Anyone thinking about sending LO to an independent school?

[BabyMagic]

I am from Scandinavia where all schools are state run and there is no discrimination in terms of who gets to go to which school. It is all down to where you live. School meals are free, nobody wears uniforms and kids from different backgrounds play happily together.

So, I don't understand much about the schooling system here. OH wants LO to go to an independent school which I am fine about. The mad thing is that I have had to put her down on a wait list already now (LO is five months old) . I just received their brochure and it is VERY scary. They will invite 250 girls to assessment and group play nearer the time of starting the school. Around half are invited back to an interview. THERE ARE ONLY 24 PLACES (that's less than 10% of the children invited to the first stage)!!!! And they want girls to start at 4+.

I am already SO nervous about the whole thing. Of course I'd like LO to get the best start in life, but it sounds a bit too competitive for me.

Anyone else thinking about sending their LO to an independent school? If yes, did you register them to more than one school? Do you know what type of tests/interviews they do? How do you deal with the stress of getting your LO to the best possible school? Perhaps you went to a public school yourself - how was your experience?

I know my OH is saying not to panic as everyone in his family has gone to public schools and had to go through the same thing, but I am thinking about that it would be just easier to take LO to Finland where we don't have these issues. For the first time after having LO I feel properly anxious

 

[daftscotslass]

While I suppose we could scrape together and afford it, I would never send my LO to an independent school. We have two nearby and in terms of results at secondary level there is very little difference between them and my local state school. If we're still living in the same place by the time Rebecca goes to school she will go to the same school I did. I have no qualms about it because I only have fantastic memories about my time at primary school.

Have you actually visited your local (state) schools? You might be surprised.

 

[badgergirl]

Had we not moved out of my home town, I would have seriously considered it, as results and both student and staff morale are very low. I work in some of the schools (not as a teacher) and, despite some of the progress that has been made, there is usually disruption and problems which impact on the majority.

That said, whilst the independent schools produce better results, I can remember a friend of mine went there for a couple of years. Her parents scrimped and saved, and she hated the whole experience because it was well known that she couldn't really afford to be there.

 

[Melanie]

I just put Thea's name down for the local independent school here. I havent decided if i would want her to go there yet but i wanted to have the option if this is where we are staying.
Saying that the local primary school here gets consistently above average ofsted reports so i wouldnt have a problem with her going there. I do have a problem with the local secondary school though. To be honest the the thought of sending Thea to school in this country with everything you read about in the papers just fills me with dread!

 

[Jen & Her Men]

I think it depends what you want in terms of education for your LO

I think Independent schools provide a fantastic traditional education but to me providing my children with a good social education is also very important and the problem with independent schools is that they tend to be single sex and have a very particular type of child from very similar families in terms of wealth and background.

To me I think its important that my kids get a really good understanding of the different types of people that exist in the world and how to interact with them and deal with social situations that you wouldnt get necessarily in independent schools. I think school is important not only to get a traditional education but also to prepare you for the world and that means knowing how to interact with the opposite sex and people who are different from you.

Clearly the traditional education is also very important but we are very lucky in the UK that there are some fantastic state schools out there so we can have the best of both worlds.

 

[beanie]

I would consider sending mine to an independant montesseri or steiner school but not a standard indepedant school. however if I had the kind of money that I could afford to send them there tbh I would be seriously considering home schooling

 

[jennywren]

not an active member orgy uk it innit

 

[BabyMagic]

Thank you very much for your replies

I am pretty clueless when it comes to schooling in the UK. It is hard enough to try to find out where all the independent schools are. I spent over £50 on two books on independent schools and all of the schools aren't even mentioned on them. Apparently, it depends on which governing body they are linked to?!!!

Daftscotlass - I am totally with you. I think I should visit some local state schools as I feel that they may be ok in the area we live in (having said apparently this area has the highest concentration of private schools in the UK).

Jen&James - I hear what you are saying about kids needing to understand about different types of people. This is why I liked the schooling system back at home. In my class I was the only one whose mum stayed at home (it is less common in Finland in comparison to here) and I may have had some privileges but I really enjoyed having friends from different backgrounds. My concern would be that I would like LO also to have many types of friends and not just wealthy, and particularly not snobs...

We have actually agreed that we would like to send LO to a single sex school...

I just feel that I wouldn't want to pressure my LO at young age - like not getting accepted to a top school. I know my OH is adadment that she'll go to a private school, but I guess the issue is to find a type which is friendly and less pressured. Maybe I consider one of the international schools...

One of my friends (who went to a public school) that they actually check on parents background (education etc) and that if you make donations to the school and are able to contribute your time as a mum to the school you have a better chance of your child being accepted . It does all sound a bit unfair to be honest. Yes, I may not be going back to work and could contribute some time helping out at school (my mum did) but surely that shouldn't be a deciding factor? Hope my non-Englishness is an obstacle.

Sorry for a looong rant - I find this issue completely overwhelming

 

[lauramumof2]

I think it will be easier to gauge once your lo is a bit older, like at nursery age. I like the idea that my kids go to school on their area, with kids from the area and are able to go to the houses of mums and dads I recognise and have a chance of knowing.

If I had the money then maybe I would think differently but I dont so its not an option. The main thing for me is that at nursery Jess is happy. Always happy to go and I always get happy stories.