State vs Private school A levels

[TAB22]

hello, does anyone have thoughts on state vs private when it comes to Uni and offers and employment. would a smart, but not exceptional student (7s and 8s at GCSE so hopefuly As and Bs at A level) actually find it easier to move on from a state school.
As background, My DD has just completed GCSEs at a private school. She doesn't use the privileges that come with private schools (great facilities for arts, science, sportsx extra curricular etc) and nor is this school strong academically. BUT she is happy there.
Given all this, plus the huge financial pressure of school fees, and I think I want to move her to the state sector.
PS - i strongly agree with the idea that privately educated kids have more to prove - they benefit from smaller classes, better facilities, more attention etc.

The main advantages are that private schools can offer more subjects and have fewer timetabling clashes (more teachers and smaller classes mean they can, generally, be more flexible than state schools). Also they are, generally, better resourced for university transfer support and careers advice.

Have you looked at your local state schools, and checked if they offer the subject combination your DD wants? (ie not just offering each subject, but that she can do all of them there without clashes)

Places for state schools/colleges are pretty much filled now for year 12 for September, students had to enrol Thursday and Friday. Even if you get a place most courses are booked up so you'd be left with whatevers left. It's a bit late in the day to think about this.

@TAB22 Are the 6th forms in the state schools full? Won’t you need to pay 1 term’s notice to leave? It’s a bit late to think about this. Why hasn’t she bothered about the extras the private school provides? Unis will mostly take who applies and meets the criteria for the course. Many unis are not selective. Is it worth disrupting her now? Does she want to leave? Seems very sudden to me.,

State schools usually offer BTecs or equivalent. Private don’t really, just A levels. Much rarer to see a broad offering in a private school. Small private’s offer far fewer subjects. Eton and large schools are very different. I suspect OP doesn’t mean this type of school.

thank you so much all.
For clarity, she had a place at our local state school and we have given notice at her private school. But I know they would still have her back if she wants to stay...
I was very resolved in her moving to the state school as the fees as SO HIGH - and the school is not academically very strong, and she doesn't use the facilities. And i have this idea that it is easier to get offers at Uni and jobs if you attend state school (as long as you kat the grades). for instance, if a kid scores ABB at A level, are they more likely to get an offer/ place if they attend a state school than a private school?
BUT she is happy at her school and I am struggling with the fact i am moving her from somewhere she feels safe (she is ND, and we had to switch schools partway through GCSEs because of bullying).

pps - she has places to study history, geog and politics at both the state and private schools, so options are not an issue. and i do think she will likely get the same sort of teaching at both schools (though probably smaller classes at the private school)

And i have this idea that it is easier to get offers at Uni and jobs if you attend state school (as long as you kat the grades). for instance, if a kid scores ABB at A level, are they more likely to get an offer/ place if they attend a state school than a private school?

I don't think contextual offers are that simple. This is a description of what contextual information may be used by unis in different ways.

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/individual-needs/contextual-admissions

University's look at where a student attended secondary school not just look at 6th form

I've read on here, and heard irl, about parents thinking they can game the system by moving to state school for 6th form however I think universities are on this and do look at where GCSEs are taken. I'm not saying you are doing this btw. You may get contextual offer I suppose, depends on the school.

So can you afford the fees? If not she needs to move. It sounds as though you don't feel it's worth it however is she happy/is she very keen to stay? Does she know anyone at the state school? Imo there is a big risk moving for A level as it's such a short time and none of the teachers know the student. Also a potentially difficult settling in phase.

University's look at where GCSES are taken.
so 2 candidates both have AAA one state and one private. They May take the state child as they haven't had the privilege so in theory have worked harder for those grades. Lots of people try and game the system by removing a child to state 6th form, the universities are on this one.
What are the local 6th forms like? What does your daughter want?

