Has anyone walked away from a private school place at the eleventh hour Post Reply

[readysteadycook]

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).

[Soffy]

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!

[Xcx]

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.

[Soffy]

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.

[campxyz]

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.

[Soffy]

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

[Xcx]

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.

[teofol]

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

[campxyz]

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.

[Spenner]

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.