Prep school vs state primary

whambamboo

Curious if anyone can comment on the advantages of private primary schools (aka prep schools I think). We are about to move, possibly to Woking, and it will be to an affluent area with a good state primary school. However, I'm not short of money, making six figures a year, and obviously it's an option to send my son, now 4, to a fee-paying prep school instead. I'm pretty sure he will go to a private secondary school. I myself went to a state comprehensive in an affluent part of Yorkshire and even though it had a good intake and good results by national standards I felt the standards were appalling and I would have been much better off in a private secondary school (which my parents didn't have the money for).

Has anyone any experience of prep schools and can comment on advantages - class sizes, facilities, etc.? I guess it will cost me about £8k/year for 6 years, so £50,000. It's not a huge amount of money to me.

Counting_Pennies_2

It is a difficult decision.

Do you send the child private on the assumption they will get better all rounded education, or to a state school.

I think the decision each time if money isn't an object is to look at how good the school is, not just on exam results but seeing how well the children are turned out and behave. Just looking at the school gates alone gives you enough indication.

My husband was privately educated, I was state educated. I think in order for him to be a well rounded person a state education, if the school and conditions are good are best for him, my husband feels they will get more choice in a private.

However, my friend whose sent her child to a very good exam results private school says the children are completely unruly, parents get angry with the school if their darlings are disciplined. The classrooms are in chaos and teachers are given horrendous backchat. My personal theory about looking at how the kids behave at the school gates runs true with this particular school, as I drive past on my way home from work I see dreadful behaviour coming from the kids and they don't look at all well turned out.

She said if she had the opportunity again, she wouldn't have bothered.

Personally, if the school in the catchment area is a good one, I say send to state school. If it is utterly dreadful, go private.

Having all the money you have now doesn't have to go immediately on education, put it away now into a stake holder pension for the little one, that will be worth a huge amount when they retire, the earlier you prepare for retirement the more it grows.

whambamboo

Counting_Pennies wrote:

Having all the money you have now doesn't have to go immediately on education, put it away now into a stake holder pension for the little one, that will be worth a huge amount when they retire, the earlier you prepare for retirement the more it grows.

Once he gets to 21 he can earn his own pension. I know compounding works wonders (although we do have £25/month saved for him in a unit trust), but the idea is he goes to school & university, becomes a doctor/city banker, etc., and then he can fund his own retirement.

I guess what I think private might give him:

more confidence - vital for life IMO, it's all very well to say you should get on with anyone in society by mixing with them at school, but in reality he would be working in a middle class job with other middle class people
more attention paid to him - more teachers per pupil so there would be better able to monitor his progress
wider curriculum - foreign languages from age five, Latin from 9 in some places
extra-curricular activities - music lessons if he wants

Against this we might be able to send him to a state school like this http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/125/s5_125080_20051011.htm (for age 4- 7, which I'm not that keen on actually - I'd prefer 4- 11)

Rated as outstanding:

This is an exceptional school. It provides a high quality education with many outstanding features. The headteacher's vision drives the work of the school and inspires staff and pupils alike. All staff share in the aim to give the very best for the children and are inspired to do this because of the headteacher's philosophy of developing teachers as leaders. This benefits the learners as shown by the excellent standards they achieve.Teaching is good. New staff are supported well by the headteacher and senior managers who share their expertise through a well established coaching and mentoring programme.The many innovative aspects of the curriculum are particular strengths and the school has rightly identified the need to carefully monitor these initiatives to ensure standards are maintained. Provision in the Foundation Stage is outstanding. Children receive a wealth of exciting and stimulating experiences which give them an exceptionally good start to school life. Parents are very pleased with school and the care their children receive.Senior managers know the school's many strengths, but underestimate its overall performance. There have been many changes and improvements since the previous inspection and the school is very well placed to continue its progress. It provides very good value for money.

clarew

Well, as always, 2 points of view on this at least.....on the one hand my 4year old has just started at the local school, with 30kids in a class, whereas my friends 4 yr old is in a private school with 10 in a class(!):o -me thinks his reading and writing etc should be leaps ahead of my boy over the next year according to this ratio. Not to mention the fact that the private school go swimming once a week, etc.
(both schools have 1 teacher and 1 classroom assistant in the reception class).

On the other hand, i was educated in local schools (and was an august child-so technically the youngest in my year), and ended up with 3 decent a-levels (B,B,C) and went to a traditional university (southampton), where i was living with people who had been to cheltenham ladies college,marlborough amongst others. At the end of the day-no matter how much or how little had been spent on schooling, we were at the same uni on the same course.......if you've got the ability you'll do well regardless!

(well thats my theory anyway-but then again, i am a nurse, and husband in local council employment so therefore we will never be able to afford private schooling anyway!!):rotfl:

silvercar

From a value for money point of view I would send to a good state school for primary and then go private. Check that a few children each year get into the private schools from the state school, that shows that, with a bit of tutoring if necessary, the standards they reach at 11 are not that different.

funky-footprints

both my husband & I are private educated. Like you we hope to be able to afford to send our (it will be three by then) children to private school from 11.

