Private Prep schools

Eleven Plus (11+) in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin

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Minicooper
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:23 am

Private Prep schools

Post by Minicooper »

Hello everyone,

Can anyone please advise whether private prep schools have a higher pass rate of their pupils who pass the grammar test compared to state schools. Or is it a case whereby many children from a private school are also being tutored privately in order to pass their 11 plus.

I personally would think that if parents are paying so much for private prep education for there children then these schools should be providing the high standard of education to lead them to pass the grammar test. Or am I wrong? :shock:

I am extremely confused at present whether to keep my children at a state school and just focus on tutoring or to put them into private schools where they may thrive.

All advice and opinion is appreciated

Thank you

MC
Amarstone
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:29 pm

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by Amarstone »

Hello- this is an interesting one and a question which used to bother me (my dds are at a state primary). Indeed, where I live in Birmingham, a couple of the prep schools have an excellent track record of securing Gs places for their pupils. However, I know of at least three sets of parents who were " strongly encouraged" to remove their children in juniors as they weren't keeping up. All three children left. Therefore, it's hard to know if they get such good results simply because they only nurture children who are going to pass anyway! When we attended open days many years ago, one of the schools in question promoted after school 11plus tuition which parents paid for on top of the fees and I felt surprised this was necessary when the classes are so much smaller. In the 6months prior to the exam my daughter went to a tutor once a week and a couple of children from one of the prep schools attended too, so clearly, their parents didn't feel attending the school was enough on it's own.


Imho, with such stiff competition, only the brightest will get in regardless of what type of school they attend. This year, I know of quite a lot of children who have secured a Gs place; some go to state schools, some go to prep schools, some have had extensive tuition and some very little tuition but the one thing they have in common is that they are all very bright.
HappyRobot
Posts: 227
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:02 am

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by HappyRobot »

Have two friends at prep schools...both tutor their kids on top of paying fees.
A good state school, a bright child and exam practice whether with a tutor or diligent parent is IMHO enough to get into a grammar.
moseleymum
Posts: 659
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by moseleymum »

HappyRobot wrote:Have two friends at prep schools...both tutor their kids on top of paying fees.
A good state school, a bright child and exam practice whether with a tutor or diligent parent is IMHO enough to get into a grammar.

Or even in the case of DH's relative, a poor state school, no tutor and unhelpful parents :roll: secured a place at KEFW. The only factor common to every situation is a bright child.
peter5
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:15 pm

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by peter5 »

My DC told me that 62 children from one private school did the KEHS exam .She said their headteacher accompanied them .Four DC from my DC's primary took that exam .All did quite well . I think private schools are more geared towards exam training ,therefore the high number of applicants from such schools.
About 7 or eight from DC's school took the KE exam,one of the highest scorers in all the Midland exams private and public is from DC's school.
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by mike1880 »

Some of the preps seem to expect their kids to do all the Midlands (and beyond) indie exams as well as the GS. Obviously, number entered doesn't necessarily translate into number of passes but the preps are doing their best to select on ability (I too have heard of people being asked to remove their children), and are often doing their best to steer their pupils towards the exams they think they'll do best at, so they SHOULD have a good pass rate.

Mike
DIY Mum
Posts: 744
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: Not in a hole in the ground but in a land where once they dwelt-the Beormingas

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by DIY Mum »

HappyRobot wrote:Have two friends at prep schools...both tutor their kids on top of paying fees.
A good state school, a bright child and exam practice whether with a tutor or diligent parent is IMHO enough to get into a grammar.
Yes, but there aren't many good state schools out there with diligent parents or ones who can afford a tutor.
moseleymum wrote:Or even in the case of DH's relative, a poor state school, no tutor and unhelpful parents :roll: secured a place at KEFW. The only factor common to every situation is a bright child.
This type of case (impessive at it seems) is very rare :!:

It would be interesting to see the statistics in the grammar schools themselves: how many children are from state primaries and from the indies.

