My son is in year 7 at CG and loves it - he settled in well and academically he’s thriving. What I would say is that you have to lean in a bit more than in private schools. Everything is there in terms of sport, music, art, support, challenge etc but they won’t come looking for your kids the way they seem to in private school. They’ve been very good for pastoral care too.

hi teofol,

language kids can choose spanish or italian as an extra language which comes down to an extra lesson a week. they can also carry this language right through the years i believe.
sadly, due to covid some scheduled extras (rome trip…) didn’t materialise. my son is now more interested in sciences anyway, so he’s not that bothered.
it took him a little while to adapt, coming from a private school, but i guess that goes for any new school, private or state.
the only thing to bear in mind is that private school kids won’t have a SAT test result, which may affect the setting of their targets (lower than expected). like i said, my son found the first year quite easy as a result but that gave him room to find his feet and make friends and enjoy his new school.

Dear campxyz,

We did the same, my son is on the waiting list n 2 for languages at the moment after being 41 at the beginning of the year and we hope he can get a place eventually. I see your child goes to Ch G language class. Can you tell me a little bit more about it from your point of view. My son goes to private school at the moment and we turned down a private school place. I worry a bit about settling in general ( I think he worries a bit too) as I think he has been in a a sort of.a bubble.
Many thanks

We paid a deposit and a terms' fee because we opted out beyond the 2 week post deadline! 😭
Bear that in mind if you're on the fence. But then you will be choosing a school which has no fees and you will be free of that burden.

Thank you so much, it sounds like such a fantastic school. Looking forward to going to see it.

I too would like to recommend Chestnut - we too came from an independent - the school is virtually brand new, with masses of outdoor space and sports facilities - the teaching staff are dedicated and flexible in approach to lessons and kids’ attention span - music and art and languages are great, but so are the sciences - food is good - pupils are a realistic representation of london, unlike some private schools - good extra curricular programme - and I really feel they focus on kids’ abilities and interest when it comes to guiding them on what to do after A levels.
Joining Chestnut was an eye-opener and I am so glad we cancelled our private school place despite having paid deposit. And yes, private kids going in will find the going easy in first year, but it allows them time to find their feet and make friends. And do sign up for Art or Language test. The latter is not about ability to speak a foreign language (though it helps) but about understanding how languages work, ie if one tree is xyz in foreign language, what would 10 trees be in that language. We did it and got on waiting list for language spot and so many on list dropped out for preferred school choice (silly them) that we got in without having to worry about catchment.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! We are SW17 too but nearer to Tooting. It’s so great to hear you recommend Chestnut Grove Academy so highly and there are so many other options you rate nearby. Now to go and see them all! Thanks again.

Sure ..We chose Chestnut Grove Academy. It does have a catchment area but it also has 2 sets of 30 intakes for art and language specialists. You need to apply for these assessments. They get extra classes for art and learn Italian on top of French or Spanish. They don't need to be in the catchment. The school has 5 ability bands and takes equal amounts of each. But it's fluid as progress is measured continously. If you're not in Wandsworth, you should take the Wandsworth Test which can be easily arranged.
Other good schools in my area are Bolingbroke Academy, Graveney, Burntwood ( girls) and Ernest Bevin ( boys and mixed 6th form) . Further to us are Ashcroft, Ricard's Lodge ( girls), St Cecelias which take music scholars and Kingsdale which also take music scholars. There are also various Harris Academies.

Mamajojoe and Xcx, these schools sound great - would you mind sharing the names of the schools you rate as we are making some decisions about this at the moment? Thanks so much!

The inflation busting school fees for a decade now is going to have to stop soon, as it is so unaffordable for most.

Our local SW12 Primary school makes parents feel like cashpoints. Maybe next year they will follow Wandsworth councils lead with 2022 Council tax, and cut them also by 1% (amazing council we have).

Mamajojoe, this all sounds amazing. Might you be happy to share the name of this state school?

Thanks

Daughter was at a selective private primary and had guaranteed place at three very good selective private secondaries. However we were finding the pressure of fees tricky and so with heavy heart made difficult decision to moved to the state sector. It was hard as she was the only child who moved to state apart from a couple who went to Tiffin.. but it was best decision ever. Daughter has excelled and is now off to a top university. She has made friends across all walks of life with a great understanding of difference, has great street awareness and maturity and we have been able to spend some money on travel, culture, extra tutor support where needed etc. The teaching at the school has been outstanding and my daughter moves off to Uni well prepared for the wider world. ( I’m hearing with a degree of disbelief how totally unprepared some of my friend’s privately educated children are!!)
I’d always thought private school was the best option but now I’m a complete convert to state and if you’ve got a bright child and can access one of our good mixed state secondaries then grab it, get involved and she ( and you) will meet lots of great people and your child will have a truly enriching education.

I don't live in £2m house 😂and you don't need a 2m home to be in catchment for the state schools in our area. There's people from many backgrounds and social housing too.
State secondary schools are known to have vastly improved in the past 15 years in London. Think you're living under a rock?!
Private schools account for just 6 per cent of the population. That's definitely a bubble. In London if you are going struggle financially it really is not at all worth it.
Think this mother should take pressure off herself. Her daughter will be fine and definitely better off without having stressed out parents.

I'd like to just reiterate what others have said - state schools have lots to offer and I'm sure if your daughter is smart enough to have won this place, you can rest assured she will do well anywhere, without the year on year pressure on your life/ marriage of finding school fees - plus extras. Our three went to their local state school - the youngest is still there. It was the closest school -- not an amazing school just a 'good enough' one. If a schools results show for example '40 per cent' get A*/A or whatever, I felt that in a non selective, widely mixed ability London school, I was confident enough to believe my kids would be in that 40 per cent. The'99 per cent' result stats from private schools reflect the fact that they are selective - not that their teachers are particularly amazing - in fact there is a lot of cross over. My eldest went to Oxford, the middle is at vet school. Their large circle of friends ended up in the same places that the local private school kids go to - Russell Group, London art colleges, medical school etc. More importantly, they are confident in any situation, they have friends from every background, they are street smart, well rounded. Some of their lessons weren't streamed - all the research shows that helping students who are less able than you has a positive effect on your learning. They benefited from being at the top end academically whereas in a highly competitive hot house private school, they would probably have felt a lot less 'able' than some of their peers. Finally, many of their friends from primary school went private at secondary level - none did especially better, there were exactly the same horror stories around boys, ****** culture, cliques and definitely mental health issues. I'd say embrace the state sector and save yourself a whole lot of financial stress for nothing.

And yes we also have friends who have re-mortgaged their house to pay for private fees. They are taking out approx £75k equity to pay for five years, 11 - 16. So if you have a £2m house, then this might be an option!