In our honest opinion up until the age of 7/8 years old what a child learns isnt only up to the school but also up to the parents .. from speaking to my sons primary school teachers and friends who are teachers they agreee with me. so why if you have a good available state school throw good money away ?

there is a huge post on private v state somewhere on the boards ..it is obviously a very sensitive subject ..you are either all for it .. or not. I however dont agree with those who think it is a waste of money, unless they have obviously experienced it and had a nasty experience.

The one thing i think you should remember is it is very easy to go from a state education to a private but a nightmare to go from private to state.

Saying that if £50k isnt a huge amount of money to you ..then you can spend it how you so wish.
x

dmg24

Once he gets to 21 he can earn his own pension. I know compounding works wonders (although we do have £25/month saved for him in a unit trust), but the idea is he goes to school & university, becomes a doctor/city banker, etc., and then he can fund his own retirement.

Much as you are clearly set upon providing the absolute best for your child, you are making a huge assumption that they will ever end up as a doctor/ ciy banker etc. All because you have these intentions for your child, doesn't mean they will want the same.

I was privately educated, and yes, I would highly recommend it. However, please don't assume that a private education means that your child is set for life. There are endless other factors, including some that you cannot influence, such as health.

I really do hope that your child does very well for themselves, and it is clear that you will give them every support in doing so. But please be aware that it is not a given, and no one can guess what will happen in the future.

Please don't think I am being negative, just through personal experience, realistic.

Rikki

Both my two boys started pre preparatory schools at 3 years old. They were reading and writting long before their friends and their play was much more conctructive. So for this age I believe its good. It levels out more for the preparatory school and at 13 private education is a very all round education.
They start learning languages earlier and have specialized teachers for all subjects from the age of 7 onwards.

Jazzycat

Hi,

I personally feel that state primary schools can be very good. Our eldest daughter started a year ago at our local CoE run school that has around 120 pupils. My impressions are that the school is run with a fantastic ethos. The headmaster down get all the children to understand good basic values. The children are polite and my daughter couldn't wait to go back this term as she was in the next year up and could help the younger children starting out.

Last year when she started school there was just 14 in her class but a second intake in January meant there is now 28. I feared that the teachers may not give their best attention when a class is so big but I have been proved happily wrong. The teacher and her assistant cope fantastically. They understand all the childrens abilities and weaknesses already and are targetting their efforts accordingly. There are French lessons already and my 5 year old is learning so much.

I know many of the other children at the school and they all seem to be so positive and helpful.

Good teachers will always identify the best way to bring on children so I think in that repect state or private makes no difference. I would actually say that the best teachers I had were in the state sector.

I personally went to a state primary and secondary private. I feel that the secondary school option is the best time to consider the private option if its one you want. I don't think a private education early on makes a great deal of difference as long as the school is set up properly and run by a good headmaster, and you see it in the children going there.

If you are lucky and have good local state primary schools then I would opt to use them over private any day.

Sobraon

Some thoughts ….

Only my own experience to go on - I'm not a school teacher! First the difference between Grades 1 and 2 in the OFSTED inspections are very significant. DD1 went through a primary school rated as 'good' overall but DS1 and DD2 went through one rated 'outstanding' and the difference in the educational experience was large.

The school inspection report in the link the OP provides shows a cracking little school and I would grab a place for my children with both hands!

The statement in the OFSTED report "This is an exceptional school. It provides a high quality education with many outstanding features" says a lot - they don’t give these away with cornflakes!

As far as music is concerned my experience is that a lot of peripatetic music teaching is done by teachers who are very weary. We send ours to a teacher that they choose and that they like (this knocks about 6 months of each grade).

With the money we saved in school fees any sports/activities the children have wanted to do we have been able to support (e.g. basketball, syncro swimming, skiing, football club, trampoline club, gym club, drama clubs, ballet, tap dancing)

My only regret is that with DD1 we knew that the school was not as good as it could be but the staff convinced us that we were wrong. We learnt our lesson – trust your instincts and trust your children and take effective action early (including moving schools).

Nicki

My husband and I were both state educated but were lucky enough to get into Oxbridge. We were horrified when we got there by the large number of privately educated students who had just no idea how to speak to/behave with anyone outside their social class, and who frankly treated porters, cleaning staff, waiting staff and in some cases other students like something they had just scraped off the bottom of their shoe!

This experience led us to wish to educate our children in the state system if at all possible, even though like you we have a good income and could easily afford private education. My son's state primary is pretty good, and comparing him against friends who go to the local private school he is doing as well, although we do pay for him to attend Kumon lessons in addition to school to improve his confidence in maths. My daughter has special needs and goes to a state special school which is excellent.

I would therefore suggest that if the local state school is good, that you opt for that, and perhaps use your money to top up with some of the extra's which you think would benefit your children, and which they will enjoy. There are any number of good sports facilities, language clubs, etc around which run after school if you feel this is necessary. Education is about more than just acquiring academic skills, it is about becoming a well rounded individual, and your children need the ability to get along with all kinds of people in the world if they are going to be successful in their chosen careers. That's not a skill which you can easily learn later in life.