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.

@twistyizzy The ones I have been involved with are famous and wealthy.

If parents don’t like it they can send their kids to state school.

@CurlewKate - you should not be supportive of VAT, because any money taken out of education hurts everyone.
Our state primary has had their swim week cancelled by the local private schools now. They have to rent it out for cash instead to a summer camp type place when in the past they let the early July period when they break up go for free to local state schools to make up their mandatory swimming obligations.

Grammar schools are also completely underfunded and strapped for cash having to beg parents to contribute. The whole of Education including uni is a complete and unforgivable shambles and Labour 100% is to blame for not prioritising investment in our young.

VAT is the whole reason OP is in this situation therefore it is entirely appropriate to discuss it, especially as she's apparently ignoring why the school are making cuts

Except they can't because many are trying to do exactly this and funding there are 0 places for them in state especially if their child is SEND.
You are taking your very limited and narrow experience and extrapolating across the whole sector without any understanding of that sector

No it’s not. We’ve just got a couple of aggressive keyboard warriors trying to hijack OP’s thread for their own agenda.

OP states VAT is the reason therefore fair to bring it up.
Aggressive probably yes at this point because at end of day the people who suffer are children. Plus 0 extra money for state schools so what is the point of it? To wreak damage for literally nothing, for shits and giggles? Appears so at this stage.

Keyboard warriors 😆 don't worry I would say it to her face however this is an online forum so it sort of requires a keyboard to be able to express a pov

@Mirabai - even the top public schools with the biggest endowment funds are having to go into their endowments to help existing parents pay the VAT. So there will be less bursaries there too, unless the parents dig deep. But frankly knowing these kind of schools where the demographic is 20% financially assisted, 10-20 staff children and only 60-70% full fee paying rich people you can easily see how they too will be impacted.
Do not be surprised if the top public schools have to bring back substantial scholarships for middle class parents as well, rather than just bursaries.

I would look at Peter Symonds boarding? They are the biggest 6th form in the UK so have great facilities and huge extra curricular program.

I don’t really care tbh. If people don’t like the way many private schools operate they don’t have to get involved with the private system.

If there aren’t now sufficient SEND schools in the state sector blame Ruth Kelly for shutting them down. I opposed that at the time.

We urgently need more specialist SEND state schools for which there is no money or apparently political inclination; and we also need more cheap private schools of the kind you see in Australia where nearly 40% of students are in the private system. But it’s not up to me.

This isn’t about you and your children it’s about the OP and you’re trying to take over her thread.

You don't care about the impact VAT is having on state schools?

I don't love the way public schools operate, I love the way our local independent operates but we can't afford it now. They have cut bursaries by 50% so that's 50% fewer kids from lower income families getting a place.

Because the whole reason she posted this is the effect of VAT.......

To get back to the thread for OP and having a Year 11 this year and been through the application process, for us it involved a website called Applicaa primarily and it has made things easier applying in one place. Whilst you can apply to as many as you want, you cannot now accept more than 1 post results I think, which is a good thing!
Although some of the top boys grammars are still trying to dominate the other schools by insisting on results alone when the others have made some conditional offers. State schools also compete very heavily with each other for the best candidates. So if anyone thought state schools are anti private school parents, you could not be more wrong. Most of them are strapped for cash and would love high achieving kids in who get good results and supportive parents (whether time or money!)

In the OP’s case, the school has decided to target the poorest pupils they have-which they obviously consider the most disposable. Morally bankrupt. And you are now derailing her thread. Go and start your own.

Yes and you are on most of those too

My old school has recently been fundraising for a new full bursary, aim of 750k.

No, the whole reason she posted is what to do with her kid.

She did not ask for a tubthumping about VAT.

Because the cuts are on bursaries which we said all along would have to be cut. If schools target full fee paying parents who will pay the money to keep them open? The court agreed that this policy would impact the lowest income families ie those on bursaries etc.
It was predicted and predictable. It's 1 of the reasons why Greece u-turned when they tried it.

Remind me though, why you support UK as being only country in the world to now tax education?

@twistyizzy
The OP is now seeing the school in a very different light - zero support from them - as she says in her first post 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.

I care very much about the impact of VAT both private and state. But I’ve done my tubthumping on dedicated VAT threads, and this location is not appropriate.

Well exactly. I’m not sure why pp who are pro VAT are now up in arms at anyone who said this would happen.

Of course bursary students would be hit by Labour policy. It’s more they didn’t want to see it.

I did this, out of choice and it was 20 years ago. Was the best decision ever. Loved my sixth form. I didn’t know anyone so it really was a fresh start. Totally different set of circumstances though.

Yep

750k for a bursary is ridiculous though. Imagine what a huge impact that same 750k could have if spent on lots of local schools reaching far more state school students. Instead of spending it on 1 lucky lottery winner kid, spend it on lots of kids on FSM and give them the opportunities they will never get.