are usually expected to get 55% +. However there will also be a route for non prep school kids, I think the school will invite them to come and sit exams in the core subjects, obviously subjects like Latin would not be expected if the child hasn’t studied this previously. The school may have past papers or may point you towards the ISEB common entrance books. A reference from current school is also usually asked for. There will be an interview at some point too.

I am no expert but have children in independent schools so know a little. I wouldn’t worry about coming from a state school from a fitting in perspective, there are large numbers all new in yr9 and in my experience the kids don’t care or necessarily know if you are joining from a prep or state. The senior school should be happy to answer any questions you have and give a lot of help in the first year.

Only other thing I can think of is there is lots of uniform and lots of sports. Hope this helps.

I'd also say to make sure that you apply to different schools so that you have a back up option that's easier to get into.

Thanks both. I must admit Latin did concern me! We are going to open days at the 2 schools we are looking at so will make sure I have a list of questions to ask.

Good plan, in my experience a strong maths/science child is of interest to most of the senior schools.

My daughter transferred to an independent school from a state school at that age and it was a very good move for her. To be honest, it was a bit of a shock for her academically; she'd definitely been coasting at her state school but very soon realised her new school needed some effort.
(The school uniform was eye-wateringly expensive; her school blouses were £24 each in the early 1990s, to say nothing of the blazer, and skirts etc etc)

If it’s a school that starts in yr 9 I doubt it will too much of a problem.
Unless it’s a very academic school in which they case they will most likely to have pre tested in yr 6 or 7 and you wouldn’t be posting here, Latin is usually optional DS2’s friends who went to less academic but well known boarding schools often didn’t study Latin at prep because there was no requirement for it. Secondly if they have boarders which many schools starting in yr 9 do there are likely to be children from outside of the UK who also haven’t studied Latin.
Most schools do offer an alternative to CE for those not a preps.
Lastly if it’s a school starting in yr 9 the first year is a settling phase for all and IME choose their GCSE options in yr 10.

If places are oversubscribed and they take from prep schools that go up to 13 I'd get an experienced tutor tbh

Completely depends on the school.
My DD at an independent secondary has just gone into yr9 (she started in yr7). She has already dropped Latin (they drop 4 subjects going into yr9 and then a further 3 to get to their GCSE options in yr10)

Is it a school that starts at yr9 / has a 13+ entry or are you going for an occasional in year place?

My dd went from State to private in year 9. She sat the entrance exams with a quick look through the 11+ revision books you buy on Amazon.

I agree with an earlier poster, she was so far behind despite getting into the school. However with smaller classes and therefore nowhere to hide she caught up quickly.

Now in year 10 she is a completely different child. Confident, outgoing and thriving. I would definitely recommend it if you can.