Not sure if this would help but we moved DD last year after GCSEs to a local sixth form and haven't regretted it at all. DD would probably have liked to have stayed with her friends but was very much over the 8.30-5.30pm school culture and had no interest in their sixth form extra and super curriculars. I was sick of paying fees for facilities and extra curriculars that DD just wasn't interested in. She's been fine at the sixth form, grades similar to your child by the sound of it but she's doing better academically than I'd expected. Looking at Cambridge now, but they'll be no advantage to her state sixth form as she was privately educated to age 16. In fact, any private education excludes a child from taster weeks etc at certain unis.

thanks so much all. really great feedback. To be brutally honest, i am partly trying to "game the system" so this is very useful honest feedback. but the other honest part is we can't quite afford private anymore (change in job status coupled with rising fees etc) plus the school really isn't worth the money. DD is low support autistic and was getting badly bullied at her highly academic all-girls private school, so we moved her at one week notice, to the only co-ed school that had a place. and it was worth it as she is finally happy and has accepted all the differences that also make her magical!
in my defense, if i was starting over i would de finitely start at state, and stay there. but i see that switching her now may just not be in her best interests. we will look again at finances and see where we land based only on that x

1 in 4 students study in sixth-form in south England and 1 in 6 in England are in private schools sixth-form. So it is not a small minority as what the public thinks.

You can only "game the system" by sending your DC to a sixth form that has poor record of getting DC to university (before someone points this out, I will also mention that Bristol specifically has a list that seems to feature some sixth forms that are actually quite good). You may also have to tick other indicators. Have a look at the website of a university your DC might be interested in for more details of what they consider.

My DC went a comprehensive with below average GCSE results. Still no contextual offer at university; she had the same offer as someone from a private school.

Bristol doesn't. It's very clear on their website together with a list of schools they make contextual offers to. They are very transparent.

I don't think you can 'game the system' any more - as PPs have said, the unis look at where you have taken GCSEs.

My (state grammar educated) son is at Cambridge and says that there are more state/foreign students than private pupils on his course (a STEM one) which surprised me..I'm not sure whether that is because they are actively choosing state over private, or more private school children are going Stateside, or are going to Imperial/UCL etc.

Personally, I would choose the school that will suit your child best and where they will be happiest/achieve the best grades they are capable of.

If you've already moved her fairly recently then moving her again could be quite unsettling.
Obviously if fees are the main decider, you may have to try and ensure that the new school can offer her some discreet support to help her settle / keep her on track.
I wouldn't worry too much about university admissions just now and concentrate instead on helping her to enjoy sixth form work at whichever school.

We moved our daughter from a very selective girls independent (where she was happy and did well) to a high performing grammar. Partly for financial reasons but also because she wanted co-ed and less of a bubble.

She did well (A star/A/A) and enjoyed it on the whole. Teaching was no different. I had felt that private was most worth it in years 7-9 when they went off curriculum a lot and had loads of trips. The GCSE years were just like at a state school - exam focused. So for that reason I felt it was a waste paying for sixth form.

My (state grammar educated) son is at Cambridge and says that there are more state/foreign students than private pupils on his course (a STEM one) which surprised me..I'm not sure whether that is because they are actively choosing state over private, or more private school children are going Stateside, or are going to Imperial/UCL etc.

No, it's simply because there are significantly more state school educated students that privately educated - the latter are still overrepresented!

Yes as @ErrolTheDragon says - @Panicmode1 why the surprise that there are more students from the sector where more than 90% of YP have their schooling? I would expect it tbh. If there are more than about 10% from private schools then it is that sector that is overrepresented. I imagine there are.

I think it's 17% at private 6th form, fwiw

I don't think you can 'game the system' any more - as PPs have said, the unis look at where you have taken GCSEs

Not all of them - see Bristol

If there are more than about 10% from private schools then it is that sector that is overrepresented. I imagine there are.

I think it would be surprising and probably social engineering taken too far if there wasn't some excess - but that's a whole other thread or two.

My DSs are older, but from memory, from their year groups at private school a few of their peers transferred to the local 6th form colleges. Of these, three dropped out of A levels during the first term. One decided to travel (!), another who had struggled at GCSE took an apprenticeship as a plumber, another went to work in his father’s business before going back to education later. Two others were back to the private school by half term.
One of my boys was great friends with the one who dropped out to travel and it hasn’t worked out very well.
many of the others were very happy and did well. (Edited as pressed post in error)

My son got a contextual offer which was very lucky for him as he missed a grade based on the original offer. But it would be very stressful to rely on it. He got the same offer as everyone else at first, the contextual offer didn't come until quite a while later. A few people at his school got one but I'm not sure about everyone. The school is quite diverse - it has deprived students but also some pretty wealthy ones. To move schools hoping that this is going to happen to your daughter would be crazy - I would only do it if it's for financial reasons.