Advice on private schools

[BrightLight04]

My 8y old DD is going to be in Y5 private school this year and it's time to start looking into the secondary schools. She's average in Maths and way below average in English (Comprehension and Creative writing are disaster). Hates reading anything hence no vocabulary. She has a brilliant tutor who struggles with her too. No SEN issues I was told about so far. I am obviously not looking into high profile schools, in fact I will have to put her name down for a state school option too as I fear a complete fiasco during 11+ exams. Which private schools might be an option for her? We are in SW London. Thank you.

Where does her current school suggest?

Single sex or co-ed? Any other features you particularly value in a schooo?

Current school won't be suggesting any schools at this stage as she has just finished Y4.
I don't mind single nor co-ed.

Has it not occurred to you that the state sector might suit her better, OP? You refer to it as it it's the bottom of the barrel.

If she is weak academically, entering her for the 11plus makes no sense at all.

If she "hates reading" and has " no vocabulary" what are you doing to address this?

When you say she’s average in maths and way below in English, do you mean in comparison to the rest of the class, or nationally?

No, I think private is better option for her as it can give much more than state.

We are reading every day together or she reads herself and tells me back what she read. I am working on it but it's a struggle.

How is your 8 year old about to go into year 5? That would put her a year ahead- any child who turns 8 by the 31st August will be going into y4.

@daisypond

When you say she’s average in maths and way below in English, do you mean in comparison to the rest of the class, or nationally?

They've done GL assessment at the end of the year and Maths is 122, English 105.

Also either way, she doesn't sound like she's making very good progress. A good state school might be more supportive of her knowledge gaps.

@Musication

How is your 8 year old about to go into year 5? That would put her a year ahead- any child who turns 8 by the 31st August will be going into y4.

She's August born. She will just turn 9 at the beginning of Y5

@Musication

Also either way, she doesn't sound like she's making very good progress. A good state school might be more supportive of her knowledge gaps.

Looking into private and state if she won't pass 11+.

Aren’t those scores average and above average, though? Is 100 not the average? Are the scores age-adjusted? What does her tutor say?

Where in SW London? Your school will give you some suggestions in year 5. You could look at Surbiton High, Sutton High, Streatham and Clapham girls, Notre Dame in Cobham if looking at girls school. For mixed you could look at perhaps Ewell Castle, Kew House, Hall School Wimbledon

The above are all good recommendations. Her maths is high so you need to look at getting her a. English tutor to help with the 11+ process but her English generally. I would also look at radnor house and st catherines depending on where you are In SW London.

Audio books could be a good way to broaden her reading exposure.

Have a look at Sutton High GDST.

I think you've written off off the whole state sector without good reason.

I'm a school Governor in a MAT and I've seen teachers be incredibly supportive and achieve great things with children who might need a little help.

The above recommendations are good.

Do you have a meeting with your school to discuss future schools coming up? I would make sure you're well prepared for that, with ideas on what's important to you/DD, eg co-Ed, how far you are prepared to travel, whether green space matters, any particular sports or music. Your tutor may also be able to advise.

St John's is another option to consider.

Regarding getting the English score up, can you read to your DD and talk about the story / meaning of words?

Also, it's worth asking the school whether those scores are already adjusted for age, and how the exams for different target schools works. There may be schools that look more at maths than English, and that adjust her score up for being August born.

Sounds like private sector hadn’t really helped her so far…

What does your DD like? Independent schools are brilliant for extracurricular activities and some are leaning towards arts, music, etc. Some are quite sporty.

Depending on your DDs personality, she may enjoy small class sizes and a small, nurturing school or the opposite.

As an example, our DS is very outgoing and loves sports. In addition to academics, we also wanted a big secondary school where the sports teams were brilliant. That school would be completely unsuitable for a shy boy who wanted to “have a go” at different sports as he never would have made even the F team.

DS would have hated a small school as he would have missed the buzz of a big school. He would also have hated his football/cricket team loosing against other schools due to a small selection of boys to chose from.

Other schools would have a higher focus on arts/music. We would have loved that but for us the school size and sports were more important.

I really don’t think you should be entering her for 11+ . The stress for a child who is not academic will be immense and unfair. Grammar schools in our area are far more academic than most private schools .
A decent comprehensive would be better placed for her learning gap or a private school that is less competitive with exam results.

122 in maths on GL is not average. It’s the 8th stamina and so above average (and towards the top end of that).

So it’s just her English letting her down, which can be worked on.

*stanine

I’ve been down this route , you need to get a private Ed Psych assessment . That differentiation if scores is a red flag . I really wish I had done this earlier.

If she's August born can she repeat a year?