Moving from State to Private for A Levels - worth it?

[Waspie]

I've read multiple threads about moving from private to state in order to try and facilitate better Uni offers but not the other way around.

DS is currently year 10. He's a good student and enjoys school. However, the state school he is at doesn't currently have a sixth form.

There are no other state schools locally. There is a sixth form college in a nearby town which would be about 50 minutes (each way) by bus. The college has an excellent reputation (and student outcomes) so is definitely an option. I'm also considering private school for sixth form as there are loads far closer than the college - a short bus journey or 15-20 minute cycle.

I've looked at the cost of three local privates and two are £6,500 per term and the other is £8,500. Two of these schools are in the Times' "Good Schools" list for 2022 and the other is very well thought of locally and has recently had an excellent ISI inspection.

Am I being silly considering this? Would the potential better A level grades and "enriched experienced" (brochure talk!) be worth the cost, or should I keep the money so that I can help with Uni expenses (assuming he goes)? What would you do in this position please?

There is always a lot of movement at Sixth Form both ways. We know of 3 kids moving from grammar to private for Sixth Form and 2 more moving from prestigious private to the grammar. Also a bit of private to another private going on.

£45k give or take £6k is a fair chunk of money.

Maybe try writing down what you would actually get/expect for that money?

• better grades?
• less travel
• more individualised support ???
• extra curricular?

if you think it might be worth it (and you have the money) you could then discuss it with your DS?

I live in Hants, it is standard for kids to travel for an hour to get to 6th form college.

We have done this with our middle one. The main driver is that we couldn't find a state 6th form offering one of the A levels they wanted to do. It was a bit of a reluctant move but it has been the absolute best thing we could have done.

They enjoy school in a way they never have before, confidence has gone through the roof and have thrown themselves into everything on offer. To be fair there isnt a lot of option not to. I like that they're busy most of the time and so have very little downtime, they have to be in school all day. They are expected to play sport twice a week and although most of them are a bit reluctant they do seem to enjoy it. I don't think that the teaching is any better than it was in the state 6th form my eldest was at because, generally there's v little difference in 6th form teaching in high performing schools at this age.

It has made it a bit harder though to get a PT job as they don't have that much free time .

If you've got a college with a good reputation I think you'd be a bit silly to spend all this cash on a private just to be local. If that's the only college locally, he won't be the only one travelling that far. It would be different if it was awful. 50mins is really not that far for sixth form. Most kids travel that far for their independent schools.
A lot of schools are raising their fees by 12% from next term. Who knows how much it'll be by the time your son starts. Sixth form is the most expensive in terms of fees too.
I think you're far better off saving that money for uni, deposit or even funding private travel.

Agree with this.

It would be different if the college wasn’t good but you say it has an excellent reputation so I’d just choose that. It’s only a couple of years. 50 minutes each way isn’t ideal but it’s also not the end of the world.

Interesting that there is movement within grammars Mumsafan. We're not in a grammar area. There are two super selective grammars (one boys one girls) but spaces in these are like hen's teeth.

Yes, it's a very large sum of money TeenDivided. I could get it but I don't know if I need to/want to or whether it would be better spent helping with Uni or a deposit on a flat later on. All four of your points really . They all also have excellent sports provision which DS would love. We don't need to decide now of course, I'm just thinking... I'm a little disillusioned with state at the moment s DS hasn't had a teacher in two subjects for pretty much all of this year - just substitute teachers with worksheets.

Yes, I agree with it too The sixth form college is enormous - a proper campus style and certainly other children he's at school with now will be going there. He is just a lazy git and, I feel, more likely to pull his finger out and study in small groups. He's very able but lacks motivation.

We will visit everything we can in the Autumn.

DP agrees with you all - he got a bus to school from age 11. I grew up in London and if it was far enough away to have to get a bus it was almost in a different time zone

@Waspie The situation with teachers is dire in all sectors. Since opting out of the TPS some private schools are in an even worse position than state schools. Private doesn't guarantee your son will have a teacher unfortunately.
If you're going to send him to a school that's £8.5k a term, you obviously have some assets and your son is unlikely to qualify for full student loan. If he does decide to go to uni, and at that point you've spent all your savings, he will be one of very few without financial support. Don't underestimate the lifestyle kids from these schools tend to have too, especially at sixth form level. Obviously not everyone will be loaded but there is a lot more disposable income floating around and your son may struggle with that.
Alternatively he may absolutely love it and have no problem, but equally that's probably going to be the case at the college. Private doesn't guarantee anything except, in your cause, a shorter commute.

If I could easily afford it, I would.

I would never scrimp and sacrifice for it though. It's far too much pressure to put on a 16 year old who may be figuring all sorts of things out for themselves and may not welcome the burden of that kind of expectation.

