We are in a dilemma between choosing our local comprehensive state school and an Independent school. Our child (DC) is in Year 8 at a Comprehensive school, which is rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. DC has received a music scholarship and additional bursary assistance, which has significantly reduced the fees at the local independent school for Year 9 entry. This independent school may not be highly academic, but it excels in music and sports, and offers excellent pastoral care. The GCSE results are almost similar at both schools. We are considering the benefits of smaller class sizes and other facilities at the independent school, which could help DC excel and achieve good scores at GCSE. Music would be a bonus, as DC will be offered 2 free music lessons per week as part of scholarship. On the other hand, continuing in the comprehensive school may yield the same academic result, but sport and music would need to be pursued outside of school. Financially, we are unlikely to be worse off due to the large portion of the fee being reduced by the scholarship. The only assurance we have is that DC earned the scholarship, and we are not simply handing him the opportunity. DC is not highly motivated toward studies hence smaller class size could be an advantage at the Independent school. We are also mindful of the drawback of changing school during the most critical academic years.
We would love to hear from other members. What would you do if you were to choose one option over the other