I think it was interesting to read a point Mike made on another thread how in his dd's year (KEHS), almost half the girls were from EHS.
I remember ds1 telling me (when he first started) that a fair number of boys in his year at CHB were from Bluecoats. The most common state primary include Harbourne Primary and Colemore. And according to the boys (not the parents), they also had tutors. :lol:

But it has changed since then. Our state primary initially sent around 10 to the GS schools but this was four years ago. Now they only send around 4 and in all honesty, the credit lies with the parents / tutors rather than the school itself. Incidentally, when dc quintus was in Y3, a friend of his transferred to Westhouse for this reason. Better education and 11+ training (including an after school club) and he has a tutor too. Obviously they felt it was necessary. But not all parents can afford it or feel it is necessary. But from what I've seen with other dps who do send their children to indies, it has made a significant difference.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by um »

Over the past few years I have found that my strongest pupils, who went on to achieve the highest scores in the 11 Plus, were generally inner-city school educated. They had very little pressure at school, no or little homework, and remained enthusiastic all the way. They also had plenty of time for reading.

I am afraid to say that the privately educated pupils became, by the final term, the weaker ones of the group. They would be the most tired, the least able to keep up with homework, due to the significant amount of school homework they had, and would read the least.

A very good friend and tutor once told me that, if Grammar School entry was our main aim for Secondary education, it was actually better to remain in the state sector. I now generally agree with that.
DIY Mum
Posts: 744
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: Not in a hole in the ground but in a land where once they dwelt-the Beormingas

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by DIY Mum »

um wrote:A very good friend and tutor once told me that, if Grammar School entry was our main aim for Secondary education, it was actually better to remain in the state sector. I now generally agree with that.
If your very good friend and tutor is who I think you mean (fm), then from my understanding (only spoke to her yesterday about this)- it's only true for the very good primary schools. And how many of them are available? Plus to move into catchment and to obtain one of those is also very difficult.

Yes, indie students are 'over worked' and there will come a time that they'll stop to peak but for the majority of them (who aren't that bright)- it's makes the difference between a pass or a fail.

I personally don't feel that the KE exam tests potential anymore but rather it is geared towards those who have been very well prepared. Most prep schools do just that. Yes for sure, those dps who do have dc at good schools and who are fortunate to have access to good tutors like fm and yourself :wink: should also do very well! Just my thoughts!
JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: Private Prep schools

Post by JaneEyre »

The problem with the ‘very’ good state schools is that the ethic towards ‘regular work’ is not instilled in children. Coming from a country where daily homework used to be the norm (the government has recently changed all that and that is a BIG mistake in my opinion), I had a lot of difficulties to adapt to the ‘state primary schools’ ’ culture here in the UK. So it’s up to the parents to set the study pattern for their children. According to what I have heard, private primary schools give daily homework so I would have felt more at ease with such a system.

However, like some others have already said in former pots, I also know a boy who used to go to a private school and he had extra-tuition on top of that ( he obtained a place at CH and KES).
Moreover, the mum told me that he had had a bad teacher in year 3; I wonder in which state I would be if I were paying extravagant fees to have a ‘bad’ teacher :shock: !!! But don’t assume this is the rule. I am sure the private schools do repair their 'mistakes' when they realise they have done one by hiring a particular person.

I have myself finish with the 11+ prep (no more child to line up for this entrance exam, ‘ouf’ as we say in French), but if I had one, I would be in the same dilemma as Minicooper... or I would just go on doing my best to ‘give’ as much as I can to my child, DIYing, stressing and paying for a private tutor while being despaired by what is taught (or rather not taught :lol: :lol: It's better to laugh than to cry! :wink: ) at the state primary.
mike1880 wrote:I too have heard of people being asked to remove their children from preps Mike
I wonder where the children who are ‘kindly asked’ to leave the prep school go to!!! That must be a nightmare as there would be no place in the good state primaries!
May be they go to another prep school with a 'worse' pass rate? Or would this other prep school also turn them down due to the school reports? I am curious to know more about past experiences of such 'transfer'!
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