school choice......

[schmalex]

Child aged 6. To privately educate or not to privately educate? That is the question.

[fatboy b]

Can you afford to privately educate him/her?

Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 10th June 15:41

[schmalex]

Yes. It'll be a little tight, but yes.

[SirTainly]

any chance to put the child in later for 11+/scholarships etc ?

[fatboy b]

Then it's really all down the the quality of the state school that is available. No point in pissing money away if the other choice is pretty good. That's where friends of mine are now with their 4 year old. Yes that can afford to go private, but the local state school is fantastic.

Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 10th June 15:45

[Dakkon]

If you can't afford to pay all the way through from primary to secondary school, then don't bother, the child will just get mocked mercilessly at secondary school for being 'posh'.

If you can only afford either primary or secondary, then pay for secondary.

[james_tigerwoods]

Boarding or Day?

If Boarding, then for God's sake no - If Day, I take it there are no old style "Grammar" schools near you?

[randlemarcus]

If you can afford it, and the local LEA is bad enough for you to consider it,then there's no reason not to.

[okgo]

If the parents are a bit common, then yes from aged 6, on a day release basis.

If they are well cultured and decent people, I wouldn't (assuming the local state school is good).

[Mc lovin]

james_tigerwoods said:

Boarding or Day?

If Boarding, then for God's sake no - If Day, I take it there are no old style "Grammar" schools near you?

Whats wrong with Boarding?

[littlegreenfairy]

Mc lovin said:

james_tigerwoods said:

Boarding or Day?

If Boarding, then for God's sake no - If Day, I take it there are no old style "Grammar" schools near you?

Whats wrong with Boarding?

From the age of 6?

[rhys27]

from my experience in a boarding school from yr7 untill U6th - I'd say it was a good learning experience. He/She will make close friends for life, its a very good social wise, and forces you how to become independant. Work wise, from my experience they drive you hard, put pressure on you to constantly do well. Sports will be encouraged, and it is very likely that they'll find a sport to excell in, and be encouraged to do well. (although this does depend on the school, in most private schools sport plays a big role)

I managed to get caught up in the whole smoking/drinking thing in yr11, and tried to 'rebel' agaisnt the strictness of the school. The other thing is religion. Mine was a christian centered school, where it was constantly in our face, having 'chapel' every other day. Forcing you into it all, which i didnt agree with at all.

Overall I did really enjoy it, the social side was brilliant and I've got a very close set of mates for life. (more like brothers/sisters)

Cant say anything about state schools, but I've got lots of mates from state schools who thrived in it, and came out with better A-levels than me, and just as close mates.

[schmalex]

Some good advice here.

The situation is that our local village school doesn't fill us with confidence. The teachers come across as being somewhat lackadaisical in getting the best out of the kids. We are not pushy parents at all, but naturally want the best for the little guy. So, from where I sit, the points stack up as:

For Public school (as a day pupil):

• Great facilities
• Increased learning
• Much better sports
• More passionate teachers
• Local village school isn't that great

Against Public School:

• Cost (as I said before, it'll be tight, but is do-able)
• We live in a small village, so he might miss out on the community side of being in the village school
• It is less convenient - the village school is a 2 minute walk from our house. The public school is a 25 min drive

Personally, I am against kids going to public school at such a young age (don't know why, but I am). I would much rather him go when he is 11 & see the benefit through his GCSE period. However, I don't want him to be held back by the local state school, as I do believe that if kids learn to love to learn in their early years, this will stay with them for life.

In short, it's a toughy!!!

[littlegreenfairy]

Why don't you send him to the local school and let him be part of the community...then at 11 when they all move, send him privately.

If the teaching isn't up to much you can support him and help him along - but he'll still be getting the social interaction and the other bits.

School isn't just about the learning, and if he can get the basics at the local school then he'll be fine.

[Fittster]

Do you have or will have any other children?

If things are tight with one child in private education (which will continue for the next 12 years) what happens if you have to educate another one?

[Hairspray]

I would say go state until he is 11, and then ask if he wants to go private when he is 11, if you can afford it. I am happy at my Grammar School (which is technically a state school...), hasn't done me any harm My mum refused to send me private, even if she could, because she hated it so much herself.

[james_tigerwoods]

From my experience - boarding from the age of 7 to the age of 16 - it was a pretty horrendous experience. Being miles away from your parents, infrequent contact, bullying (if you don't fit in - fine if you're tall, white and blonde, which I'm not) and the feeling that your parents have abandoned you there.

My Primary school was Catholic run by Nuns - Nuns, by the way are not kind, gentle people - they're evil and pretty damned uncaring. Daily chapel, church, etc was enforced and not pleasant - the teachers were no better. As a 7 year old, it was the single most destructive thing done to me - I didn't watch any kids TV from the age of 7 to 11 and missed out on a lot of things. I don't have a single happy school memory for those 4 years and have had no contact with anyone since leaving there. It's now closed thankfully.

My Secondary school (11-16) was non-denominational and slightly better - I still have 3 or 4 close friends (and 1 very close) from it and came away with decent (I suppose) GCSEs - no better than if I'd gone to state school. I got caught up in drinking (a lot) and a small amount of trouble making (I was a ring leader, but never got caught).

The problem wasn't so much being there as leaving it - going from a closed Private school to a college (Grantham College at that) was a massive culture shock - I knew noone and couldn't relate to people quite so easily.

I know why my parents did it and it's taken me a long time to understand their reasons, but I still resent it. All in all - an experience I wouldn't wish on my own children. Certainly NOT a 6/7 year old.

[/grumble grumble]

[okgo]

What is the private school you have in mind out of interest?

[tonyvid]

schmalex said:

• We live in a small village, so he might miss out on the community side of being in the village school
• It is less convenient - the village school is a 2 minute walk from our house. The public school is a 25 min drive

I would think about both of those as it is really important to be part of the community. Is the school 25mins each way? If so, that is a LOT of driving for the next x years, have you added that to the cost?

[Engineer1]

I was privately educated, all through and would say the decision should depend on how good the local primary is, and also how local you are to the primary. I missed out on a lot through going to private primary as I didn't know any of the local children and during the summer holidays had very few local friends to play with. Secondary wise Private or good grammar school / academy locally may mean that the local schools are good enough, also how bright is your kid? as a private school can probably move your child up a grade come exam time.