Leaving private school for state 6th form - experiences?

[WomensRightsRenegade]

I did ask this once before but it was quite a while ago now so I was just wondering if this was something more people were doing/ thinking about doing?

Thanks to the VAT increase my son had his bursary halved (from 100pc) and it looks like it’s about to be reduced further or removed. I guess they have no need to rush confirmation seeing as they will know parents will do almost anything to avoid moving schools for year 11. It’s all been quite nasty really. Seeing behind the gloss and the taglines about how they care for the boys like family has been illuminating.

Anyhow DS is utterly heartbroken at having to leave when he is so happy. He is very talented musically and was so looking forward to continuing in the ensembles and taking Music A level there. It’s going to be an agonising last year as he can’t even let anyone know he’s leaving until April. No local sixth forms to us even offer Music A level and the nearest college is a lottery system.

Are other people facing having to remove kids against the child’s will? I am so worried he will always think we could have found a way, even though he’s said nothing to us except that he understands the situation totally. Academically I’m sure he’ll be fine if he works hard, but socially and musically it feels like it could be a very abrupt end. If I could go back in time I would never EVER have accepted the bursary. This was always the risk.

Do you know how many kids from NE get into top universities Vs kids from South? This is precisely the sort of scheme we needed in the North to help "levelling up".

@WomensRightsRenegade you have nothing to lose by making more of a fuss about this. Who has told you this? The Admissions department? Kicking out a child at the end of Year 10 is outrageous. Are you keeping it quiet because you’ve been asked to, so the school can look better? Sod that.

You mention not saying anything until April - so are you going into Y10 now with one more year? Or are you just not coming back this September?

Do you know where your bursary comes from? Is it an endowment from a family?

Hard decisions will certainly need to be made by the school due to the VAT increase and this sudden and rather unpleasant decision makes me think the school could be close to folding. But for kicking your son out to make sense, there would have to be another child paying fees ready to go in, or the possibility of a class closing and therefore fewer staffing costs.

You should contact the headteacher’s PA direct. What have you got to lose?

cast your state sixth net wider. Whereabouts is your black spot - north, south, east or west of London?

@Dolphinnoises - you are quite right. OP could probably sell her story to the Daily Mail and make enough money to cover the fees for Year 11. Perhaps the bursar needs a subtle reminder of that. Withdrawing bursary support going into Year 11 is a complete no no (unless the financial circumstances of the family have changed significantly).

Did I say there was anything wrong with it?

I feel for your son. Musical opportunities in private school are so much better. And it’s quite common for schools and colleges to struggle to offer a-level music due to not enough numbers, is a real shame. I did it in a private school but only two of us did it

what I will say is that the best musical opportunities I had at all were in uni (Leeds in my case). Plenty of opportunity to get involved in loads of really good ensembles regardless of what you’re studying.

in the meantime it sucks but it will be ok

Totally agree with this. Where’s the harm?

It wouldn’t achieve anything. They don’t offer any possibility of appeal, and the t&c’s expressly state that decisions are final. Ultimately the Head and bursar will have decided this, and there is no direct access to either - certainly not when you’re a ‘dead man walking’ as we are.

That’s all really positive to hear, thank you. My daughter is at university but has zero interest in music so I haven’t heard anything about the music/ ensemble opportunities in higher ed

Well-to quote…. “They would say that, wouldn’t they?”
But there is always wriggle room and they are relying on intimidating you. Be brave!

It was always our plan, we did state primary middle private and state 6th form. It’s been great a fab balance for both of our DS.

And families like us whose Private School doesnt actually HAVE a 6th form.

Let’s not pretend that most of this info cannot be easily sourced! Uni’s will ask for G.C.S.E’s results and from what school/type. They’ll also have your home address…so if they choose to deep dive on their selection of candidates then they will & will make judgements based on what they have.

Their aim is to see who is the most resilient and who will thrive considering their academic path to date. All whilst filling their diversity quota!

Sticking with the OP @WomensRightsRenegade - I still find it odd that they chose a candidate in yr10 & 11 for cut backs and not someone in yr8/9- who wouldn’t be as impacted if they left….especially with GCSE selection needing to be decided upon. Either they will be known for doing this/ their finances are closing up & it may even be happening in the other yr groups.

Wish we knew the school! Your boy sounds lovely and he has lots of aspirations, wish him all the best wherever he goes.

Why did people decide that OP's son's bursary's reduced in for Y11??

