End of yr4 assessment and chances of private secondary

[legwarmers]

Hi - I'm posting here as well as another thread for teacher and parent views.
Ds end of yr report results are

Out of 13 areas
8 mastery ,
4 secure
1 developing. - writing

Overall
reading A good
Writing B - expected
Maths A -good.

We live in London. Just looking at the academics - do the children who go on to private schools from state schools (with bursaries) have all A's or mastery - he is very talented and all rounder - music, sport , attitude to learning etc . But we would be applying for bursaries and I don't know if his writing level will be a problem.

We will not be using tutors as I couldn't afford to sustain that. So it would be my help at home and I think I could get his writing up to secure. - but maybe not as secure as the other areas. IYSWIM.

Because of where we live Our realistic state school options are pretty dire and my heart breaks that he is likely to go there. I know it depends on the exam but in practice what are his chances?

He will likely need to sit the common entrance exam. There is a curriculum for this, and tutors available to help him to prepare (unless you can do it yourself).

This will be just one aspect of admissions- does he play a sport, an instrument? Have you started looking at schools? Would the headteacher of his primary write him a good reference?

Sorry- just read your post re: tutors. As long as you are patient with him, it shouldn't be a problem. Remember that fees only ever go up; you would need to confidently be able to afford it for the duration of his schooling.

I'm sure someone will come along with more experience than me but it might help if you could describe the kind of private schools you have in mind. My DC are young (but in private school) but I have DNs who are all selecting private secondaries at the moment.

Schools vary widely across the academic spectrum so it would be hard to give a reliable yes / no answer to your question. Entrance is heavily weighted to academic achievement but it certainly helps that he sounds like such a well rounded student. The competition for places is high and on that basis his academics are key and writing may be a problem but this also varies by school. Depending on where you are in London it might be worth looking a little further out for a wider (and sometimes cheaper) range of options to suit his profile.

Do you have other DC who you would like to put through private schooling to look at overall picture of affordability? Good luck

Thanks
Madge - I would be looking at bursaries, as I am single parent and just couldn't afford full fees.
He would thrive in an academic and sporty school. Somewhere that had lots of outdoor space and were really active in after school practice and interschool competitions etc. His academic strength is maths, He has plays 2 instruments since reception but due to finance we have only just started formal exams as he now has scholarships, but both teachers feel that he could be on grade 4 by end of year 5.

He loves and is good at all ball sports, cricket, rounders, basketball, tennis etc - but football is more accessible to us.
I will look into the common entrance exam as I don't know too much about this.

Your best bet is to start looking at schools and their specific admissions criteria. Depending on where exactly you are in London, there will be schools just outside- e.g. If you are in west London there are good day schools in Bucks (Gerards cross) and Berks (windsor/Maidenhead) which will be accessible by train and might work

As there is only a limited amount of money for bursaries, these will be very much in demand; schools will probably award those to students with the highest marks but who can't afford fees. The higher the marks, the better his chances, if you see what I mean.
You cannot assume he will get in, so you will need to start looking at state schools as well. You don't have to just look in your borough; you are at liberty to look elsewhere. And you must apply through your local authority before the deadline. It's very harsh, I know, but there are so many students who would thrive in an independent school but if the money isn't there, you have to make alternative arrangements as well.

If you say where you live people might be able to suggest state school options.

Common Entrance would almost certainly require years 7+8 at a prep school.

OP is in London, and there are plenty of non-CE schools there which admit boys at 11, and that would be the normal point for joining directly from a state school.

I commented on your other thread (which didn't attract many posts, but I'll link for sake of completeness)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/2984313-end-of-yr4-assessment-and-private-school