Choice between Oustanding State school and Private school

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honey's mum
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 4:19 pm

Choice between Oustanding State school and Private school

Post by honey's mum »

Hello Mums, Need some advice in choosing State school or private schools.Its not related to Grammar school exams but i just need some advice from all your experienced mums who all are doing a great job for their kids future.

I'm in dilemma whether to wait for a place in an outstanding state school or go for the best private school available near my home.my dd is in year2 and august born(sometimes age matter as she is the youngest in her class). She is a very bright girl and doing very well academically in her current school(rating good). we have St.bernard's and Longclose Private schools in slough to chose. and I'm thinking if there will be much difference academically if i send her to private school instead of state outstanding school? My husband is keen on private school and we can afford it,only if it is going to benefit her in terms of her overall improvement and for grammar school preparations.

Please kindly advice,I'm fairly new to this system and confused with somethings going on in my head.

many thanks ***
scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by scary mum »

Outstanding state without a doubt. I can almost understand the cachet of a top private school (not saying I subscribe to it, but can understand that some might), but I have never heard of this school. Is it any good? Is it selective? Results aren't everything but what are they like (value added?).
scary mum
PurpleDuck
Posts: 1586
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:45 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by PurpleDuck »

honey's mum wrote:Hello Mums, Need some advice in choosing State school or private schools.Its not related to Grammar school exams but i just need some advice from all your experienced mums who all are doing a great job for their kids future.

I'm in dilemma whether to wait for a place in an outstanding state school or go for the best private school available near my home.my dd is in year2 and august born(sometimes age matter as she is the youngest in her class). She is a very bright girl and doing very well academically in her current school(rating good). we have St.bernard's and Longclose Private schools in slough to chose. and I'm thinking if there will be much difference academically if i send her to private school instead of state outstanding school? My husband is keen on private school and we can afford it,only if it is going to benefit her in terms of her overall improvement and for grammar school preparations.

Please kindly advice,I'm fairly new to this system and confused with somethings going on in my head.

many thanks ***
I assume this is about your DD's schooling now or September of year 3 - is this correct? Yes, being the youngest in her class usually makes a difference, but she will always be the youngest in her class, regardless of where she goes. What type of school does she attend now? Why are you thinking about moving her? How long might you need to wait for that 'outstanding state' school place? Would the private school be geared towards 11+ or 13+? If 13+, they may not be that interested in helping her get ready for 11+. It really all depends.
It felt like I hit rock bottom; suddenly, there was knocking from beneath... (anon.)
quasimodo
Posts: 3854
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:47 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by quasimodo »

I have quickly looked at the ISIS reports for the prep departments for both private schools.Both are recent reports and are excellent in all departments.I am guessing you are Roman Catholic as St Bernard's is a RC school.You will need to consider yourselves how important your faith is to you in your choice between the two.The schools allow you to arrange visits if you have not already been.You haven't mentioned the outstanding State school you are waiting on so it is difficult to compare between the state and private.In regard to 11 plus some private schools have verbal and non verbal reasoning as part of the curriculum something state schools normally do not.You will need to do your own researches before you can come to definite conclusions.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

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honey's mum
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 4:19 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by honey's mum »

scary mum wrote:Outstanding state without a doubt. I can almost understand the cachet of a top private school (not saying I subscribe to it, but can understand that some might), but I have never heard of this school. Is it any good? Is it selective? Results aren't everything but what are they like (value added?).

Thank you for taking time to reply back Scary mum. both the private schools are outstanding with good results. and the state school i mentioned have a very long waiting list even if you are in the catchment area.So I'm looking for options and thinking which to chose if i given a place in outstanding state school as well.The state school I'm referring to is Castleview school in slough.
honey's mum
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 4:19 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by honey's mum »

PurpleDuck wrote:
honey's mum wrote:Hello Mums, Need some advice in choosing State school or private schools.Its not related to Grammar school exams but i just need some advice from all your experienced mums who all are doing a great job for their kids future.

I'm in dilemma whether to wait for a place in an outstanding state school or go for the best private school available near my home.my dd is in year2 and august born(sometimes age matter as she is the youngest in her class). She is a very bright girl and doing very well academically in her current school(rating good). we have St.bernard's and Longclose Private schools in slough to chose. and I'm thinking if there will be much difference academically if i send her to private school instead of state outstanding school? My husband is keen on private school and we can afford it,only if it is going to benefit her in terms of her overall improvement and for grammar school preparations.

