This month our expert consultants help a family navigate their precocious child’s educational journey, mixing and matching state and private education.
Q: Our son is three and never stops asking questions. We know he is bright and we want the best education for him. So should we pay now for him to go to a prep school in the hope that he gets into a grammar at 11 or should we send him to the local (goodish) primary and pay for a tutor when he is in the last two years so that he gets into a selective independent? We know we can’t pay from now until he’s 18!
A: The answer to this really depends on each individual child and the schools that are available to you locally.
If your son is eager to learn and full of natural curiosity, then he will probably thrive at any well-managed school and learn quite naturally. You, as conscientious parents, will clearly support his learning with what you do at home. So, the chances are that he will be fine at your local primary. He’ll probably need some expert help in his last year – either from you or an outside tutor – so that he understands about entrance exams and has had practice in working to time limits and exam technique.
There’s no doubt that sending him to a good prep school now may well give him some stimulating and enjoyable years. There will be smaller classes and, probably, a greater range of subjects and extra-curricular things for him to try. But it won't necessarily increase his chances of getting into an academically selective school at 11 - especially as these schools increasingly rely on computerised tests which assess raw intellectual potential rather than what has been taught and learned.
If he goes to the local primary, on the other hand, he will then have a chance at an academically selective school at 11 and, if he doesn't make it, then he will move on to the local senior school with his existing cohort of friends - which most children want to do anyway.
So - there are gains both ways. The Christmas break is a great time to thoroughly research the schools that are in your area - look at how they perform and study their admissions criteria (particularly, in the case of state schools, when oversubscribed). You may find that if you have a good chance of getting into a super state primary on your doorstep it makes your decision a bit easier. Make sure you are aware not only of imminent options at primary level but also what might be on offer further down the line. Your choices now can affect the options available to you for senior school in multiple ways. Don’t forget that if you invest in a prep school now and that doesn't result in a place at a grammar, then he will move to a state academy or comprehensive school where he knows no-one and may start with a sense of failure which is never a good way to begin a new school. But you know your son and are best placed to make the final decision.
Do you want help from The Good Schools Guide Education Consultants?
Our expert education consultants can provide your family with one-to-one help on all of the issues raised in this article and many more. We regularly help parents understand the particulars of UK independent schools and assist them in mapping out potential educational pathways for their children. If you would like to find out more about our services, visit the Education Consultants homepage or to speak directly with one of the team email consultants@goodschoolsguide.co.uk or call 0203 286 6824
Need help? Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+. Special Educational Needs Index
Find top international, British, IB and American schools in over 40 countries. The Good Schools Guide International publishes impartial and forthright reviews of international schools across the world.
We examined the value-added from KS2 to GCSE for 2022 to see which state selective grammar schools added the most value to their offspring. A note of caution - the more highly selective a grammar school, the less scope there will be to add value.
Grammar schools are state-funded, academically selective senior schools. The education a child receives at grammar school is paid for by the state unlike at private schools which provide education for a fee. There are currently around 163 located in 36 English local authorities, with around 167,000 pupils between them. Northern Ireland has a further 67 grammar schools, but there are none in Wales or Scotland. A word of caution: there are private schools that have the word 'grammar' in their name but this is purely for historical reasons.
At specialist music, dance or performing arts schools, the arts aren't optional extras. They’re intrinsic to the school curriculum. Students are expected to fit in high level training and hours of practice alongside a full academic provision. It's a lot to ask any child to take on, but for those with exceptional performing ability this kind of education can be transformative.