@Waspie I get you re London but tbh it's not uncommon for kids in London to travel that long for sixth form or college. My daughter is in your son's year and her BF is in the year above. Her commute to college will be 55min door to door in September as that's the college that's running the course she wants. A lot of her friends are experiencing the same. We're Zone 2/3 so hardly the sticks.

6th form colleges can be a good half way stepping stone to university, if they are ready. They tend to expect their students / 'young adults' to be more independent.

That's a very interesting point about teachers in private schools Dodgeitornot - thank you. I hadn't realised this shortage extended to private schools as I assumed the better pay and conditions(?) would help aid retention.

We live comfortably within our means but the money for this would come from an inheritance I was fortunate to receive and also an endowment policy which matures next year. I wasn't planning to spend any on school fees but to save it towards Uni/house deposit.

DS is an only child btw so no other child's needs to consider.

I briefly considered it for my eldest, but decided the money would be better spent supporting through uni. I guess if you could afford uni costs anyway and you have a separate pot of money that could cover school fees then it’s more doable. Maybe have a look around all of them and see what your DS thinks.

I guess that's one of my unvoiced concerns TeenDivided. He, as I think a lot of children are these days, isn't very worldly (and quite lazy). A campus style sixth form could be good for him - make him more independent, or he could just not do any work and bomb everything!

He doesn't know what he wants to do even for A levels, let alone Uni/career.

Good points Hotcuppatea - DS would not like to think that we're being put under any financial pressure to pay for him.

Point taken Dodgeitornot. My son's best friend is also off to college in September and going to a specialist college to facilitate the career he wants to pursue. He is motivated to do the longer journey because he sees the end result. DS has no idea what he wants to do and is likely to just go for the easiest option.

Not saying your local private school does have an issue with teacher retention @Waspie but pay for teachers is not better in private school IME. Or not always.

We moved from private to grammar for 6th. Best thing ever. Absolutely excelling.

Agreed Nomorescreentime. I suspect I'll come to the same conclusion

I have a few friends and acquaintances who are teachers in both sectors and I suspect you are right clary but those working at private schools seem to be happier in their jobs at the moment. I know the profession is difficult all round (understatement of the year!)

Thanks spellingtest but we are in a comprehensive area. No grammar schools in the borough, or county, at all.

In that case OP I'd save that money for a good motivational tutor once he decides what he wants to do. I get the appeal, but I'm not sure its worth it. The open day will make it even harder, so I don't think I'd even go unless you really are prepared to part ways with your money. A large chunk of their money will be spent on marketing so private school open days are amazing and make it so that it's quite difficult to change your mind.
I'm not trying to say they're all crap, my daughter is moving to a private now, but it's really not the be all end all, esp if you have a free alternative.

I suggest State and pay for a good tutor.

My best friend is a teacher and she maintains "you can't buy brain cells"
If kids are bright and academic they'll do well academically
That money would be far better conserved for university or a house deposit

I agree (again) Dodgeitornot. I suspect if I go to one of the Open days I'll be tempted to sell a kidney to pay for it

A tutor is a good idea - I'll look into that option.

I agree that if you are naturally academic you will generally do well. I just think that it may be possible to do better. That's my background talking though. I went to a lousy comp but still managed to get decent A levels in spite of the school. Had I gone to a decent school I may have done even better. Or I may not - who knows!

My head certainly says sixth form college and save the money for Uni.

This has been very helpful; thank you all.

I would choose the state school, it sounds like PS or similar, and that’s good preparation for the independence of uni. A large college/sixth form will have more of a university feel than a small private school, and will help bridge the gap.

@Waspie Apologies if I've misunderstood but you say that there are no grammars but also that there are two super selective grammars? If there are super selective grammars within reasonable travelling distance I wouldn't write them off as an option. I went to a super selective grammar and we had quite a few external people join us at sixth form, and I know of others who have joined other super selective grammars at sixth form too. The schools near you may be different and have few external places (or of course your DS may not want to go there/they don't offer the subjects he wants, etc) but I would definitely think they are worth looking into as a potential option

Dd moved from private (selective girls) school to grammar (mixed) at sixth form. She had to travel further for it (5 min car, 45 min train, 10 min walk) but we weren't too worried about that as it's for less than 2 years. She also considered the large sixth form college, but transport connections weren't so good.

She did well (A*AA) and so she couldn't really have done much better if she'd not moved. I really liked her private school but felt it gave most value in years 7-9 before external exams and constant testing became the priority, hence why I wasn't too bothered about her leaving for sixth form. Especially as they're only really there until the April/early May of year 13, so you're paying for two years and getting less! So my advice would be not to waste your money!