Private school vs state school

snugglepet20

OP what about moving to Bromley Cross or Egerton? Turton high school is very good and also free and the primary schools are good as well.

Cash-Cow_3

Debbie_A wrote: »

What you should do is choose the very best school for your child.

There is no choice of school unless you are paying.

The best state schools fill up unless you live right on the doorstep. If you happen to live in an area with a poor school you have had it because the nearest good school will be over subscribed.

kendun

Thank you all for your input (especially local folks in Bolton ),
Moving to Bromley Cross region will cost nearly the same as private education as well so not overly keen on it at present. I will have a read about the local schools as well

JC9297

OP how many children do you have and how old are they? (sorry if you've already said, I must have missed it)

FBaby

How old is your child? Will he be starting primary or secondary school? My view is that it is not a matter of private vs state school, but visiting all of them, talking to local people and going with your gut feeling. Private schools are not all what they claim to be just as state school with not so good ofsted report are not forceably bad. You could find yourself paying very high fees for an education that is not that much better than at state school, but you might not know it if you don't do a bit of research into the schools first.

I too come from another country (where we believe that English education is far from good ) and was a bit nervous about my kids being educated in state schools. I did quite a bit of digging and decided to put them in one of the local state primary school with an overall ofsted report of 2, good but not excellent but a very good reputation. My DD has just finished year 6, my son year 4 and I have been amazed by the education they have received at this school. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

We have now moved and they will both be starting new schools on Monday. I had the dilemma as to whether consider private school for my DD. The local secondary school has a good reputation, but so far I haven't been overly impressed when I visited it. She has been assessed as T&G, came top of her class amongst 115 children and I have been told she would do incredibly well in private schooling. The thing is, the best scholarships you can get is 50% and that makes it still very expensive. I am also not convinced that the private schools in the town are really worth the cost. I have therefore decided to give the local school a chance and will do more research in private schools if I am not satisfied.

My DS didn't get a place at the local excellent private school (despite being in closest one to us, in the catchment area) and was offered a place a school that was on remedial measures. My immediate response was that there was no way I would accept the place (he too has been assessed as T&G), but in the meantime, I have spoken to a number of local people who have said that it is a good school, just struggled a bit and would be worth to go and visit. I did and really liked it! It turned out that they got rid of the headteacher, replaced him with an excellent one and ofsted return visit put it back at a 2. Pupils behaviour was rated as 1. Again, i am waiting to see how it will go, but my instinct is telling me that he will actually do well there.

kendun

Fbaby and JC92,
I have two kids, they havent started even primary school yet. It's just that I want to start planning from now so that I can sort out the exisitng mortgage and if they show the academic interest/ capability to do well in school, I want to be able to afford a good school.

whitewing

Possibly an offset mortgage would be worth looking at then?

Lunar_Eclipse

[QUOTE=FBaby;46577601._I_did_quite_a_bit_of_digging_and_decided_to_put_them_in_one_of_the_local_state_primary_school_with_an_overall_ofsted_report_of_2,_good_but_not_excellent_but_a_very_good_reputation._My_DD_has_just_finished_year_6,_my_son_year_4_and_I_have_been_amazed_by_the_education_they_have_received_at_this_school..[/QUOTE]

Whilst that's great news, it's all relative and heavily based on experience vs expectations.

My children go/went to a state primary school with a long standing reputation at the top of the league tables, ranked 1 across the board by Ofsted. It is a great school that we were very happy with, but I would be kidding myself if I thought it was comparable to the best schools in the private sector. It compares well in standards obtained in Maths & English (although generally state schools spend far more time on these subjects) but would fail in all other areas. Sports, art, music, languages & Science (taught by specialists in labs) are worlds apart.

You have to see the difference to believe it, although I agree there is far more variation within sectors than between them.

cheepskate_2

Going to Independent schools is not just about the academic, but is hugely about the networks that they make and networks that become available to them because they are seen as " in the same class" .
One of our friends was studying law, on a train one day he got talking to a guy, who's dad ran his own firm of solicitors. Upon hearing that they both went to the same prep school, he was told there was a job there for him once he qualified.

This is very common place within these circles.

kendun

whitewing wrote: »

Possibly an offset mortgage would be worth looking at then?

Thinking of making overpayments to pay off the mortgage in the next 4/5 years so that I can start saving for private education after that. Initial plans are that I try something like 95% of my pay after all the direct debits for utilities/expenses etc to go into the mortgage.

I havent looked at offset mortgages yet, will have a read tonight.