Look at these posts:

He is very talented musically and was so looking forward to continuing in the ensembles and taking Music A level there. It’s going to be an agonising last year as he can’t even let anyone know he’s leaving until April.

Sadly from DS’s highly selective boys’ school very few leave after year 11.

There would be a bursary reassessment in year 12 again and I would be on tenterhooks the whole year beforehand.

It sounds to me like she's talking about leaving after Year 11, not in Year 11. If that's correct than it's major difference.

Too late to edit - if OP's DS finished Y10 and school gave them a notice of bursary reduction starting in Y12, then it's perfectly fair, they will still fund him for another year.

I've already shared my thoughts in this thread with the OP.

A few people here might get upset with me. My DC attended prep schools until the age of 13 before moving on to state schools, and I’m also paying for online schooling and tutors for them, which are much more affordable than independent school fees. I’ll definitely take advantage of any loopholes and benefits available for state school pupils, no doubt about that.

It’s common for people identifying as state school parents to join these discussions and criticize those who opt out of the state system, often taking it as a personal slight. They seem to forget that private school parents also pay taxes, part of which funds state schools. While they may not do so willingly, they accept it as a civic responsibility. If given the option to stop contributing to state schools, many parents of privately educated children would likely take it. There’s an excessive amount of hostility directed at them for not using the very state schools they help support financially. And if they attend a state school for sixth form, they face even more criticism for supposedly taking away the opportunities for a good life from those who have attended state schools from the beginning.

👏👏 well said

Stop clouding the issue with facts @ThisTicklishFatball !!

Will @WomensRightsRenegade share which year her son is about to start?

I have read it as he is finishing year 10 rn and his bursary has been halved, to 50%, for year 11.

The op is concerned, or has actually been told, that it will be zero from year 12. Have I got that right @WomensRightsRenegade ?

Just to add to the excellent advice here, music ensembles at a high level are offered at uni, and not just to music students. Dd had very positive discussions at Birmingham and Warwick (which doesn’t even offer a music degree!)

“Let’s not pretend that most of this info cannot be easily sourced! Uni’s will ask for G.C.S.E’s results and from what school/type. They’ll also have your home address…so if they choose to deep dive on their selection of candidates then they will & will make judgements based on what they have.
Their aim is to see who is the most resilient and who will thrive considering their academic path to date. All whilst filling their diversity quota!”

@555Stars - are you suggesting university admissions staff should start stalking people’s home addresses on sold house prices on right move? Commi style? All rich excluded from higher tier uni education?

Completely laughable, especially given that most unis send begging letters to be remembered in rich people’s wills. It is just really quite naive.
They tickbox to the extent they are required to. Just like everyone else. So give them have a chance to tickbox, they do it. It is precisely why people can game the system. If you call it that. But why exactly should those who paid the most tax have their kids excluded in the first place? Does not really make sense.

The hilarious thing is that unis are falling over themselves to make offers to foreign students, who pay much higher fees.

Do any of the ‘private school parents are bad’ mafia give a shit about that? Are they campaigning to stop those rich foreign students from their significant % of uni places?

*It's ok we know the answer.

I never said they should! I said that they can IF they choose to (see image attached!)
Using your e.g-If they’re whittling down then can easily differentiate between a home in Mayfair and one from East London…it’s not that difficult, so ease up on your sarcasm! A grade 9 from an Independent and a 9 from a state school- they’d likely prefer the State as it shows more resilience. Either way it will always come down to the grades achieved as everyone can get a loan to fund the fees!

The only thing that is laughable is your response. Please don’t respond back unless you can post without sarcasm or rudeness. Just so we’re clear, you don’t work for any university nor do you represent any!

Finally, I would suggest you talk w your MP abt your taxes if you are this unhappy & not to mums on the internet- they’re the ones that take most of it after all!

MPs taking my taxes! I do not think so. They go to HMRC. Unless you know something I do not know!

Plus loads of people are using tutors now to up grades, to the point you simply cannot judge on school attended anymore anyway.

And there are lots of very expensive houses in East London anyway. How ridiculous! If the unis wanted to make a real difference they could go on school recommendation instead of straight grades. Schools know their pupils best.

Just a contractual point though, surely they have to give you a full term’s notice (at least) before reducing your bursary. They have changed the fee structure. Or are they arguing that they can do it whenever because you wouldn’t be held to notice periods? It seems very fishy.