Please kindly advice,I'm fairly new to this system and confused with somethings going on in my head.

many thanks ***
I assume this is about your DD's schooling now or September of year 3 - is this correct? Yes, being the youngest in her class usually makes a difference, but she will always be the youngest in her class, regardless of where she goes. What type of school does she attend now? Why are you thinking about moving her? How long might you need to wait for that 'outstanding state' school place? Would the private school be geared towards 11+ or 13+? If 13+, they may not be that interested in helping her get ready for 11+. It really all depends.

Thanks for taking time to reply back. Yeah,This is about my DD's schooling now.she is in year2 at the moment and we applied for the outstanding state school and it has a very long waiting list already and the school is not able to give how long is the wait(may be months). The reason why we are moving is that we bought a property recently and planning to move into the area in September. Right now,she is in a Rating good school which i don't have complaints about.her progress is good so far.but as we got a choice now between outstanding state and outstanding private schools,I'm thinking to chose the best for her.
honey's mum
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 4:19 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by honey's mum »

quasimodo wrote:I have quickly looked at the ISIS reports for the prep departments for both private schools.Both are recent reports and are excellent in all departments.I am guessing you are Roman Catholic as St Bernard's is a RC school.You will need to consider yourselves how important your faith is to you in your choice between the two.The schools allow you to arrange visits if you have not already been.You haven't mentioned the outstanding State school you are waiting on so it is difficult to compare between the state and private.In regard to 11 plus some private schools have verbal and non verbal reasoning as part of the curriculum something state schools normally do not.You will need to do your own researches before you can come to definite conclusions.

Thanks so much for taking time to reply and to look at ISIS reports too. yeah,both are outstanding private schools.We are not Roman catholic, and we had open day on last saturday and everyone in the school seem to be encouraging multiple faiths and I'm happy my dd to follow Roman catholic faith if she chose to.and the Outstanding school we applied is Castleview Primary school,slough. Please let me know your advice once you viewed the reports for state school too.thanks in advance.

the waiting list for the state school is really long(even for catchment area). and school is not sure about how long it will be.
PettswoodFiona
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Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Bear in mind the waiting list for the state school may not be a date linear list. They will most likely move people up and down the list according to their oversubscription criteria. If distance is one of those criteria if you are moving within yards of the school you may jump to top of the list. If you are some distance away you may find you never get to the top of the list as others keep moving closer so in reality it is never going to be a choice. We have done things the other way round, moved from an excellent Independent to an outstanding State, she starts in September so still to find out how it goes but at the current point in time it feels like the best route for us. If the fees are easy for you then it is more about the choices you have and not the financial side which actually sometimes makes it a harder decision.
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by Guest55 »

You can appeal for a place at the state school - if you've just moved then that is a good idea.

I'd always go for an outstanding state school - assuming the Ofsted grading was since 2012. 'Outstanding' before that was not based on pupil progress and is so long ago that it might not be accurate [assuming it ever was].

ISIS inspections are not so rigorous as Ofsted and are conducted by Heads from other Private schools so are not totally 'independent' imho.
PurpleDuck
Posts: 1586
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:45 pm

Re: Choice between Oustanding State school and Private schoo

Post by PurpleDuck »

PettswoodFiona wrote:Bear in mind the waiting list for the state school may not be a date linear list. They will most likely move people up and down the list according to their oversubscription criteria. If distance is one of those criteria if you are moving within yards of the school you may jump to top of the list. If you are some distance away you may find you never get to the top of the list as others keep moving closer so in reality it is never going to be a choice. We have done things the other way round, moved from an excellent Independent to an outstanding State, she starts in September so still to find out how it goes but at the current point in time it feels like the best route for us. If the fees are easy for you then it is more about the choices you have and not the financial side which actually sometimes makes it a harder decision.
Honey's Mum - I agree with PettswooodFiona that the waiting list movements may not be very straight forward. I know people who moved and had to wait for a place at their preferred school for 18 months, while others, at a different school, got theirs within a few weeks. You can only get a place in a state school when someone else in your DD's age group moves away and leaves the school which is why the school can't tell you how long it will take.

If staying on at a current school is not a sensible option given your new location, your choice for September might be forced by the fact that the outstanding state school place is simply not available for your DD. There is also a possibility that soon after she has started in a private school, the state school place will suddenly become available - would you then withdraw your DD from the private school or let her stay on? An outstanding state school is a very good option if you can get it, but I think it may be worth looking for additional alternatives just in case, so that you have more choices.
It felt like I hit rock bottom; suddenly, there was knocking from beneath... (anon.)
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