Would you move your child to a more academic school with a longer commute?

[confusedmamaof3]

Hello,

I would like to ask for your advice on whether it is worth considering more academic schools such as City of London, Alleyn’s, LEH, or Westminister for secondary education.

My daughter is very academic — she is consistently at the top of her year group, and her GL Assessment results are always above 135 in both Maths and English. She also loves art and drama. She is currently in an all-through selective school, but the academic results there are not as strong as those of the schools I mentioned above.

Her current school is only a 10-minute drive away. However, if she were to move, she would need to leave home around an hour earlier each morning.

Do you think an academically gifted child thrives better and is stretched more in a highly academic environment?
Or is it more beneficial for her to remain in her current school, where she is in the top set and can enjoy the motivation of being ahead?

Thank you in advance 🙏🏻.

Thank you 🙏🏻 it’s all really helpful. I’m also wondering - if we attend open days or assessments (of course I would need to inform the school that she is away for the 11+ exam, and schools will call for references), would that look bad for our current school application? We plan to apply for a drama scholarship for her - we really want her to stay at her current school if she gets it, as she loves her teachers, and being a scholar would really motivate her.

Where do you live - generally? As the nature of the commute can vary. If you're thinking of both city of London and latymers thats quite a range

Do you think it would be bad for my child if we told her current school that she is trying for other 11+ schools? She may be eligible for a scholarship at her current school, but they often mention being “committed to joining their senior school.

would that look bad for our current school application? We plan to apply for a drama scholarship for her - we really want her to stay at her current school if she gets it, as she loves her teachers, and being a scholar would really motivate her.

IME, an all-through school is more likely to offer a scholarship at 11+ to a very good student from the junior school if they think the child has other options unless they know that there's no chance of the child staying.

*Not investment advice
*YMMV😁

Schools in London know that academic or talented children will sit multiple 11+ exams to get the best scholarship offers, and they will often sit for grammars too. It is not perceived as something bad but the scholarships at current schools will also depend on a wider pool of talent and competition so there is no guarantee.

The more important thing is whether the current all through school would keep a place for the child who is sitting external assessments. When we were doing 4+ our pre prep was very clear about moving us to a reserve list only for a Reception place.

I'd speak with the school about their policies.

So she could study for an extra two hours a day. Do you think the second school is better than two hours extra a day studying?

Is she going to get the full benefit of the "better" school if she is exhausted? And does she really need the pressure or is she motivated enough that it won't make a huge difference to the end result?

By year 10, they have a lot of work for their GCSEs and add in an additional 2 hour commute, it is exhausting, even for the brightest and most energetic child. At 10/11 years of age, most of the the bright ones are somewhat under challenged, completely normal. Move her at Sixth Form and let her enjoy these years. I doubt it will make a difference to her actual GCSE results anyway. As long as they are happy and do the work, the bright kids get strings of 9s anyway. More important to enrich hobbies at that age and find passions (can be academic ones too), but there are so many online resources and museums etc that you can take her to. Or hire a tutor if she is really gifted in a subject. Some of the elite private schools are also extremely expensive.
Or if you do move her to a very competitive school (state or grammar), make sure you move house too.